(ii) Biblical cantillation

(a) The role of cantillation.

Jewish liturgical regulations require that various portions of the Bible be read ceremoniously in public services. The entire Pentateuch (Torah) is read in a yearly cycle during the Sabbath morning services. Short sections of the weekly portions are read on Sabbath afternoons and at the morning service on Mondays and Thursdays. Special selections are used on Holy Days, New Moon and fast days. Chapters from the Prophets (called haftarah) follow the Pentateuch reading on Sabbaths, Holy Days and fast days. Particular books are read on Holy and commemorative days: Esther is read at Purim; Lamentations on Tish‘ah be-av (9th Av, commemorating the destruction of the Temple); and in some communities the Song of Songs, Ruth and Ecclesiastes are read at Pesah (Passover), Shavu‘ot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) respectively.

The liturgical reading of Scripture is performed in chant and is usually executed by a professional or semi-professional reader called ba‘al qeriah or ba‘al qore (in the Yemenite tradition the Pentateuch and in many other communities the portions from the Prophets are chanted by laymen).

While the duty of reading Scripture with exact pronunciation and proper chant was emphasized from an early period, the original text of the Hebrew Bible itself gave no indications of either. It consisted of paragraphs containing words made up of groups of regular consonants. No vowels, special consonants or sentence divisions were indicated in the ancient books and these are still missing in the Scrolls of the Torah, the Books of the Prophets and Hagiographa used for the ceremonious reading in the synagogue.