{
  "url": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope.json",
  "path": "/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope",
  "format": "json",
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Cantillation (Te’amim / Trope)",
  "summary": "The musical notation that turns reading the Torah into chanting it — and that is itself a Sinaitic tradition.",
  "breadcrumbs": [
    {
      "title": "The New Jew",
      "href": "/index.json"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hebrew",
      "href": "/sections/hebrew.json"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cantillation (Te’amim / Trope)",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope.json"
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "html": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope",
    "json": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope.json",
    "xml": "https://staging.thenewjew.org/articles/hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope.xml"
  },
  "data": {
    "article": {
      "slug": "hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope",
      "title": "Cantillation (Te’amim / Trope)",
      "deck": "The musical notation that turns reading the Torah into chanting it — and that is itself a Sinaitic tradition.",
      "summary": "Summary. Cantillation marks (te’amim in Hebrew, trope in Yiddish-derived English) are the musical notation added to the consonantal text of the Tanakh, indicating the melody to which each word is chanted. Each mark also serves as a punctuation mark, indicating syntactic phrasing. The system is masoretic, developed in the 6th–10th centuries CE alongside the nikkud. There are distinct trope systems for the Torah, the Prophets (haftarah), the Psalms / Proverbs / Job, the Five Megillot, and Esther. Learning to leyn (chant) Torah is the gateway to participation in the Torah reading service.",
      "level": "deeper",
      "sectionSlug": "hebrew",
      "tags": [
        "cantillation",
        "trope",
        "torah reading"
      ],
      "publishedAt": "2026-07-06T02:19:03.001Z",
      "wordCount": 607,
      "readMinutes": 3
    },
    "section": {
      "slug": "hebrew",
      "title": "Hebrew"
    },
    "image": null,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "summary",
        "body": "Summary. Cantillation marks ([te’amim](/glossary.json#letter-T) in Hebrew, trope in Yiddish-derived English) are the musical notation added to the consonantal text of the [Tanakh](/glossary.json#letter-T), indicating the melody to which each word is chanted. Each mark also serves as a punctuation mark, indicating syntactic phrasing. The system is [masoretic](/glossary.json#letter-M), developed in the 6th–10th centuries CE alongside the [nikkud](/glossary.json#letter-N). There are distinct trope systems for the [Torah](/glossary.json#letter-T), the Prophets ([haftarah](/glossary.json#letter-H)), the Psalms / Proverbs / Job, the Five [Megillot](/glossary.json#letter-M), and Esther. Learning to [leyn](/glossary.json#letter-L) (chant) Torah is the gateway to participation in the Torah reading service.",
        "text": "Summary. Cantillation marks (te’amim in Hebrew, trope in Yiddish-derived English) are the musical notation added to the consonantal text of the Tanakh, indicating the melody to which each word is chanted. Each mark also serves as a punctuation mark, indicating syntactic phrasing. The system is masoretic, developed in the 6th–10th centuries CE alongside the nikkud. There are distinct trope systems for the Torah, the Prophets (haftarah), the Psalms / Proverbs / Job, the Five Megillot, and Esther. Learning to leyn (chant) Torah is the gateway to participation in the Torah reading service."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "What the Trope Marks Are",
        "text": "What the Trope Marks Are"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Approximately 30 distinct marks, each indicating a melodic phrase, accent, and punctuation function. The marks fall into two categories: disjunctives (mafsikim) — marks that end a phrase, like commas, semicolons, periods — and conjunctives (the [m’shartim](/glossary.json#letter-M), “servants”) — marks that connect a word to the following word. The biggest disjunctive is the [silluk](/glossary.json#letter-S), marking the end of a verse (always paired with the [sof pasuk](/glossary.json#letter-S) symbol, a colon-like double dot). The next biggest is the [etnachta](/glossary.json#letter-E), marking the major mid-verse pause.",
        "text": "Approximately 30 distinct marks, each indicating a melodic phrase, accent, and punctuation function. The marks fall into two categories: disjunctives (mafsikim) — marks that end a phrase, like commas, semicolons, periods — and conjunctives (the m’shartim, “servants”) — marks that connect a word to the following word. The biggest disjunctive is the silluk, marking the end of a verse (always paired with the sof pasuk symbol, a colon-like double dot). The next biggest is the etnachta, marking the major mid-verse pause."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Why It Matters",
        "text": "Why It Matters"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Cantillation is not optional decoration. It is the masoretic tradition of how the text is to be read. The [Talmud](/glossary.json#letter-T) ([Megillah 32a](https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.32a)) records: “One who reads Torah without melody, of him Scripture says ([Yechezkel 20:25](https://www.sefaria.org/Ezekiel.20.25)), ‘And I gave them statutes that are not good.’” The trope reveals the syntax — phrases that the English translator may join or separate, the Hebrew chant makes definite. Cantillation is interpretation.",
