The Three Weeks - Special Haftarot

Special Haftarot

By nearly universal custom, special haftarot (passages from the Prophets) are read in the synagogue on each Saturday of the Three Weeks. Whereas most haftarot of the yearly cycle are selections reflecting the theme of the day's Torah reading, these three—the "Three of Affliction" (tlat de-pur`anuta)—do not directly relate to the weekly Torah portions, but instead contain certain prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah foreshadowing the fall of Jerusalem. The nine haftarot of the eight weeks following Tisha B'Av likewise were selected for their content. These are the "Seven of Consolation" (shev di-nhemta) followed by the "Two of Repentance" (tarte di-tyuvta)—which two appropriately fall between Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur; one is read on Saturday like the other special haftarot, but the other is read on the Fast of Gedaliah.

This custom of 12 consecutive special haftarot is first recorded in Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana (fifth century CE?), but is not mentioned in the Talmudim. Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana designates the appropriate 12 selections from the Prophets, the Three of Affliction being

1. ”"Divre Yirmeyahu" (Jeremiah 1.1-2.3),
2. "Shim`u Devar Hashem" (Jeremiah 2.4-28), and
3. "Hazon Yisha`yahu" (Isaiah 1.1-27).

The great majority of congregations use the haftarot suggested by Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana. But Maimonides in his law code prescribes a slight variation of these three, and the Yemenite Jews read the haftarot that he lists.