Order of Prayers 8 – Birkat HaMazon and Haftarah (Auto Translated)

Birkat HaMazon – Rambam’s Version (Birkat HaZan, Birkat HaAretz, Birkat Rachem)

Birkat HaZan – The First Blessing

He thanks and he thanks on behalf of all other people who have what to eat for themselves.

The piece “mechin mazon” we say in the beginning, I think it fits better than us saying something like “ki tov Hashem ki l’olam chasdo”, “mechin mazon” we say in the middle. Because here he says a conclusion, like “ki hu”, like one says a verse, because there comes “hazan et hakol”, and “mechin mazon” is a hefsek, an interruption in the language, saying again the same thing. “Baruch Hashem hazan et hakol”. This is Birkat HaZan.

Birkat HaAretz – The Second Blessing

Structure of the Blessing

The second blessing, Birkat HaAretz, is like this, one doesn’t begin and it ends with “baruch”. “Nodeh lecha Hashem Elokeinu u’nevarechecha malkeinu ki hinchalta la’avoteinu”, You have given as an inheritance, You have given to our forefathers an inheritance, “eretz chemdah”, a desirable, a beautiful land that everyone desires, “tovah u’rechavah”, a broad one.

What Does “Rechavah” Mean?

It’s interesting, what does broad mean? Broad compared to what? To America? To Russia? To Canada? What is the reality? It’s a good Canada. But there is tov that is small, here it is one tov that is broad, rechavah.

The thing is, Eretz Yisrael is a narrow land. If it said “aruchah”, I would say, “well, well, actually very narrow on today’s map”. “Rechavah” means “rechovot yadayim”, one has enough here for each one, for all the tribes to be able to be there. It must be that Eretz Yisrael is enough for Jews, for Jews who made the tefillah knew about.

Yes, he may add more to Eretz Yisrael, nothing happened. Brit, no, Eretz Yisrael has the chemdah. The additions don’t have to do with rechavah, it has to do with the chemdah. No, the original Eretz Yisrael is from the Euphrates River to the River of Egypt, it’s quite large. Our Eretz Yisrael that we have is only a small area of it.

Brit and Torah – Why Are They Mentioned in Birkat HaAretz?

Besides the fact that the Almighty gave as an inheritance to the Jews Eretz Yisrael, He gave us as an inheritance, gave as a gift, “brit”, a brit, a connection between HaKadosh Baruch Hu and the Jews. What does brit milah mean, right? What does brit milah mean? That’s how we learned in Birkat HaMazon. “V’Torah”, the things that we received.

It’s interesting, because brit we received before the land, but the land is seemingly the cause for the food. One thanks for the land that produces and for what You have given us brit and Torah, “v’al shehotzeitanu mei’eretz Mitzrayim u’feditanu mibeit avadim”. It also has to do with land, because that was like the end of yetziat Mitzrayim was to become ourselves masters with our own inheritance, with our own land. “V’al Toratecha shelimadtanu v’al chukei retzoncha shehodatanu”. This is again like saying, Torah, or brit and Torah, or Torah.

The Rambam Says Torah Twice

Yes, it’s interesting that the Rambam says Torah twice. We actually don’t say here brit and Torah, we only say this, we also say a piece “al britcha shechatamta bivesareinu”, so one makes the same style everything. The Rambam’s style is not as beautiful as ours, in my opinion, here.

The Rambam Doesn’t Mention Food Again in the Middle of Birkat HaAretz

Ah, okay, “v’al hakol”. No, we say more here, one speaks again about eating, and in the Rambam’s blessing one doesn’t say anymore again about the eating. No, it’s not missing, one already spoke in the first blessing about that. We say another whole piece “v’al achilat mazon she’achalnu v’al chemdatcha shehinchaltanu”, eating food, this is a whole piece. Yes, it’s interesting.

Digression: Critique of Our Version of Birkat HaMazon in General

And this is in general, I already spoke about this, Birkat HaMazon, I spoke that I have my own version, but one can read better the Rambam’s version, which is generally much shorter than what’s in our siddur. The one who wrote our siddur simply licked from different versions and put everything into one kugel. It’s not any… I don’t understand why.

Even the Rambam is a bit doubled language, but it’s beautiful. But the question is what he’s going to do with the time he’s going to take. It’s not with the time, it’s with the… with what one speaks to the Almighty or one says thanksgiving, it has become even the one who is pious and he says yes every word, it’s simply an obligation of recitation. One makes such beautiful things. If someone has nerves and says a beautiful long version, fine. But it becomes such an “adra tra tra tra”, one doesn’t even know the structure of what one is saying, because many times when one changes the things a bit, the structure goes down, there’s no form in the blessing.