        "text": "Cantillation is not optional decoration. It is the masoretic tradition of how the text is to be read. The Talmud (Megillah 32a) records: “One who reads Torah without melody, of him Scripture says (Yechezkel 20:25), ‘And I gave them statutes that are not good.’” The trope reveals the syntax — phrases that the English translator may join or separate, the Hebrew chant makes definite. Cantillation is interpretation."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "The Different Trope Systems",
        "text": "The Different Trope Systems"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Torah trope — the most common; learned first.",
        "text": "Torah trope — the most common; learned first."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Haftarah trope — for the prophetic readings; substantially different melody, same notation.",
        "text": "Haftarah trope — for the prophetic readings; substantially different melody, same notation."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Megillot trope — three of the five Megillot ([Shir HaShirim](/glossary.json#letter-S), [Rut](/glossary.json#letter-R), [Kohelet](/glossary.json#letter-K)) share a melody; [Eichah](/glossary.json#letter-E) has its own mournful melody; Esther has its own joyful one.",
        "text": "Megillot trope — three of the five Megillot (Shir HaShirim, Rut, Kohelet) share a melody; Eichah has its own mournful melody; Esther has its own joyful one."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Tehillim](/glossary.json#letter-T) / [Mishlei](/glossary.json#letter-M) / [Iyov](/glossary.json#letter-I) trope — used for the poetic books; substantially different system of marks.",
        "text": "Tehillim / Mishlei / Iyov trope — used for the poetic books; substantially different system of marks."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "High Holy Days trope — a special, more elaborate Torah melody used on [Rosh Hashanah](/glossary.json#letter-R) and [Yom Kippur](/glossary.json#letter-Y).",
        "text": "High Holy Days trope — a special, more elaborate Torah melody used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Learning to Leyn",
        "text": "Learning to Leyn"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Most observant Jews learn at least the Torah trope, often as preparation for a [Bar/Bat Mitzvah](/glossary.json#letter-B) or for an [aliyah](/glossary.json#letter-A). The standard learning path is: (1) memorize the names and melodies of the marks; (2) read a series of practice verses; (3) prepare a specific [parshah](/glossary.json#letter-P) for performance. The [Tikkun Korim](/glossary.json#letter-T) (a special book with the Torah text printed both with and without nikkud and trope marks, side by side) is the standard preparation tool. Apps like PocketTorah and the recordings by Joshua R. Jacobson are excellent supplements.",
        "text": "Most observant Jews learn at least the Torah trope, often as preparation for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or for an aliyah. The standard learning path is: (1) memorize the names and melodies of the marks; (2) read a series of practice verses; (3) prepare a specific parshah for performance. The Tikkun Korim (a special book with the Torah text printed both with and without nikkud and trope marks, side by side) is the standard preparation tool. Apps like PocketTorah and the recordings by Joshua R. Jacobson are excellent supplements."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Communal Differences",
        "text": "Communal Differences"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The trope marks are universal across the Jewish world, but the melodies to which they are chanted vary substantially: Lithuanian (yeshivish), [Ashkenazi](/glossary.json#letter-A) (the dominant American standard, sometimes called the “Eastern European” melody), [Sephardi](/glossary.json#letter-S) (multiple sub-traditions — Spanish-Portuguese, North African, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemenite), Italian, Romanian, German. A New Jew should learn the melody used in their own [shul](/glossary.json#letter-S). Joshua Jacobson’s Chanting the Hebrew Bible is the comprehensive academic treatment.",
        "text": "The trope marks are universal across the Jewish world, but the melodies to which they are chanted vary substantially: Lithuanian (yeshivish), Ashkenazi (the dominant American standard, sometimes called the “Eastern European” melody), Sephardi (multiple sub-traditions — Spanish-Portuguese, North African, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemenite), Italian, Romanian, German. A New Jew should learn the melody used in their own shul. Joshua Jacobson’s Chanting the Hebrew Bible is the comprehensive academic treatment."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Where Denominations Diverge",
        "text": "Where Denominations Diverge"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Cantillation is observed in [Orthodox](/glossary.json#letter-O) and Conservative synagogues universally, and increasingly in [Reform](/glossary.json#letter-R) congregations. Many Reform congregations chant only a triennial selection from the parshah. The trope marks are the same across all denominations.",
