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...
If a Candle Falls on the Table During Shabbat
May One Ask a Non-Jew to Light the Shabbat Candles After Shabbat Has Started?
Using Olive Oil and Wax Candles for the Shabbat Candle Lighting
Making a Verbal Declaration When Preparing for Shabbat
Covering the Bread on the Table on Shabbat and Yom Tob
Must One Eat Bread at Seudah Shlishit?
Must the Halla be on the Table During Kiddush?
Adding Aliyot on Shabbat
The Requirement to Eat Bread at Se’uda Shelishit
Until When Can One Recite “Asher Natan Shabbatot Li’mnuha” in Lieu of “Reseh” in Birkat Ha’mazon?
Shabbat – Practicing Penmanship in the Air; Observing a Mechanic
Having Children Perform Melacha on Shabbat; Halachot of Children During the Nine Days and Hol Ha’mo’ed
Leniencies That Apply During Ben Ha’shemashot at the Beginning and End of Shabbat
Separating Pages in a Book That are Attached
Annulling Vows on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found