Tifcha

Tifcha (Hebrew: טִפְחָ֖א‎, also spelled Tifkha, Tipcha and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books that are chanted. In Sephardic and Oriental traditions, it is called Tarcha, meaning "dragging" or "effort".

Tipcha
טִפְחָ֖א ֖ הָא֖וֹר
cantillation
Sof passuk׃  paseq׀
etnachta֑  segol֒
shalshelet֓  zaqef qatan֔
zaqef gadol֕  tifcha֖
rivia֗  zarqa֘
pashta֙  yetiv֚
tevir֛  geresh֜
geresh muqdam֝  gershayim֞
qarney para֟  telisha gedola֠
pazer֡  atnah hafukh֢
munach֣  mahapakh֤
merkha֥  merkha kefula֦
darga֧  qadma֨
telisha qetana֩  yerah ben yomo֪
ole֫  illuy֬
dehi֭  zinor֮

The Tifcha is found in both the Etnachta group as the second member of that group, and in the Sof passuk group, though the melody varies slightly in each. While it is a weak sound, it is considered to be stronger than a Tevir[1]

The Hebrew word טִפְחָ֖א translates into English as diagonal. It is related to the word tefach (טפח, measurement of the palm). The tifcha does not have a separating value of its own, as it is in the middle of a set of words.[2]

Tifcha occurs in the Torah 11,285 times, more than any other trope sound. Tifcha is the only trope sound to appear more than 10,000 times in the Torah.[3]

The first word of the Torah בראשית (Bereshit) is on a Tifcha.

Total occurrences
Book Number of appearances
Torah 11,285[3]
   Genesis 2968[3]
   Exodus 2350[3]
   Leviticus 1667[3]
   Numbers 2435[3]
   Deuteronomy 1865[3]
Nevi'im 9756[4]
Ketuvim 6497[4]

Melodies

Melodies for tifcha, as for all other cantillation marks, is different in different traditions. The diagrams below show the Polish-Lithuanian tradition.

In Ethnachta group

In Sof Passuk group

Occurrence rules

In the Etnachta group, the tifcha will always occur, regardless of whether or not there is a Mercha.[5] Before a Sof Passuk, the Tifcha can only occur in conjunction with a Mercha.[6]

References
  1. Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 9
  2. Delimitation criticism: a new tool in biblical scholarship By Marjo Christina Annette Korpel, Josef M. Oesch, page 91
  3. Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6
  4. Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5
  5. An easy, practical Hebrew grammar: with exercises for translation ..., Volume 2 By Ph Mason, Herman Hedwig Bernard, page 239
  6. An easy, practical Hebrew grammar: with exercises for translation ..., Volume 2 By Ph Mason, Herman Hedwig Bernard, page 240


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