Bension Kohen

Rabbi Bension Kohen
Personal life
Born	Djerba, Tunisia
Died	1999 Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality	Tunisian, Israeli
Religious life
Religion	Judaism

Rabbi Bension Kohen or haKohen (Hebrew: בֶּנְצִיּוֹן הַכֹּהֵן; born in Djerba, Tunisia, died 1999 in Jerusalem) was a writer of literature on Hebrew grammar and literature. He was the author of Sfath Emeth, a work on the pronunciation of the Hebrew alphabet.

Lineage

In the introduction to his work, Kohen provides a purported lineage going back over a dozen generations of kohanim born at Djerba. Among his claimed patrilineal ancestors are Rabbi Shaul HaKohen (d. 1848), himself an author of multiple works on Hebrew grammar. Citing a similar lineage table from Heritage of Yehoyada HaKohen (נוריש יהוידע הכהן), Kohen claims to trace the family back to Yitzchak HaKohen the Elder, who had emigrated from Israel to Djerba at the Second Temple Destruction.

Sfath Emeth

Kohen's flagship work, the Sfath Emeth, was first printed in Jerusalem in 1987. The work purports to present the "authentic" pronunciation of the 22 Hebrew letters based on Geonic literature and the work of Hebrew grammarians such as Rav Saadya Gaon, Rabbi Yitzhak ben Shlomo Yisraeli and the Radak.

Table of pronunciation

Rabbi Kohen's research led him to produce a table of pronunciation. The table was published (with minor variations from what is listed below) on page 150 of Sfath Emeth:

Hebrew letter	IPA	Similar-sounding Arabic letter	Similar English sound	Jewish community with correct pronunciation	Varying pronunciation error
א - Alef	[ʔ]	ا	button (English Cockney)	Most Jewish communities	H
בּ - Beth	[b]	ب	B	All Jewish communities	none
ב - Veth	[v]	Non-existent	V	Ashkenazim, Temanim	בּ and פ
גּ - Gimmel (Degusha)	[g]	Non-existent	G	Ashkenazim and Sefardim	ج (jīm)
ג - Gimmel	[ɣ]	غ	Gh (French)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Gimmel degusha
דּ - Daleth (Degusha)	[d]	د	D	All communities	none
ד - Daleth	[ð]	ذ	the	Temanim	Dalet degusha
ה - Hey	[h]	ه	H	Ashkenazim, Sefardim	Alef
ו - Waw	[w]	و	W	Temanim, Iraqi Jews	V
ז - Zayin	[z]	ز	Z	Most communities	[ʒ] (soft J, like French Jean)
ח - Ḥeth	[ħ]	ح	Non-existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Chof, Hey
ט - Teth	[tˤ]	ط	Non-existent (T, yet thicker)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Taw degusha
י - Yodh	[j]	ي	Y	All Jewish communities	none
כּ - Kaph	[k]	ك	K	All Jewish communities	none
כ - Kaph (non degusha, spelled also Chof)	[χ]	خ	Non-existent	All communities	none
ל - Lamedh	[l]	ل	L	All Jewish communities	none
מ - Mem	[m]	م	M	All Jewish communities	none
נ - Nun	[n]	ن	N	All Jewish communities	none
ס - Samech	[s]	س	S	All Jewish communities	none
ע - Ayin	[ʢ]	ع	Non existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Alef, Gimmel non-degusha
פּ - Peh	[p]	Non existent	P	Most Jewish communities	Peh (non-degusha), Beth
פ - Peh non-degusha	[f]	ف	F	All Jewish communities	none
צ - Ṣade	[sˤ]	ص	Non-existent (pronounced as a thicker-sounding S)	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Samech, "Tz" sound
ק - Kof	[q]	ق	Non-existent	Iragi and North-African Jewry	Kafh, Gimmel, Alef, Gimmel (non-degusha)
ר Resh	[r]	ر	Non-existent	Eastern-European and Asian Jewry	Gimmel (Non-degusha), (American R)
שׁ Shin	[ʃ]	ش	Sh	Most Jewish communities	Samech
שׂ Sin	[s]	س	S	Most Jewish communities	Shin
תּ Taw	[t]	ت	T	All Jewish communities	None
ת Taw (non degusha)	[θ]	ث	Th	Iraqi and Yemenite Jewish communities	Samech, Taw (degusha)

See also

• El Ghriba synagogue