What is the haftarah portion?

The haftarah or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) haftorah (alt. haphtara, Hebrew: הפטרה‎) “parting,” “taking leave”, (plural form: haftarot or haftoros) is a series of selections from the books of Nevi’im (“Prophets”) of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice.

What is the haftarah for Simchat Torah?

After the portion of Genesis is read, the Maftir, Numbers 29:35–30:1, is read from a third Torah scroll. The passage describes the prescribed offerings performed for the holiday. The haftarah (reading from the prophets) is the first section of the Book of Joshua.

What is the Torah portion of the Bible?

The Torah (/ˈtɔːrə, ˈtoʊrə/; Hebrew: תּוֹרָה‎, “Instruction”, “Teaching” or “Law”) includes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, named: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. When used in that sense, Torah means the same as Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses.

How many Torah portions are there?

There are 54 weekly portions or parashot. Torah reading mostly follows an annual cycle beginning and ending on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, with the divisions corresponding to the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, which contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between leap years and regular years.

What is Shemini Atzeret Simchat Torah?

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are the culmination of the High Holiday season that starts with the Hebrew month of Elul and Rosh Hashanah, and continues with the 10 Days of Repentance, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.

Why do we do Hakafot on Simchat Torah?

On Simchat Torah, the custom is to take the Torah scrolls out of the Ark and to encircle the reader’s platform and throughout the synagogue with great joy, singing, and dancing. Circular Hakafot are a symbol of perfection and unity, or sometimes a symbol of communal cooperation.

How many Torah portions are in the Torah?

When was Haftarah written?

The Haftarah originated in the pre-70 C.E. period. Scholars now understand that, in this early period, synagogues were places of studying and of Torah reading, but not usually places of formal prayer.

What is the longest Torah portion?

The parashah
The parashah is the longest of the weekly Torah portions in the book of Exodus (although not the longest in the Torah, which is Naso), and is made up of 7,424 Hebrew letters, 2,002 Hebrew words, 139 verses, and 245 lines in a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah).

Why is there no passage in Isaiah in the haftarah?

Thus, all of the customs related to the haftarah readings omit the passage in Isaiah whose focus is the well-known verse, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son” (7:14), because it is the foundation of the Christian belief in the concept of the Virgin Mary and the virgin birth of Jesus.

What is the haftarah in the Bible?

Haftarah. The Haftarah reading follows the Torah reading on each Sabbath and on Jewish festivals and fast days. Typically, the haftarah is thematically linked to the parasha ( Torah Portion) that precedes it. The haftarah is sung in a chant (known as ” trope ” in Yiddish or ” Cantillation ” in English).

What portion of the haftarah do we read on fast days?

For Minchah on fast days (apart from the Day of Atonement) it is always Isaiah 55:6–56:7. In a few cases the haftarah is not a continuous portion (cf. Meg. 4:4). The origin of the custom of reading a portion of the prophets after the Torah reading is unknown.

Do blessings precede or follow the haftarah?

Blessings both precede and follow the haftarah reading. One reason the reading of the haftarah is a special honor is because of the voluminous blessings the accompany the reading.