Now You Know The trop, or cantillation marks, which go along with the words of the Torah and direct us how to pronounce and actually sing the words, each have names. Commentaries like the Vilna Gaon famously used the trop to add insight to a number of verses, and there is one in Parshas Vayelech from which can learn. Chazal tell us that when a person sins and repeats it, it becomes as if it is permitted to him. In other words, the more he does it, the more insensitive he grows toward the transgression. We also have the concept of chazaka, that when something happens three times, it changes from happenstance to intentional and permanent. In Devarim 31:16 the Torah speaks of one who serves other gods. The next posuk says, “And My anger will flare against him on that day and I will abandon him.” The trop is, “munach, munach, munach, t’lisha gedola, gershayim.” Munach means to place down, or leave something at rest. Three times, G-d will not take action. After that, when it becomes “permanent,” there is T’lisha gedola, a big separation, and then gershayim, which means to send away. Once a person sins so much that it becomes normal behavior, HaShem breaks with him. The way to correct that is to come closer to G-d four times, so that it becomes normal for him to be close. Perhaps this is one reason why there must be a minimum of four days of selichos, supplications of asking forgiveness, prior to Rosh HaShana, so his connection to G-d is once again permanent.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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