        "text": "Cantillation is observed in Orthodox and Conservative synagogues universally, and increasingly in Reform congregations. Many Reform congregations chant only a triennial selection from the parshah. The trope marks are the same across all denominations."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Sources",
        "text": "Sources"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Talmud Bavli](/glossary.json#letter-T), Megillah 32a; [Berachot 62a](https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.62a).",
        "text": "Talmud Bavli, Megillah 32a; Berachot 62a."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Aaron ben Moses ben Asher](/glossary.json#letter-A), Sefer Dikdukei HaTe’amim.",
        "text": "Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, Sefer Dikdukei HaTe’amim."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Rambam](/glossary.json#letter-R), [Mishneh Torah](/glossary.json#letter-M), [Hilchot Tefillah 12](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Prayer_and_the_Priestly_Blessing.12).",
        "text": "Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillah 12."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Who Made Up the Way We Sing the Torah?](https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/817346/jewish/Who-Made-Up-the-Way-We-Sing-the-Torah.htm) — Chabad.org.",
        "text": "Who Made Up the Way We Sing the Torah? — Chabad.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Why Do Torah and Haftarah Have Different Trope?](https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3923198/jewish/Why-Do-Torah-and-Haftarah-Have-Different-Trope.htm) — Chabad.org.",
        "text": "Why Do Torah and Haftarah Have Different Trope? — Chabad.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Cantillation: Some Observations – Part 1](https://thelehrhaus.com/tanakh/humash/cantillation-some-observations-part-1/) — The Lehrhaus.",
        "text": "Cantillation: Some Observations – Part 1 — The Lehrhaus."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Further Reading",
        "text": "Further Reading"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Joshua R. Jacobson, Chanting the Hebrew Bible.",
        "text": "Joshua R. Jacobson, Chanting the Hebrew Bible."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Marshall Portnoy and Josée Wolff, The Art of Torah Cantillation.",
        "text": "Marshall Portnoy and Josée Wolff, The Art of Torah Cantillation."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "PocketTorah app and online recordings.",
        "text": "PocketTorah app and online recordings."
      }
    ],
    "related": [
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-why-learn-hebrew",
        "title": "Why Learn Hebrew?",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-why-learn-hebrew.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-the-aleph-bet",
        "title": "The Aleph-Bet",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-the-aleph-bet.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-vowels-nikkud",
        "title": "Vowels (Nikkud)",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-vowels-nikkud.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan",
        "title": "A Practical Learning Plan",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan.json"
      }
    ],
    "goDeeper": [],
    "glossary": {
      "aaron-ben-moses-ben-asher": {
        "term": "Aaron ben Moses ben Asher",
        "hebrew": "אהרן בן משה בן אשר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Masorete of Tiberias (fl. c. 900–960 CE) whose family perfected the system of nikkud (vowel points) and te'amim (cantillation marks) still used in every printed Tanakh, and whose Sefer Dikdukei HaTe'amim codified the rules of Hebrew grammar and chant.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "ashkenazi": {
        "term": "Ashkenazi",
        "hebrew": "אשכנזי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Describing Jews whose families trace to Central and Eastern Europe, and the customs, liturgy, and Hebrew pronunciation of those communities. The broad counterpart terms are Sephardi and Edot HaMizrach.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "bar-mitzvah": {
        "term": "Bar Mitzvah",
        "hebrew": "בר מצוה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The coming of age at which a Jewish child becomes responsible for the mitzvot — traditionally 13 for a boy (bar mitzvah) and 12 or 13 for a girl (bat mitzvah). The occasion is typically marked by being called up to the Torah.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "eichah": {
        "term": "Eichah",
        "hebrew": "אֵיכָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The book of Lamentations — the Bible's poetry of grief over Jerusalem's destruction, chanted by candlelight on Tisha B'Av. Its name is its first word: 'How…'",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "iyov": {
        "term": "Iyov",
        "hebrew": "אִיּוֹב",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The biblical book of Job — the Tanakh's searching confrontation with undeserved suffering, found in the Ketuvim (Writings).",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "kohelet": {
        "term": "Kohelet",
        "hebrew": "קֹהֶלֶת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The biblical book of Ecclesiastes — \"vanity of vanities\" — read on Sukkot; one of the Five Megillot.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "masorah": {
