Foreword: The Haftarah Reading: The Leopard in Our Sanctuary
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Rabbi Barbara AB Symons
How to Use This Book
Haftarah from Biblical Times to the Present
Historical Context and Core Messages: Who Were the Biblical Prophets?
Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar
Reading from the Prophets: The History and Significance of the Haftarah Readings in Rabbinic Judaism and in the Reform Movement
Rabbi Richard S. Sarason, PhD
Connecting the Haftarah Readings with Social Justice Work: Reform Judaism from the Beginning of the Social Justice Movement to Today
Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, PhD
The Prophetic Voice in the Reform Movement Today
Rabbi Rachel Timoner
Contemporary Blessings for Prophetic Readings
Rabbi Samantha G. Frank and Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel
Alternative Blessings
Rabbi Samantha G. Frank and Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel, Cantor David Berger, Cantor Margot E.B.Goldberg and Rabbi Barbara AB Symons
Haftarot for the Weekly Torah Portions
GENESIS
B’reishit
Isaiah 42:5–43:10
I Samuel 20:31–42
Nehemiah 8:1–3; Rabbi Regina Jonas
Noach
Isaiah 54:1–55:5
“Tel Aviv: 1935,” by Leah Goldberg
“The Rainbow Haftarah,” by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Lech L’cha
Isaiah 40:27–41:16
“Traveler’s Prayer,” by Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg
“Let Go,” by Alden Solovy
Vayeira
II Kings 4:1–37
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Mat’not Aniyim 10:4
From Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends, by Elie Wiesel
Chayei Sarah
I Kings 1:1–31
Jeremiah 1:11‒19
From The Chosen, by Rabbi Chaim Potok
Tol’dot
Malachi 1:1–2:7
From Everyday Holiness, by Alan Morinis
“A Call to the Leaders of Islam for Peace and Brotherhood,”
by Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel and Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
Vayeitzei
Hosea 12:13–14:10
“Where Will I Find You,” by Y’hudah HaLevi
From “I and Thou,” by Martin Buber
Vayishlach
Hosea 11:7–12:12
II Samuel 13:1–3, 5, 9–12, 14–16, 18–20
“God Wrestler,” by Rick Lupert
Vayeishev
Amos 2:6–3:8
Psalm 126:1–6; Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 23a
▶ The First Shabbat of the Winter Cycle: Shabbat of Thanksgiving
Joshua 1:1–11, 5:1
Mikeitz 113
I Kings 3:15–4:1
Sh’mot Rabbah 18:12
▶ The Second Shabbat of the Winter Cycle
Jeremiah 29:4–14
Vayigash
Ezekiel 37:15–28
Psalm 73:1–3, 21–28
▶ The Third Shabbat of the Winter Cycle
Isaiah 2:1–5
Va-y’chi
I Kings 2:1–12
Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 12a
▶ The Fourth Shabbat of the Winter Cycle: Shabbat of New Year’s
Isaiah 56:1–7
EXODUS
Sh’mot
Isaiah 27:6–28:13, 29:22–23
The Sephardic Tradition / Jeremiah 1:1–10
Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 63a; Pirkei Avot 2:6
Va-eira
Ezekiel 28:25–29:21
“Pride,” by Dahlia Ravikovitch
Americans with Disabilities Act
Bo
Jeremiah 46:13–28
Zechariah 8:14–23
From “Religion and Race,” by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
B’shalach/Shabbat Shirah
Judges 4:4-5:31
From “My Parents’ Lodging Place,” by Yehuda Amichai
“The Fourfold Song,” by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Yitro
Isaiah 6:1–7:6, 9:5–6
Pirkei Avot 3:21
From Standing Again at Sinai, by Judith Plaskow
Mishpatim
Jeremiah 34:8–22, 33:25–26
“The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus
“The low road,” by Marge Piercy
T’rumah
I Kings 5:26–6:13
Song of Songs 3
Orchot Tzaddikim 2:6
T’tzaveh
Ezekiel 43:10–27
Isaiah 61:1–4, 6–11
Psalm 122
Ki Tisa
I Kings 18:1–39
