DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 474 KB)
What Kind of Book or Scroll Should be Used for the Haftara Reading?

Every Shabbat and Yom Tob, the congregation conducts a Haftara reading from the Prophets after the Torah reading. What is the preferred book that a congregation should use for this reading?

Ideally, the congregation should use what we call a "Sefer Haftarot," a parchment containing all the Haftarot readings. This parchment does not contain the entire Prophets section of the Tanach; it includes only the Haftarot. Nevertheless, it is the most preferable scroll to use for the Haftara reading.

If no such scroll is available, then a congregation should use a printed Tanach, a book containing the entire Torah, Prophets and Ketubim. Indeed, most synagogues keep a large edition of the Tanach near the Bima (table) and use it for the Haftara reading. This is the preferred practice if a Sefer Haftarot parchment is not available.

If the congregation does not even have a printed Tanach, then the Haftara should be read from any Humash where the Haftara is printed. However, although this practice does have ancient origins and is grounded in Halachic sources, the more preferred practice, as mentioned, is to read from a Sefer Haftarot parchment, or at least from a printed Tanach.

Summary: Ideally, the Haftara should be read from a "Sefer Haftarot" parchment, which contains all the Haftarot. Otherwise, it should be read from a printed Tanach. Only if these are not available may the Haftara be read from an ordinary printed Humash.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Carrying on Shabbat: Rings and Pins
Is it Permissible to Exercise or Have a Massage on Shabbat?
The Custom to Read Shir Hashirim On Friday Night
Using Voice Activation Systems on Shabbat
The Time For Ending Shabbat
May One Violate Shabbat to Protect His Property From Looters?
Customs When Announcing Rosh Hodesh in the Synagogue on Shabbat
Is it Permissible to Repeat Sections of the Torah Reading to Add Aliyot?
Moving Candlesticks on Shabbat After the Flames Go Out
Which Prayers May Be Recited by the Light of the Shabbat Candles?
Tying Neckties and Garbage Bags on Shabbat
Tying and Untying Knots on Shabbat
Is It Permissible to Trap a Deer Inside a Home on Shabbat?
Is It Permissible to Trap a Bug on Shabbat?
Trapping Explained- One of the 39 Forbidden Melachot on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found