1. Start Here

Question 1

True or false: When reading Torah in public, every word is chanted according to a specific melody.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

What are tropes?

Answer 2

Tropes are symbols found in the Hebrew Bible which represent musical phrases that are used to chant those texts during public readings in synagogue. Each trope represents a sound or series of sounds, or musical notes, that is used to chant a particular word or phrase.

Question 3

Tropes are known in Hebrew as…

Answer 3

Ta’amei HaMikra

Question 4

Name the three functions of trope.

Answer 4

MAP

1. Melody
2. Accent
3. Punctuation

Question 5

Where are tropes found?

Answer 5

Above, below and even in between words.

Question 6

How are tropes organized?

Answer 6

Tropes appear in set types of sequences that are repeated often throughout any given reading.

Question 7

True or false:

Tropes are always located above the words to which they belong.

Answer 7

False.

Some tropes appear above while others appear below the words to which they belong.

Question 8

Over (or under) which syllable of a word will it’s trope appear?

Answer 8

With a few notable exceptions, the trope will appear above or below the FIRST LETTER of the accented, or emphasized, syllable. If below, it will appear just to the left of the letter’s vowel.

Question 9

What is a disjunctive trope?

Answer 9

Disjunctive tropes serve to separate words by creating a slight pause after them. Just as in English, in which we use different types of punctuation to create varying amounts is space between words (e.g. a period is stronger than a comma), different tropes serve different purposes in a phrase or verse.

Question 10

What is a conjunctive trope?

Answer 10

Conjunctive tropes serve to link words together.