shalshelet | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
cantillation | |||||||
Sof passuk | ׃ | Paseq | ׀ | ||||
Etnakhta/atnakh | ֑ | Segol | ֒ | ||||
Shalshelet | ֓ | Zakef katan | ֔ | ||||
Zakef gadol | ֕ | Tifcha/tarkha | ֖ | ||||
Rivia | ֗ | Zarka | ֘ | ||||
Pashta | ֙ | Yetiv | ֚ | ||||
Tevir | ֛ | Geresh | ֜ | ||||
Geresh muqdam | ֝ | Gershayim | ֞ | ||||
Karne parah | ֟ | Telisha gedola/talsha | ֠ | ||||
Pazer | ֡ | Atnah hafukh | ֢ | ||||
Munakh/shofar holekh | ֣ | Mahpach | ֤ | ||||
Merkha/ma’arikh | ֥ | Mercha kefula | ֦ | ||||
Darga | ֧ | Qadma | ֨ | ||||
Telisha qetana/tarsa | ֩ | Yerah ben yomo | ֪ | ||||
Ole | ֫ | Illuy | ֬ | ||||
Dehi | ֭ | Tsinnorit | ֮ | ||||
The Shalshelet (Hebrew: שַלְשֶלֶת) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah. It is one of the rarest used, occurring just four times in the entire Torah,[1] in Genesis 19:16, 24:12, and 39:8, and in Leviticus 8:23. The four words accented with the shalshelet mark all occur at the beginning of the verse.[2]
The Hebrew word שַׁלְשֶׁ֓לֶת translates into English as chain.[3] Kabbalistic authors have held that this shows the connection of the worlds by the links of a chain.[4][5] The symbolism of the Shalshelet is that the subject of the story is wrestling with his inner demons and is undergoing some hesitation in his actions.[6][7]
It is rendered musically by a long and elaborate string of notes, giving a strong emphasis to the word on which it occurs.