In a message dated 1/7/02 5:41:36 AM Eastern Standard Time, 06peterson AT cua.edu writes:
the shva can be counted as closing a syllable (so-called "silent" shva) or as the vowel in a syllable.
Technically, the vocal shewa is not the vowel in a syllable, it connects the consonant to the following consonant into one syllable.
In we'okhela. the syllables are we - 'o - khela.