Telisha
Telisha (Hebrew: תְּלִישָא) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. There are two versions of the Telisha: Telisha ketana (תְּלִישָא קְטַנָּה) and Telisha gedola (תְּלִישָא גְּדוֹלָה), the latter of which has a longer melody and higher peak. The Telisha trope can occur independently or can follow a Pazer or one of several other trope sounds. The Telisha ketana must be followed by a Kadma.[1]
Telisha ketana/gedola | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
cantillation | |||||||
Sof passuk | ׃ | paseq | ׀ | ||||
etnakhta/atnakh | ֑ | segol | ֒ | ||||
shalshelet | ֓ | zaqef qaton | ֔ | ||||
zaqef gadol | ֕ | tifcha/tarkha | ֖ | ||||
rivia/ravia’ | ֗ | zarqa | ֘ | ||||
pashta | ֙ | yetiv | ֚ | ||||
tevir | ֛ | geresh/gerish | ֜ | ||||
geresh muqdam | ֝ | gershayim/shenei gereshin | ֞ | ||||
arney parah | ֟ | telisha gedola/ga’ya talsha | ֠ | ||||
pazer (gadol) | ֡ | atnah hafukh | ֢ | ||||
munakh/shofar holekh | ֣ | mahapakh/shofar mehupakh | ֤ | ||||
merkha/ma’arikh | ֥ | merkha kefula/terei ta’amei | ֦ | ||||
darga | ֧ | qadma | ֨ | ||||
telisha qetana/tarsa | ֩ | yerah ben yomo | ֪ | ||||
ole | ֫ | illuy | ֬ | ||||
dehi | ֭ | zinor | ֮ | ||||
The Hebrew word תְּ֠לִישָא translates into English as detached. This is because they are never linked to the following note as a single phrase. קְטַנָּה refers to little (the shorter note) and גְדוֹלָה to great (the longer note).
The Telisha gedola can be found in the Torah 266 times.[2] The Telisha ketana occurs 451 times.[3]
Total occurrences
Book | Telisha ketana |
Telisha gedola |
---|---|---|
Torah | 451[3] | 266[3] |
Genesis | 92[3] | 51[3] |
Exodus | 87[3] | 42[3] |
Leviticus | 71[3] | 56[3] |
Numbers | 88[3] | 50[3] |
Deuteronomy | 113[3] | 67[3] |
Nevi'im | 413[4] | 238[4] |
Ketuvim | 350[4] | 335[4] |
Melody
While the names "Telisha Ketana" and "Telisha Gedola" are 6 syllables each, they are usually applied to words with far fewer syllables, often just one. In one-syllable words, only the notes leading to and from the peak are included. In multiple-syllable words, the additional syllables are recited at the level of the first note leading up to the peak.
Telisha Ketana
Telisha Gedola
References
- A compendious grammar of the Hebrew language By G. F. R. Weidemann, page 49
- Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 241
- Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6
- Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5