        "term": "Masorah",
        "hebrew": "מָסוֹרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The received textual tradition of the Hebrew Bible, fixed by the Masoretes of the 6th–10th centuries, including the vowel signs and cantillation marks.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "mishlei": {
        "term": "Mishlei",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁלֵי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The book of Proverbs — the Tanakh's collection of practical wisdom, part of the Ketuvim (Writings) and chanted with its own cantillation system.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "mishneh-torah": {
        "term": "Mishneh Torah",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Rambam's monumental 12th-century code of Jewish law — the first work to organize the whole of Halacha systematically, from prayer to Temple service.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "orthodox-judaism": {
        "term": "Orthodox Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Orthodox Judaism holds Halacha as fully binding and the Shulchan Aruch as its canonical code; it spans Haredi and Hasidic communities as well as Modern Orthodoxy, and is the starting point from which this Field Guide is written, even as it engages seriously with other denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "rambam": {
        "term": "Rambam",
        "hebrew": "רמב״ם",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1138–1204), known by the acronym Rambam and in the Latin West as Maimonides, was the towering rationalist codifier and philosopher of medieval Judaism — author of the legal code Mishneh Torah and the philosophical Guide for the Perplexed. His formulation of God's unity and incorporeality remains foundational to Jewish theology across denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-questions-what-does-judaism-teach-about-god"
      },
      "reform-judaism": {
        "term": "Reform Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Reform Judaism treats Halacha as a source of values and meaning rather than binding law, emphasizing individual autonomy, ethical monotheism, and tikkun olam; it was the first movement to fully recognize patrilineal descent and ordain women as rabbis.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "rosh-hashanah": {
        "term": "Rosh Hashanah",
        "hebrew": "רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Jewish New Year, observed on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei with the sounding of the shofar; it opens the Ten Days of Repentance that culminate in Yom Kippur.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-rosh-hashanah"
      },
      "rut": {
        "term": "Rut",
        "hebrew": "רוּת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The book of Ruth — the Tanakh's story of the Moabite woman who joined the Jewish people; one of the Five Megillot, read on Shavuot.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "sephardi": {
        "term": "Sephardi",
        "hebrew": "סְפָרַדִּי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Jew whose family traces to medieval Spain and Portugal — and, in common usage, to the broader communities of the Mediterranean and Middle East that follow Sephardic law and liturgy. The plural is Sephardim.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shir-hashirim": {
        "term": "Shir HaShirim",
        "hebrew": "שיר השירים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Song of Songs, the biblical love poem traditionally read on Pesach and understood by the rabbis as an allegory of the love between God and Israel. It is one of the Five Megillot.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "talmud": {
        "term": "Talmud",
        "hebrew": "תלמוד",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The vast rabbinic work — the Mishnah together with the Gemara's discussion of it — that develops the Oral Torah into Jewish law and thought. It is the central text of Jewish study after the Bible itself.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "talmud-bavli": {
        "term": "Talmud Bavli",
        "hebrew": "תלמוד בבלי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Babylonian Talmud, completed around 500 CE in the academies of Babylonia — the more extensive of the two Talmuds and the authoritative one for Jewish law.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "tanakh": {
        "term": "Tanakh",
        "hebrew": "תנ״ך",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Hebrew Bible, named for the initials of its three sections: Torah (the Five Books), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings) — twenty-four books in the traditional count.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-tanakh-in-one-article"
      },
      "tehillim": {
        "term": "Tehillim",
        "hebrew": "תהילים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Book of Psalms — the Tanakh's 150 poems of praise, lament, and trust, recited constantly in Jewish liturgy and personal devotion.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "tikkun-korim": {
        "term": "Tikkun Korim",
        "hebrew": "תיקון קוראים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The practice book for Torah readers: each page shows the text with vowels and cantillation beside the bare, unpointed column exactly as it appears in the scroll.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "torah": {
