Bension Kohen

Bension Kohen
Bension Kohen
Born	Djerba, Tunisia
Died	~1999; Jerusalem, Israel
Resting place	Jerusalem
Residence	Jerusalem
Nationality	Tunisian, Israeli
Known for	Hebrew grammar work "Sfath Emeth", Mentor of Rabbi David Bar-Chayim of Machon Shilo, Jerusalem
Title	Rabbi
Relatives	Eliyahu Kohen (cousin)

Rabbi Bension HaKohen Kohen, (or Ben Zion Cohen in Djerba, Tunisia – after 1992 in Jerusalem), an expert in Hebrew grammar (Dikduk) and Hebrew literature, author of the critical Sfath Emeth analytic literary work on the correct and authentic pronunciation of the Hebrew alphabet. He lived in Jerusalem in close proximity to the Nablus gate until his untimely passing in 1999.

Lineage

In the introduction to his work, the Rabbi provided a detailed lineage going back over a dozen generations of kohanim born at Djerba, among his patrilineal ancestors are Rabbi Shaul HaKohen (d. 1848), himself an author of multiple Rabbinical works – including Dikduk.^[1]

Yehoyada HaKohen

The Rabbi cites an alternate yet similar lineage table citing the patrilineal family source to a certain ""נוריש יהוידע הכהן" ("Heritage of Yehoyada HaKohen"). This lineage table seems to trace back an additional step from the said "Yitzchok HaKohen the elder" who had emigrated from Israel to Djerba at the Second Temple Destruction, the alternate lineage source seems to hint that the family traced itself to biblical Yehoyada Kohen Gadol, an artifact that is somewhat plausible based on Rav Hai Gaon's known letter^[2] penned to the kohanim of Djerba.

Sfath Emeth

His flagship work, the 'Sfath Emeth', first printed in Jerusalem (1987),^[3] and has since been praised by his contemporaries as well as halakhic authorities of various orthodox communities. The work stresses the authentic pronunciation of the 22 Hebrew letters based on geonic literature and Hebrew dikduk predecessors such as Rav Saadya Gaon, Rabbi Yitzchok Ben Shlomo Yisraeli and the Radak.

Table of pronunciation

Rabbi Kohen's research led him to produce a table of pronunciation, the table has been published – with minor variations than what is listed below – on page 150 of his Sfath Emeth work:

Hebrew letter	IPA	Similar-sounding Arabic letter	Similar English sound	Jewish community with correct pronunciation	Varying pronunciation error
א - Alef	[ʔ]	ا	button	Most Jewish communities	H
בּ - Beth	[b]	ب	B	All Jewish communities	none
ב - Veth	[v]	Non-existent	V	Ashkenazim, Temanim	בּ and פ
גּ - Gimmel (Degusha)	[g]	Non-existent	G	Ashkenazim and Sefardim	ج (jīm)
ג - Gimmel	[ɣ]	غ	Gh (French)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Gimmel degusha
דּ - Daleth (Degusha)	[d]	د	D	All communities	none
ד - Daleth	[ð]	ذ	the	Temanim	Dalet degusha
ה - Hey	[h]	ه	H	Ashkenazim, Sefardim	Alef
ו - Waw	[w]	و	W	Temanim, Iraqi Jews	V
ז - Zayin	[z]	ز	Z	Most communities	[ʒ] (soft J, like French Jean)
ח - Ḥeth	[ħ]	ح	Non-existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Chof, Hey
ט - Teth	[tˤ]	ط	Non-existent (T, yet thicker)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Taw degusha
י - Yodh	[j]	ي	Y	All Jewish communities	none
כּ - Kaph	[k]	ك	K	All Jewish communities	none
כ - Kaph (non degusha, spelled also Chof)	[χ]	خ	Non-existent	All communities	none
ל - Lamedh	[l]	ل	L	All Jewish communities	none
מ - Mem	[m]	م	M	All Jewish communities	none
נ - Nun	[n]	ن	N	All Jewish communities	none
ס - Samech	[s]	س	S	All Jewish communities	none
ע - Ayin	[ʢ]	ع	Non existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Alef, Gimmel non-degusha
פּ - Peh	[p]	Non existent	P	Most Jewish communities	Peh (non-degusha), Beth
פ - Peh non-degusha	[f]	ف	F	All Jewish communities	none
צ - Ṣade	[sˤ]	ص	Non-existent (pronounced as a thicker-sounding S)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Samech, "Tz" sound
ק - Kof	[q]	ق	Non-existent	Iragi and North-African Jewry	Kafh, Gimmel, Alef, Gimmel (non-degusha)
ר Resh	[r]	ر	Non-existent	Eastern-European and Asian Jewry	Gimmel (Non-degusha), (American R)
שׁ Shin	[ʃ]	ش	Sh	Most Jewish communities	Samech
שׂ Sin	[s]	س	S	Most Jewish communities	Shin
תּ Taw	[t]	ت	T	All Jewish communities	None
ת Taw (non degusha)	[θ]	ث	Th	Iraqi and Yemenite Jewish communities	Samech, Taw (degusha)

Bibliography

Sfath Emeth, Jerusalem 1987

References

↑
- לחם הביכורים - על חכמת הדקדוק, ליוורנו, תר"ל, באתר HebrewBooks
- בגדי כהונה ונוכח השולחן - סביב השולחן ערוך * יד שאול - על התנ"ך, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks
- קרני רמים - על פירוש רש"י ורא"ם לתורה
- בינה לעתים – על חכמת העיבור, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks
↑ Ginzei Kedem vol. 4 p 54
↑ The Sfat Emet linguistic work quoted by "The Copper scroll--3Q15: a reevaluation : a new reading, translation, and commentary" - Judah K. Lefkovits (Brill, 2000), p. 560

External links

Correct pronunciation of the Hebrew letters א - י Rabbi Bar Chayim of Machon Shilo on Rabbi Kohen's method of Hebrew pronunciation – YouTube
Correct pronunciation of the Hebrew letters כ - צ Rabbi Bar Chayim of Machon Shilo on Rabbi Kohen's method of Hebrew pronunciation – YouTube
Correct pronunciation of the Hebrew letters ק - ת Rabbi Bar Chayim of Machon Shilo on Rabbi Kohen's method of Hebrew pronunciation – YouTube
Correct pronunciation of the Hebrew vowels Rabbi Bar Chayim of Machon Shilo on Rabbi Kohen's method of Hebrew pronunciation – YouTube

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[1] 
לחם הביכורים - על חכמת הדקדוק, ליוורנו, תר"ל, באתר HebrewBooks

בגדי כהונה ונוכח השולחן - סביב השולחן ערוך * יד שאול - על התנ"ך, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks

קרני רמים - על פירוש רש"י ורא"ם לתורה

בינה לעתים – על חכמת העיבור, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks

[mwAVw] לחם הביכורים - על חכמת הדקדוק, ליוורנו, תר"ל, באתר HebrewBooks

[mwAV8] בגדי כהונה ונוכח השולחן - סביב השולחן ערוך * יד שאול - על התנ"ך, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks

[mwAWM] קרני רמים - על פירוש רש"י ורא"ם לתורה

[mwAWQ] בינה לעתים – על חכמת העיבור, ג'רבה, באתר HebrewBooks

[2] Ginzei Kedem vol. 4 p 54

[3] The Sfat Emet linguistic work quoted by "The Copper scroll--3Q15: a reevaluation : a new reading, translation, and commentary" - Judah K. Lefkovits (Brill, 2000), p. 560