The reading of Scripture at Sabbath and holiday prayer services has
been a feature of Jewish congregational worship for nearly two millennia. The
precedent for a public reading of Scripture goes back to Moses’s instruction to
the Israelites to read the Torah aloud once every seven years to all the people
– men, women and children – assembled at the Temple to celebrate the Feast of
Booths (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Likely, the Torah to which Moses was referring
was not the entire Pentateuch but was limited to Deuteronomy.
The rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud laid down the rules for a
regular reading of the Torah on Sabbath and holiday mornings as well as for several
shorter readings during the week. As Jewish practice evolved, all Jewish
communities adopted an annual cycle, reading the entire Five Books of Moses in
consecutive order over the course of one year. On any given Sabbath, every
Jewish community worldwide is reading from the same chapters of the Torah.
Additionally, on Sabbath and festival mornings, there is a second reading taken
from the Prophets and referred to as the Haftarah (the word means
“concluding” and is not related to the word Torah, whose root meaning is
“teaching.”)
Haftarot, which are read from a printed book rather than a handwritten
scroll, are, for most of the year related to the theme and content of the Torah
portion of the day. For the last 10 weeks of the Jewish calendar year, however,
preceding and following the fast day of the 9th of Av (occurring in July/August
and commemorating the destruction of the two Jerusalem Temples in 586 BCE and
70 CE), the Haftarot are prophetic passages of rebuke and admonition
(during the three Sabbaths preceding the fast) or of consolation (for the seven
weeks following). The passages of admonition are appropriate to the weeks
before the fast, because the prophets gave warning to the people that the sins
and injustices they were committing would lead to destruction and exile.
The haftarot of consolation are all drawn from the last 27
chapters of the book of Isaiah. The scholarly consensus is that these chapters
record the words of an anonymous prophet (or prophets) who was addressing the
exiled Judeans in Babylonia in the sixth century BCE rather than of Isaiah the
son of Amotz who lived in Judea in the late eighth century BCE and was the
author of the book’s first 39 chapters. Although I agree with that consensus, I
still follow convention and refer to the author of these words of comfort as
Isaiah.
Isaiah’s rhetoric to my mind provides some of the most stirring and
emotionally moving passages in all of Scripture. I will always associate the
words of the first haftarah of consolation with the eloquence and
powerful oratory of Martin Luther King, Jr. who quoted them at the 1963 March
on Washington: “every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be
made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be
made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together.” (Isaiah 40:4-5)
Isaiah tells the people that their time of punishment is now over.
God’s anger is but for a moment; Divine grace and compassion are eternal. “For
the mountains may move and the hills be shaken, but My loyalty shall never move
from you, nor My covenant of friendship be shaken, says the Lord, who takes you
back in love.” (Isaiah 54:10) The grass withers, the flower fades, but God’s
word endures and will be fulfilled. The prophet counsels the people not to fear
and not to feel forsaken. God, the supreme and transcendent Creator to Whom no
one can be likened, is also the shepherd pasturing, leading and caring for the
flock. God’s Presence will be made manifest to you and will lead you back to
your land in gladness and joy. Zion will thrive and prosper and will be
established through righteousness.
These words brought consolation to the Judeans in exile 2,500 years
ago and have been a source of comfort through the ages, inspiring the hope that
has been a key to the persistence and survival of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Barry Marks is rabbi emeritus of Temple Israel in
Springfield.
This article appears in CC Jobs Fall 2025.
