Tikkunim revisited

I've noticed a number of people have come to my site looking for recommendations for a good tikkun, due to my previous post some months ago in search of one myself.

I have since looked at a ridiculous number of tikkunim in my search for the 'best' (quite subjectively, based on my criteria mentioned in the previous post). I ended up buying one, and will probably buy three more to round out my collection.

Thus, my official recommendations:

1) "Tikkun Kor'im Hameduyak" from the Ish Matzliach, published by "Machon HaRav Mazliach". This is the tikkun I use for most of my preparation.

Pluses:
- It's very large (a plus for when I'm tired and my eyes aren't focusing well)
- Very clear typesetting; the font is quite readable, words are well-spaced, and nikkud and te'amim are distinct and carefully placed.
- The text seems to be fairly good. It differs in some places from the Koren edition, but in those cases almost always agrees with Breuer.
- There is very little 'clutter'. A few abnormal notes or bits of nikkud are carefully footnoted (generally 1-3 per page), but other than that there are *no* extraneous marks... IMHO, a great plus over the Tikkun Simanim. The footnotes also give a few leyning tips - generally when a commentator specifies that it should be read with a conscious pause to emphasize the correct meaning (most of the time being in line with the te'amim).
- Abnormal syllables are marked (ie, mil'ra when one would have expected mil'eil or vice versa). The mark is inline with the right-hand text (as are k'ri/k'tiv differences), which seems confusing but one quickly adapts to.
- Shva nah/nach are labelled, as are kamatz katan/gadol and dagesh kal/dagesh chazak. The symbols are fairly intuitive and relatively subtle, so a quick reading can ignore the differences and focus on the words.
- Weekday aliyot are marked.
- There are short overviews of hilchot k'riat hatorah, hilchot sefer torah (ie when to tell if a word is pasul or not), and k'lalei hadikduk. The text is fairly clear, though could use a few more figures.

Minuses:
- It's a Sefaradi tikkun, so aliyah breaks can sometimes be a little bit skewed from an Ashkenazi tradition. Sometimes this is marked in a footnote; other times it is not. Haftarot have both Sefaradi and Ashkenazi versions, however, so all one needs to do is check the aliyah length to confirm it matches with one's tradition.
- The tikkun only has Megillat Esther and no other megillot.
- Haftarah sections only have one column; this can be an issue if one is learning to leyn from a scroll.
- It's awfully big, which can be a pain to lug around and keep on the bimah. (Yes, I also listed this as a plus. So sue me.)


2) "Tikkun Simanim", the most popular tikkun in use today. I only looked carefully at the Ashkenazi version, but the Sefaradi version seems to be comparable, with only minor differences. I don't own this yet (though I have bought it for another leyner), but expect I'll buy it relatively soon and keep it as a reference, perhaps as one run through to check everything.

Pluses:
- It's got every possible bell and whistle - every bit of nikkud is marked, weird te'amim/pronunciations are footnoted some ridiculously number of different ways, and they even have little marks for parallel structure to make learning easier.
- Importantly, it has the Minchat Shai along the side, which is one of the major authorities on differing manuscripts and the 'correct' masoretic version. Generally, the tikkun follows the Minchat Shai.
- It comes in three different sizes, which is nice as it allows one to prepare with a larger size, but to bring the smaller one along for shul or traveling.
- All five megillot are there (IIRC), and haftarot have two columns (again, IIRC, I don't have it in front of me; I'll edit it if this is incorrect)
- There's a very nice introduction to nikkud and te'amim with lots of examples and figures.
- Nice, but occasionally annoying: it differentiates between things like Pashta and Kadma (even though anyone who looks at the word should be able to tell) and between P'sik and Munach l'garmeh (useful, though again not too exciting).