        "term": "Torah",
        "hebrew": "תּוֹרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Five Books of Moses — the scroll at the center of Jewish life — and, more broadly, the whole of Jewish teaching. 'Learning Torah' can mean anything from Chumash to Talmud.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "yom-kippur": {
        "term": "Yom Kippur",
        "hebrew": "יום כיפור",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the Jewish year, a 25-hour fast devoted to prayer, confession, and repair of one's relationships with God and with other people.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-yom-kippur"
      },
      "aliyah": {
        "term": "aliyah",
        "hebrew": "עלייה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'going up' — the honor of being called up to the Torah during its public reading (plural: aliyot). The same word describes immigrating to the Land of Israel.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "etnachta": {
        "term": "etnachta",
        "hebrew": "אֶתְנַחְתָּא",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The cantillation mark that signals the main pause in the middle of a Tanakh verse — the trope system's equivalent of a semicolon.",
        "moreSlug": "hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope"
      },
      "haftarah": {
        "term": "haftarah",
        "hebrew": "הַפְטָרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The selection from the Prophets chanted after the Torah reading on Shabbat and festivals, chosen for its thematic link to the day or the weekly portion.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "leyn": {
        "term": "leyn",
        "hebrew": "לייענען",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "To chant the Torah (or another scroll) publicly according to the traditional cantillation melodies — from the Yiddish leyenen, \"to read.\"",
        "moreSlug": "hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope"
      },
      "megillah": {
        "term": "megillah",
        "hebrew": "מְגִלָּה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A scroll — most famously the Megillah, the scroll of Esther read aloud on Purim; the Five Megillot are the biblical scrolls read across the holiday cycle.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-judaica-megillot"
      },
      "meshartim": {
        "term": "meshartim",
        "hebrew": "מְשָׁרְתִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'servants' — the conjunctive cantillation marks that link a word to the word that follows it, in contrast to the disjunctive marks that separate phrases.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "nikkud": {
        "term": "nikkud",
        "hebrew": "נִקּוּד",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The system of dots and dashes written below, inside, and above Hebrew letters to indicate vowels; present in the siddur and Chumash but absent from a Torah scroll and most modern Israeli text.",
        "moreSlug": "hebrew-vowels-nikkud"
      },
      "parshah": {
        "term": "parshah",
        "hebrew": "פָּרָשָׁה",
        "translit": "parashah",
        "definition": "The weekly Torah portion — one of 54 divisions of the Torah, one (occasionally two) read each Shabbat so that the whole Torah is completed every year. The plural is parshiyot.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-the-parshah-cycle"
      },
      "shul": {
        "term": "shul",
        "hebrew": "שול",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Yiddish word for synagogue, used warmly across the Jewish world for the house of prayer, study, and community.",
        "moreSlug": "community-finding-a-shul"
      },
      "siluk": {
        "term": "siluk",
        "hebrew": "סילוק",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The cantillation mark that ends every verse of the Tanakh, appearing under the last stressed word together with the sof pasuk sign.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "sof-pasuk": {
        "term": "sof pasuk",
        "hebrew": "סוף פסוק",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'End of verse' — the small mark, resembling a colon, that closes every verse in printed texts of the Tanakh.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "teamim": {
        "term": "te'amim",
        "hebrew": "טעמים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The cantillation marks (called 'trope' in Yiddish-derived usage) printed with the text of the Tanakh, indicating both the melody for chanting each word and the verse's phrasing.",
        "moreSlug": "hebrew-cantillation-teamim-trope"
      }
    }
  },
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "parent",
      "title": "Hebrew",
      "href": "/sections/hebrew.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Why Learn Hebrew?",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-why-learn-hebrew.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Aleph-Bet",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-the-aleph-bet.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Vowels (Nikkud)",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-vowels-nikkud.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "A Practical Learning Plan",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan.json"
    }
  ]
}