Darga

Darga (Hebrew: דַּרְגָּא) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books. The symbol for the darga resembles a backwards Z.¹

The darga is a conjunctive (mesharet) which precedes disjunctives (mafsikim) Tevir, Mercha kefula and Revia, but the cases in which it appears differ dependig on the disjunctive:

• Before a Tevir, the conjunctive is a darga only when there is at least four syllables between the conjunctive and the disjunctive (both included) as in וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים (Genesis 1:4). Otherwise it is a Mercha
• When there is two conjunctives before a Revia, the first one is a darga (the second one is a Munach as usual)
• The conjunctive which precedes a mercha kefulah is always a darga

The Aramaic word דַּרְגָּא translates into English as step.

The Ashkenazic darga is recited in a fast, downward slope, as follows:

The Sefardic darga is ascending, and the Moroccan darga is descending with a waver in the middle.⁴