The Jewish Liturgical Calendar
Jewish Year, Beginning Rosh HaShanah 5772 [Civil Year 2011–2012]

The Jewish cycle of readings from the Torah and the Prophets
is central to the liturgical and religious life of Jews.
A brief explanation of the readings is outlined below.
See Readings tables for Jewish Years: 5778 5779 5780

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A brief explanation of the Jewish cycle of readings

The Parashat Hashavuah—The Portion of the Week
The Jewish yearly cycle of Torah readings is divided into weekly portions. Each portion—in Hebrew, a parashah—is part of a sequential reading of the Torah [aka. The Five Books of Moses, The Chumash, or the Pentateuch] so that the whole of the Torah is read within a yearly cycle. [Some Jewish communities follow a Triennial Torah reading cycle.¹]

In the table above the Parashat Hashavuah is listed with its accompanying Haftarah reading. The name of the parashah [portion] is taken from the first words of the parashah. There are 54 weekly portions—one for each year of the Jewish leap year. In non-leap years [50 weeks] portions are paired and read together.

The table above, beginning with Rosh Hashanah—the first day of the Jewish year—follows the Ashkenazic tradition for Torah and Haftarah readings and completes the entire reading cycle within one year. Communities who read the Parashat Hashavuah over three years will read a section from each parashah each week.

The Haftarah
The haftarah is a reading from the Prophets and adds a reflection to the parashah. While each parashah normally has its own accompanying haftarah reading, the haftarah reading also varies, during the year, according to special festivals or events. The word haftarah comes from the Hebrew root pey.tet.resh, meaning “concluding”, “parting” or “ending.”

The practice of adding a haftarah reading to the Torah portion is ancient and has obscure origins. The Talmud mentions the haftarah being read in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (c. 70 CE) and evidence from the New Testament indicates that the haftarah readings were a common practice. Acts 13:15 states, "After the reading from the Law and the Prophets the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them saying..."

Haftarah readings given in brackets in the above table indicate readings used in the Shephardic tradition where these differ from the Ashkenazic reading.

The Maftir
The word maftir, which belongs to the same Hebrew root as haftarah [pey.tet.resh] means “concluder” and refers to the last person called [i.e., the last Aliyah (aliyah, “to go up”)] to the Torah of the succession of readers at a Sabbath morning or holiday service. This person normally reads the haftarah. The maftir reading normally repeats the last words of the parashat hashavuah. This is according to an ancient custom which sort to honor the greater importance of the Torah over the Prophetic reading (Talmud, Megillah 23a). On special Sabbaths and holidays a special reading is added [provided in the table above] which is related to the celebration or event.

A Point of interest: The division of parashot [sometimes spelled and pronounced, Parshiot or Parshiyot: the plural of parashah] found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, Ch. 8. Maimonides based his division of the portions of the Torah on the Aleppo Codex.

1. The Triennial Torah Reading Cycle. In some traditions the cycle of Torah readings is completed over three years—this pattern is modelled on an ancient Rabbinic tradition in Israel [which may in fact be even older] in which each portion was divided into three parts, each part being read in sequence over the course of three years thus completing the reading of the five books of the Torah over three years. This practice has been revived in some Jewish congregations today.

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