Haftarah: What It Is, When It's Read, and How to Chant It
The Haftarah (in Ashkenazi pronunciation, "Haftorah") is a selection from Nevi'im, the books of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, that is publicly chanted in synagogue immediately after the Torah reading. The word comes from a Hebrew root meaning "to conclude" or "take leave," reflecting its role in rounding off the scriptural portion of the service. The Haftarah is usually a single passage chosen to thematically echo that day's Torah portion or the occasion — the Babylonian Talmud's guiding principle is that the Haftarah should "resemble" the Torah reading. It is framed by its own blessings: one before, and a cluster of blessings after. The custom of assigning a fixed Haftarah to each Torah portion did not exist in Talmudic times and developed later, though discussion of prophetic readings appears already in early (Tannaitic, roughly 2nd-century CE) sources such as the Mishnah.
When it’s read
The Haftarah is read on Shabbat mornings, festival mornings, and fast days. On Shabbat and festivals it belongs to the morning (Shacharit) service, chanted right after the Torah reading. On minor fast days it is customarily read at the afternoon (Minchah) service, though practice varies by community; the standard fast-day Minchah Haftarah is Isaiah 55:6-56:8 (some communities and printed editions end at 56:7). Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av are exceptions: each has a Haftarah at BOTH the morning and the afternoon service. Some weeks the calendar overrides the usual thematic match with the weekly portion. Before Tisha B'Av come the "Three of Affliction" (Three Haftarot of Rebuke), and on the seven Shabbatot from after Tisha B'Av until Rosh Hashanah come the "Seven of Consolation." By long-standing tradition the Shabbat Haftarah runs a minimum of 21 verses, with at least 15 sufficing on festivals (a shorter reading is permitted when the passage's topic concludes naturally).
Customs
The person who chants the Haftarah is first called for the final Torah aliyah, known as "maftir" ("the one who concludes"), reading a short Torah section — on a regular Shabbat, a repetition of the last few verses — with blessings before and after, and only then chanting the Haftarah. The Haftarah itself is surrounded by blessings: one before and a cluster of three or four after. On Shabbat the maftir and Haftarah blessings together total seven. In many congregations today the Haftarah is reserved for a bar or bat mitzvah celebrant, giving them a chance to demonstrate their chanting. A widely repeated explanation traces the custom's origin to a time when public Torah reading was banned — commonly attributed to the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes around 168-165 BCE — so a thematically related passage from the Prophets was read in its place; this is a popular theory rather than settled history, and scholars propose other origins as well. Specific selections still vary by rite: for Parashat Shemot, for example, Sephardim read Jeremiah 1, while Ashkenazim read from Isaiah 27-28 (Isaiah 27:6-28:13, with 29:22-23 appended), and Yemenite communities read from Ezekiel.
How it’s chanted
Yes — the Haftarah is chanted with cantillation, using a melody distinct from the weekly Torah trope. The cantillation signs (te'amim, the trope marks) are essentially the same set used for the Torah, but the melodies sung for them are different, so that a reading from the Prophets is audibly distinguished from a reading of the Torah. In Ashkenazi practice the Haftarah melody is one of roughly six distinct cantillation systems used across the year, alongside the weekly Torah, High Holiday Torah, Esther (Megillat Esther), Eichah (Lamentations), and the festival Megillot tunes. The Haftarah tune is often described as plaintive and in a minor key, with a reaching, yearning quality, though the actual melody is nusach-dependent and varies among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite, and other traditions. TropeTrainer includes voicing systems for Haftarah trope, so you can hear each cantillation sign sung in the melody of your tradition and learn it sign by sign.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the Haftarah?
The Haftarah is a passage from Nevi'im, the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible, chanted publicly in synagogue right after the Torah reading. It is usually chosen to echo the theme of the day's Torah portion or occasion, and it has its own blessings before and after.
When is the Haftarah read?
It is read on Shabbat mornings, festival mornings, and fast days. On Shabbat and festivals it is part of the morning (Shacharit) service; on minor fast days it is customarily read at the afternoon (Minchah) service, though practice varies. Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av have a Haftarah at both the morning and afternoon services.
How do you chant the Haftarah?
The Haftarah is chanted using cantillation (trope). It uses the same trope signs as the Torah but a different, distinct melody so the Prophets reading is set apart from the Torah reading. The best way to learn is to hear each sign sung and practice the passage phrase by phrase — TropeTrainer lets you do exactly that with Haftarah voicing systems for your tradition.
What is the difference between Haftarah and Torah trope?
They share the same set of cantillation marks (te'amim), but the melodies are different. The distinct Haftarah tune — often described as more plaintive and minor-key — signals to listeners that the reading comes from the Prophets rather than the Torah. The specific melody depends on your community's nusach.
Who reads the Haftarah, and why is it given to a bar or bat mitzvah?
The reader first receives the final Torah aliyah, called maftir, then chants the Haftarah. In many congregations the Haftarah is reserved for a bar or bat mitzvah celebrant because it is a self-contained reading with its own blessings, making it an ideal way for them to demonstrate their chanting.
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