“Before the Statue of Apollo,” by Shaul Tchernichovsky
“K’hilah K’doshah,” by Dan Nichols and Rabbi Michael Moskowitz
Vayak’heil
I Kings 7:40–50
“To be of use,” by Marge Piercy
From “When We Make Art Together, We Dream a Better World into Existence,”
by Caroline Rothstein
P’kudei
I Kings 7:51–8:21
Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 55a
“Gods Change, Prayers Are Here to Stay,” by Yehuda Amichai
LEVITICUS
Vayikra
Isaiah 43:21–44:23
From “Where Judaism Differs,” by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 1:
Pirkei Avot 1:1
Tzav
Jeremiah 7:21–8:3, 9:22–23
Avot D’Rabbi Natan 4
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 2:
Babylonian Talmud, M’nachot 29b
Sh’mini
II Samuel 6:1–7:17
Job 38:1–6, 40:1–5
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 3
Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 7a; Pirkei Avot 4:15
Tazria
II Kings 4:42–5:19
From Critique of the Gotha Program, by Karl Marx, 1875
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 4:
Babylonian Talmud, Eiruvin 13b; Pirkei Avot 5:20
M’tzora
II Kings 7:3–20
Mishnah Yoma 8:9
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 5:
Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 35b
Acharei Mot
Ezekiel 22:1–19
From “To a Young Jew of Today,” by Elie Wiesel
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 6:
Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 6b; B’rachot 7a
K’doshim
Amos 9:7–15
“V’ahavta,” by Marge Piercy
▶ S’firat HaOmer, Week 7:
Sh’mot Rabbah 28:6
Emor
Ezekiel 44:15–31
Isaiah 1:11–17
“Ready and Prepared,” by Trisha Arlin
B’har
Jeremiah 32:6–27
Joel 4:9–21
“The Horrors of Slavery,” by Ernestine Rose
B’chukotai
Jeremiah 16:19–17:14
“Teach Me, O God,” by Leah Goldberg
“For Complete Healing,” by Debbie Perlman
NUMBERS
B’midbar
Hosea 2:1–22
Psalm 136:1–9, 23–26
From Zohar 1:15b; Pardes Rimonim, by Moses Cordovero
Naso
Judges 13:2–25
Psalms 67:2, 116:12, 104:1a, 118:5, 27:9, 18:29, 31:8, 42:3, 34:15, 42:6
From “To Be a Jew: What Is It?” by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
B’haalot’cha
Zechariah 2:14–4:7
I Kings 19:1–8
From “I Speak to You as an American Jew,” by Rabbi Joachim Prinz
Sh’lach L’cha
Joshua 2:1–24
Psalm 91:1–12
“The Silver Platter,” by Natan Alterman
Korach
I Samuel 11:14–12:22
From Ben-Gurion, by Shimon Peres
From Jews and Words, by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger
Chukat
Judges 11:1–33
“Reciprocity,” by Laura Eve Engel
“You Are My Rock,” by Moshe Lavee
Balak
Micah 5:6–6:8
“When Evil Darkens Our World,” by Rabbi Chaim Stern
“Bein Kodesh L’chol” / “Between the Holy and the Mundane,” by Amir Dadon and Shuli Rand;
Psalm 51:13–17
Pinchas
I Kings 18:46–19:21
II Samuel 21:8–14
From “Bashert,” by Irena Klepfisz
Matot
Jeremiah 1:1–2:3
From “Can Women Serve as Rabbis?” by Rabbi Regina Jonas
From “Patriarchal Poetry,” by Gertrude Stein
Mas’ei
Jeremiah 2:4–28, 3:4 (Ashkenazic) or 2:4–28, 4:1–2 (Sephardic)
Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 29b; T’filat HaDerech
From “Trees,” by Leah Goldberg
DEUTERONOMY
D’varim
Isaiah 1:1–27
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a
From “Take This Poem and Copy It,” by Almog Behar
Va-et’chanan/Shabbat Nachamu
Isaiah 40:1–26
“V’ahavta,” by Aurora Levins Morales
“Tears, Too Close: A Prayer of Consolation,” by Alden Solovy
Eikev
Isaiah 49:14–51:3
“The Death of Adam,” by Howard Schwartz
“A Holy Nation,” by Rabbi Regina Jonas
R’eih
Isaiah 54:11–55:5
Jeremiah 5:20–31
“Blessing and the Curse,” by Rabbi Joe Black
Shof’tim
Isaiah 51:12–52:12
Correspondence, Moses Seixas to George Washington, August 17, 1790
▶ Elul, Week 1: Wisdom of Solomon 1:1, 8:1–13, 21
