Taam Elyon and Taam Tachton
20:1 “האלה לאמרוידבר אלקים את כל הדברים ”
“And HaShem spoke all these words, saying.” The Pesukim following are the Aseres Hadibros. What is the Torah telling us here by saying that Hakodosh Boruch Hu, “Spoke all these words,” saying? There is a Minhag in Klal Yisroel that everyone stands when the Ba’al Koreh reads the Aseres Hadibros from the Torah. Some have this Minhag only on Shavuos, and many have the Minhag to stand even when the Aseres Hadibros are read on Shabbos, Parshas Yisro, and Parshas Va’eschanan. Additionally, it is well known that the breakup of the Pesukim and the Trop, cantillations, are different when the Ba’al Koreh reads from the Torah and when one learns the Pesukim himself. One of them is called Ta’am Elyon, and the other is called Ta’am Tachton. The Ta’am Elyon divides the Ten Commandments by the 10 Divros; while the Ta’am Tachton divides them by pesukim. Ta’am Elyon is generally read amongst a Tzibur, while Ta’am Tachton is read at other times. Whereas the taam tachton divides the aseret hadbiros into 13 verses, the ta'am elyon divides the dibros into their ten distinct units.
Why do we have this concept of Ta’am Elyon and Ta’am Tachton by the Aseres Hadibros?
חזקוני – 20:14 “לא תחמד” – There are two different sets of tunes for the Aseres Hadibros: called Gedolos (which is commonly referred to as Ta’am Elyon) and Ketanos (which is commonly referred to as Ta’am Tachton). On Shavuos we read the Aseres Hadibros with the tune of the Gedolos, while in Shevat, the month on which we Lain Parshas Yisro, we Lain the Aseres Hadibros with the tune of the Ketanos. The reason that on Shavuos we Lain the tune of the Gedolos is because we want to mimic Matan Torah) for that is how God said the commandments at Sinai: ten independent and distinct statements), and we therefore break the Pesukim according to the Aseres Hadibros. Each one of the Dibros has its own Posuk, except for the first two which are said together in one Posuk, because they were said by Hakodosh Boruch Hu in one Dibbur. When we Lain Parshas Yisro (and Parshas Va’eschanan), when we are Laining the Parsha like all other Parshiyos of the Torah, we Lain it according to the rules and guidelines of all Parshiyos, and Lain it with the tune of the Ketanos. (One of the rules being that there cannot be a Posuk that has less than three words. In the Aseres Hadibros, Lained according to the Ta’am Elyon, we have Pesukim that are two words: לא תרצח, לא תנאף, לא תגנב.).
ביאור הלכה – 494 – “מבחודש השלישי” – For the Aseres Hadibros, there are two Nigunim, called Ta’am Elyon and Ta’am Tachton. The Trop are different in the two Nigunim, and that causes there to be different breaks in the Pesukim, as well as changing some Nekudos. On Shavuos, we Lain the Ta’am Elyon, in which the Pesukim are broken up based upon the Aseres Hadibros, because on that very day Klal Yisroel received the Torah. We therefore say the Aseres Hadibros the way they were given to us. However, when someone is learning the Torah, saying שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום, he says it the way it is written in the Torah, in what we call Ta’am Tachton. In regards to the Laining of Parshas Yisro and Va’eschanan, which has the Aseres Hadibros in it, it is Lained with the Ta’am Tachton. However, there are those who have the Minhag to Lain the Aseres Hadibros with the Ta’am Elyon whenever it is said with a Tzibur, which would include the Laining of Parshas Yisro and Va’eschanan.
לבוש – 141:4 “ואם השליח ציבור רוצה לעלות ולקרות” – Every time we have Krias Hatorah, it is to be a reenactment of Matan Torah. The Gabbai, the one who calls up the people to the Torah, is Kevayachol, like Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The Ba’al Koreh, is like Moshe Rabbeinu, and the one who is called up for the Aliyah represents Klal Yisroel, he is like the Shliach of Klal Yisroel accepting the Torah on their behalf.
כף החיים – 494:20 “מבחדש השלישי” – The Aseres Hadibros is read either with the Ta’am Elyon or the Ta’am Tachton, as brought down in the Chizkuni. The Chizkuni says that on Shavuos the Aseres Hadibros are Lained with the Ta’am Elyon, for that is the way it was given to Klal Yisroel on that day, Matan Torah, however when Laining Parshas Yisro one would Lain with the Ta’am Tachton. In the Sefer Torah Ohr, it says that individually, one always uses the Ta’am Tachton, while a Tzibur always uses Ta’am Elyon. The Ein Yaakov in Yerushalmi in Shekalim, seventh Perek, says the same thing, as well as many others. The accepted Minhag is like the Ohr Torah, that anytime a Tzibur reads the Aseres Hadibros, Ta’am Elyon is used, while individually, Ta’am Tachton is used.