Minuses:
- The page is too busy. There's footnotes, random other pronunciation guides, etc. all over the page.
- This was the killer for me: On the left hand side are 'shaded' phrases that show parallel structure, with footnotes to explanations on how best to learn the section. It may be useful for some people, but when I want to learn on the left-hand side, I want it to look exactly like in the scroll... and not with any helpful hints.
- Because of all of the information crammed into each page, the typeset is fairly small, which can be a pain in poor lighting or when one is tired.

In short: it's the most complete tikkun out there, and it's a great reference book, but not one I would use for the bulk of my preparation.

3) The Tikkun put out by the Koren chaps. I won't give pluses or minuses for this, but just discuss it. As most of my readers who have gotten this far in the post will know, the Koren edition of the Tanach was for a long time the authoritative version, and it is still a highly respected edition. They put out a fairly frill-free Tanach that has a few nice features - the tikkun shows places where one can break for extra aliyot (or where one shouldn't), and has a very large, clearly readable typeset. The version I saw was not in the classical column format of most tikkunim, but I believe there is one out there that looks more 'tikkun-like'. One other complaint: the version I saw only had Megillat Esther, and not other megillot.

In short, it's a good idea to practice against the Koren edition at least once in prepping for a parsha, so it's a useful tikkun to have, but nowhere near essential if one has other copies of the Koren. The aliyah break suggestions are a nice touch, though.

4) This last tikkun is one I have only seen once and am planning on buying as soon as I can get my grubby paws on another copy. It was a tikkun put out by the Choreiv (Horeb) publishers, using the Breuer edition of the Tanach, based directly off of the Keter Aram Tzova/Aleppo Codex (those parts that survived). This text has IMHO superceded the Koren text as the authoritative Masoretic text, and I also try to use the Breuer Tanach in resolving differences between texts. Most of the differences are fairly minor (stuff like shvas vs. t'nuot chatufot), but I wouldn't be a leyner if I wasn't anal retentive.

It was an odd edition - very thick but kind of short. Facing pages corresponded to the 'marked' and 'unmarked' columns of a typical tikkun. IIRC, it only had Megillat Esther, and had next to no other marking/help that characterize the Ish Matzliach and Simanim tikkunim. The column format is nice in that if the scroll one is reading from has an unusual format (some do), the Breuer will prepare one very well for switching column formats without a hitch.

When I find this tikkun, I plan on using it as my 'bimah' tikkun. The typeset is large, there are *no* confusing extraneous marks, and the text is the best out there. I will probably prep with the Ish Matzliach, use the Simanim to look up specific words and phrases, and run through once with the Breuer to confirm all of my words are correct. The Koren will be pulled out for leyning at big simchahs where you've got half a dozen extra aliyot to squeeze in, or to adjudicate disputes between Tikkunim (in addition to the Breuer).

So, there you have it: my recommendations as a nearly professional leyner. I'd recommend that beginners get the Simanim tikkun just because it really holds your hand for everything... though you should make sure to do at least some prep with another tikkun! More advanced leyners should use the Ish Matzliach in conjuction with Breuer's (if you can find it).

I'm welcome any thoughts that visitors have on other tikkunim they use. I looked at another half-dozen or so, but these were the ones I felt were the best out there.

Enjoy, and happy leyning!

Oh, by the way. People who are looking to find copies of Rav Breuer's "Ta'amei Hamikra Bekaf-aleph Sefarim Uv'sifrei Eme"t" are going to have some trouble. My girlfriend's family scoured bookstores in Israel for days before they found one old copy buried somewhere. My advice would be to find a leyner who has it and borrow the book - either that, or get a kick-ass girlfriend. I'll try to write a review after I complete it to let you know if there's any information there that you can't find elsewhere. I certainly consider Breuer the authority regarding this kind of thing. Good luck!

Alternatively, the Simanim people put out a book called 'Tuv Ta'am' which seems to have a lot of the basic information. I plan on buying it sometime, but haven't gotten around to it yet. It's probably a good replacement for Breuer's book, though not straight from the horse's mouth.