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Chapter 4 Thought Questions

1. Define the word “cantillation.”  What part does it play in the Jewish liturgy and what is its significance there?
   
2. What, exactly, is a ta’am?”  How are te’amim constructed?
   
3. Who were the masoretes and what did they do?
   
4. Explain Abraham Ibn Ezra's twelfth-century statement: "Any interpretation inconsistent with the te'amim you must reject." 
   
5. What is a ba’al kri’ah? What makes that task difficult?