Ki Teitzei
Isaiah 54:1–10
Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 21:13
▶ Elul, Week 2: Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Dei-ot 1:4, 7
Ki Tavo
Isaiah 60:1–22
From When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
▶ Elul, Week 3: “Would an All-Powerful God Be Worthy of Worship?” by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
Nitzavim
Isaiah 61:10–63:9
Ezekiel 18:21–32
▶ Elul, Week 4: Nehemiah 6:1–13, 15
Vayeilech/Shabbat Shuvah
Isaiah 55:6–56:8/Hosea 14:2–10; Micah 7:18–20; Joel 2:15–27
Letter by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, 1942
“The Place Where We Are Right,” by Yehuda Amichai
Haazinu
II Samuel 22:1–51
Psalm 90
“Two Candles,” by Rabbi Zoë Klein
V’zot Hab’rachah
Joshua 1:1–18
Micah 4:1–10
Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 16b
Haftarot for the Traditional Jewish Calendar
Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Isaiah 66:1–13, 23
Psalm 104:19–35
“Split at the Root,” by Adrienne Rich
Shabbat Machar Chodesh
I Samuel 20:18–42
From “Beautiful City,” by Stephen Schwartz (from the musical Godspell)
“Adoni,” from Beloved King by J. Sylvan
Rosh HaShanah
I Samuel 1:1–2:10
Jeremiah 31:2–20
“The Shofar’s Calling,” by Rabbi Israel Zoberman
“The Judgment of Creation,” by Aharon Berechiah of Modena, 1610
From “Jews in the U.S.: The Rising Costs of Whiteness,” by Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
From “The Real Hero,” by Yehuda Amichai
For Shabbat Shuvah, see Vayeilech/Shabbat Shuvah, page 328
Yom Kippur, Morning
Isaiah 57:14–58:14
“Merger Poem,” by Judy Chicago
Leonard Fein, as quoted in a sermon by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, 2011
Yom Kippur, Afternoon
The Book of Jonah
Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 10a
“I Remember You,” by Rabbi Joe Black
Sukkot, Day 1
Zechariah 14:7–9, 14:16–21
“Be the Change,” by Sue Horowitz
“Beauty Dances,” by Alden Solovy
Shabbat Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot
Ezekiel 38:18–39:7
From The Essence of Judaism, by Rabbi Leo Baeck
“A Man in His Life,” by Yehuda Amichai
Simchat Torah
Joshua 1:1–18
Nehemiah 8:1–10
“Blessed Are You,” by Ruhama Weiss, PhD
Chanukah, Shabbat 1
Zechariah 4:1–7
“In Exile,” by Emma Lazarus
From “Some Notes on Jewish Lesbian Identity,” by Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Chanukah, Shabbat 2
I Kings 7:40–50
Jeremiah 31:27–40
“At Your Feet, Jerusalem,” by Uri Zvi Greenberg
Shabbat Sh’kalim
II Kings 12:5–16
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 17b
From “Religion and Race,” by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Shabbat Zachor
Esther 7:1–10, 8:15–17
Jeremiah 29:1–9
Babylonian Talmud, M’gillah 7b
Shabbat Parah
Ezekiel 36:22–36
“Esther,” by Else Lasker-Schüler
“And You Shall Draw Water . . . ,” by Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell
Shabbat HaChodesh
Ezekiel 45:16–25
From “The First Day of Pesach, 1857,” by Rabbi David Einhorn
“Book of Mercy #43,” by Leonard Cohen
Shabbat HaGadol
Malachi 3:4–24
“God’s Beloved,” Anonymous
“Tefillah for Agunot,” by Shelley Frier List
Pesach, Day 1
Isaiah 43:1–15
“Reform Is Historical,” by Rabbi Abraham Geiger
“Discovery,” by Ruth Brin
Shabbat Chol HaMo-eid Pesach
Ezekiel 37:1–14
Song of Songs 2:8–13, 5:2, 8:6–7, 13
From the writings of Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Pesach, Day 7
II Samuel 22:1–51
Henrietta Szold’s Letter to Haym Peretz, on Saying Kaddish for Her Mother
“Passover’s Peace Partners,” by Rabbi Israel Zoberman
Shavuot
Ezekiel 1:1–28, 3:12 and Isaiah 42:1–12
“A Ketubah for Shavuot,” by Rabbi Israel Najara
