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To Nuah or not To Nuah, That is the Question

1/18/2013

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When teaching Nekudos, is it common practice amongst the Yeshivishe/Litvishe  Mosdos to teach which Nekudos are the Tenuos Gedolos and which are the Tenuos Ketanos, or not? I ask this not out of curiosity, but rather as a  practical inquiry.

Most youngsters, I assume, would find this concept hard to understand. For them, it is difficult enough to master each sound and  associate  it with the given symbol. Adding the classification of Tenuah Gedolah  and Tenuah Ketanah will surely burden them with extra baggage. My “Safek” is, is it really worth the extra pressure and anxiety to teach this concept to children  at such a young age, when in all practicality is serves little in the way of  their mastering Kriah?

 Although there is supposed to be a definitive difference  between the Tenuos, where the Gedolos are considered as ‘stronger’, meaning the  pronunciation is heavier, I find it hard to differentiate this in practice, and  I’m pretty certain that children that are first learning Kriah do not master  this concept. The Ashkenazi pronunciation does not lend itself to simple  classification according to the sound of the Nekudah. Thus, the child learning  to read, if he is taught the Tenuos, will probably have to learn and memorize  them with little real understanding of the classifications. Yes, he can  remember “PiTuChay ChoSam” (which must be explained, along with the correction  of switching the Cheerik Maleh for the Cheerik Chuser, as explained in the Mishna Berurah), but this is not a simple piece of information for a beginner (especially since he probably does not recognize the words or know their spelling). Then, he must remember the 5 Tenuos which are left out, and classify them as Ketanos. Again, not an easy task for a beginner. (Yes, he might be taught NiCham Kol MuKeh, but it is Latin to
him.)

In summation, my feeling is that this concept should not be taught at the time of Hascholas Kriah. I do not know if there is a Mesorah to teach it or not. (I did not learn it until after my Bar Mitzva.) I would appreciate to hear the opinions of
others.
 
K. Gross

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