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The Munach (Hebrew: מֻנַּח, also spelled Munah or Munakh), translating to English as "to rest," is a common cantillation sound. In Sephardi and Oriental traditions it is often called Shofar holekh. It is marked with a right angle below the corresponding word.
Contents
The munach is found in various groups, including the Katon, Etnachta, and Segol groups. One or more munachs can be followed by many different trope sounds, including Zakef katon, Etnachta, Rivia, Zarka, Segol, and Pazer. It is normally used when the number of syllables in a phrase are so long that an extra note is required to accommodate all the syllables.
The munach is normally a short note. But when it is the first of two munachs followed by a Revia, it has a longer melody. In this case it may also be called legarmeh (מֻנַּח לְגַרְמֵ֣הּ׀).
Appearances
The munach has the following appearances in the following sequences:
* When there are two Munachs before a Rivia (legarmeh), there is generally a vertical line (|) drawn between the words to indicate this.
The munach as shown is not always present in all cases.
Occasionally, in the Katon group, a second Munach will be inserted. This occurs when the words have more syllables, and cannot be accommodated by a single munach.
Munach occurs in the Torah 8777 times. Legarmeh occurs 283 times.
Rivia group
The Munach preceding another Munach before a Rivia:
The Munach immediately preceding a Rivia:
Segol group
Before a Zarka:
Before a Segol:
Mnemonic Device
Some Bar-mitzvah instructors help their students remember the right-angle symbol of Munach by telling their students to think of the square framed glasses which were typically worn by the engineers involved in the moon landing which popular in the late 1960s.