“We All Stood Together,” by Merle Feld
Tishah B’Av
Jeremiah 8:13–9:23 and Isaiah 55:6–56:8
“For the Anniversary of the Destruction of Jerusalem,” by Rabbi David Einhorn
From Listening to Battered Women: A Survivor-Centered Approach to Advocacy, by Lisa A. Goodman and Deborah Epstein
Haftarot for the American Jewish Calendar
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
From “Why We Went: A Joint Letter from the Rabbis Arrested in St. Augustine,” 1964
Tu BiSh’vat
Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 5b
Black History Month
From “All the Things We Can Do with Hope,” by Evan Traylor,2019
Presidents’ Day
Proverbs 16:15–31
Women’s History Month
Esther 4:14; Speech by Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, Ordained as the First Female Rabbi at a Rabbinical Seminary, in June 1972
International Women’s Day
From “Brown v. Board of Education in International Context,” by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Equal Pay Day
From “The Women of Reform Judaism Resolution on Pay Equity,” 2015
Transgender Day of Visibility
“Invisibility in Academe,” by Adrienne Rich
Baseball Opening Day
From “Kenneth Holtzman,” Jewish Virtual Library
Yom HaShoah
Ezekiel 37:1–14
The Shabbat between Yom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzma-ut
Zechariah 4:1–14
Yom HaAtzma-ut
The Israeli “Scroll of Independence” (M’gillat HaAtzma-ut)
Earth Day
Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 12:4, 6
Lesbian Visibility Day
“I Shall Sing to the Lord a New Song,” by Rabbi Ruth Sohn
Mental Health Awareness Month
Jeremiah 20:7–18
Jewish American Heritage Month
“Prayer for the Government” of the Reformed Society of Israelites, Charleston, South Carolina, 1825
Mother’s Day
“Women at the Head of the Class,” by Jessica de Koninck
Harvey Milk Day
From “The Hope Speech,” by Harvey Milk
Memorial Day
II Chronicles 10:1–11
Gun Violence Prevention Day
Nachum 3:1, 3, 7, 18–19
Beginning of Summer Camp
From Next Generation Judaism, by Rabbi Mike Uram
Father’s Day
“A Father’s Blessing,” from a Sermon by Rabbi Jerome Malino, 1974
Pride Shabbat
Isaiah 58:1–12
Juneteenth
From “Why Black Lives Matter to a People for Whom God Promised
a Holy Place,” by Graie Hagans
Independence Day
Isaiah 1:11–7; Psalm 137:1–4
Opening the Olympic Games
From “Exclusive: Aly Raisman Speaks Out on Sexual Harassment, Judaism, and Her Future,”
by Aiden Pink
Labor Day
Speech by Rose Schneiderman, April 2, 1911, after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
September 11
“The Sandcastles,” by Haim Gouri
Bisexual Visibility Day
Ruth 1:12–22
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Psalm 27
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
From “In the Midst of History,” by Martin Buber
Invisible Illness Awareness Week
From Tomer Devorah (The Palm Tree of Deborah), by Moses Cordovero
National Coming Out Day
From “Coming Out: An Act of Love,” by Rob Eichberg
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
From the speeches of Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Election Day
I Samuel 8:4–6, 10–20
Kristallnacht
“The Salty Taste of Tears,” by Rabbi Joe Black
Veterans Day
Judges 7:1–9
Thanksgiving
II Samuel 22:17–20, 38–51
Kaf Tet B’November (UN vote in favor of the Palestine Partition Plan)
Psalm 47
World AIDS Day
“Wingsong: For All the Lovers and Friends Who Died of AIDS,” by Maggid Andrew Elias Ramer
International Human Rights Day
From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948
Secular New Year
From “Three Calendars,” by Shalom Aleichem
Sources and Permissions
Contributors
Index of Commentary Authors
Index of Alternative Haftarah Authors
