Yissakhar?

In the Torah one of the children of Jacob is called Yissachar. How was that name pronounced in Hebrew? Yissakhar or Yissasskhar?

Good question. In the Torah the name is written as Yissasskhar. Yet many people pronounce the name without the additional “sin” [s]. If the name is pronounced differently than spelled it would be a major problem for us.  There are instances where words are vocalized differently than they are written.

Sephardim have reckoned with that the universal pronunciation of the name is Yissakhar. In the Ashkenazic world however opinions are divided. There are those who say that the first time the name occurs in Genesis, the double consonant if pronounced.  All other times the second “sin” is ignored.  Others indicate that the pronunciation must always be the same, Yissasskhar.

Our usual, most normative, practice is to pronounce the name as Yissakhar.