Tipcha

Tipcha (Hebrew: טִפְּחָא, also spelled Tifkha, Tifcha and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books that are chanted. In Sephardic and Oriental traditions, it is called Tarcha, meaning "dragging" or "effort".

The Tipcha is found in both the Etnachta group as the second member of that group, and in the Sof passuk group, though the melody varies slightly in each. While it is a weak sound, it is considered to be stronger than a Tevir¹

The Hebrew word טִפְחָא translates into English as diagonal. It is related to the word tefach (טפח, measurement of the palm). The tipcha does not have a separating value of its own, as it is in the middle of a set of words.²

Tipcha occurs in the Torah 11,285 times, more than any other trope sound. Tipcha is the only trope sound to appear more than 10,000 times in the Torah.³

The first word of the Torah בראשית (Bereshit) is on a Tipcha.

Melodies for Tipcha, like other cantillation marks, vary in different traditions. The diagrams below show a possible way of chanting it in the Polish-Lithuanian tradition.

In the Etnachta group, the Tipcha will always occur, regardless of whether or not there is a Mercha.⁵ Before a Sof Passuk, the Tipcha can only occur in conjunction with a Mercha.⁶