Like every blessing begins and ends. You know how it begins, how does one come to the end? Ask a normal person, a blessing, one comes to the end and one says like “ki”, right? How does that happen in Birkat HaMazon, in Birkat HaAretz? How? No one knows, because it’s simply made that way, one says it. It’s not any…

Anyway, I’m free to make my own versions and look in the Rambam. And Pesach one goes to other places.

“Al Kulam” – The Conclusion of Birkat HaAretz

Fine. Al kulam, on all these mentioned things. Now we carry out, yes. Al kulam anachnu modim lach. On all these mentioned things, he speaks of yetziat Mitzrayim and so on, anachnu modim lach etc. ka’omr, as it says in the verse, “v’achalta v’savata u’verachta et Hashem Elokecha al ha’aretz hatovah”. The Torah tells us that one should be grateful also for the land that gives us the produce.

The Bigger Picture of Hakarat HaTov

And it seems that the bigger picture is, one sees here hakarat hatov. Therefore I have hakarat hatov for what I have a Torah, I have chukei retzoncha, yes, I say this “v’achalta v’savata u’verachta”. It tells us clearly “al ha’aretz”. Because seemingly the author of the prayer understood here that the verse tells us the bigger picture, that one must thank in general. If one has a land, one must thank for the land. If one has a Torah, one must also thank for Torah.

And they spoke about this, there is Rav Nachman says that this is according to the opinion of an early Zionist who says that Eretz Yisrael is a thing by itself. Eretz Yisrael goes together with Torah and brit. He didn’t go that far. I mean, it’s always good to fix a Zionist, but from here one can perhaps learn it out.

But the matter is the matter of hakarat hatov. The verse shows that it’s not only hakarat hatov for the piece of bread, there is hakarat hatov also for the field that grew it, and not only for the field, but for the land that provided you a field. It’s this expanding, this broadening your view. He says, with the same calculation you must also think what the Creator has given you wisdom, He has given you Torah, He has given you chukim, that each one should have his field, no one should steal from the other, one should know what one has to do, and wisdom, all these things. One should broaden the hakarat hatov, everything lies in this verse.

“Al HaKol” – On Everything That Causes the Food

Agreed. Because “al hakol” it seems to me, one gives this on everything. “Nodeh lecha Hashem al ha’aretz v’al hamazon” itself, al hamazonot, it seems to me that here there is, on the vine and other things one says this. But this is that when one says here “al hamazon”, one doesn’t mean the land itself, but one means everything that causes the food.

Afterwards, before that we add the piece, because we want yes to mention the food in the middle of the blessing, and before that one says “v’al achilat mazon” should be also not only in the conclusion. This is seemingly the reason for our version that we are accustomed to.

The Pleasure of Thinking in Birkat HaMazon

Okay, very good. I have great pleasure from this, because if one wants to think a bit about the blessing for itself, like Rabbi Yitzchak said “al yetzei adam yedei chovato ela im ken lemadah”, a person can think, or the point here is to zoom out from the piece of bread, and think how many people had to work, how many systems need to be in place, how many companies need to be effective, that you should have bread on the table. Truly a broad and expansive measure.

Birkat Rachem / Boneh Yerushalayim – The Third Blessing

Structure of the Blessing

Further, the next blessing is Birkat Rachem. Both are a blessing adjacent to its companion, therefore they don’t have an opening with “baruch”. One requests like this, it’s a request. The others were praises, this is more a request. It’s a prayer like this: “Rachem Hashem Elokeinu al Yisrael amecha v’al Yerushalayim irecha v’al Tzion mishkan kevodecha v’al habayit hagadol v’hakadosh sheniqra shimcha alav”.

The Panel from Broad to Narrow

Interesting, Yerushalayim, and in Yerushalayim there is Tzion. One means by this the area of the Beit HaMikdash. And “v’al habayit hagadol v’hakadosh” means actually the Beit HaMikdash itself. Tzion is perhaps Har Tzion, on which the Beit HaMikdash is built. It’s another expression, another point, but I think that usually it’s Yerushalayim and Tzion.

Originally it could be Tzion is the name of one mountain there, or of one place, one area there. And here it would fit: “Yisrael amecha” is the broader picture, then one goes down to “Yerushalayim irecha”, and then “Tzion mishkan kevodecha”, and then even more specific “habayit hagadol v’hakadosh”. But what is Tzion then, besides the Beit? It doesn’t make any sense. No, Tzion is the whole area, and “habayit hagadol v’hakadosh” is the actual Beit HaMikdash, the azarot, that is the “bayit hagadol v’hakadosh”.

Malchut Beit David

And “malchut beit David meshichecha tachazirena limkomah bimheirah v’yameinu”. Ir David was next to that, no? Something like that. No, it has no connection. One speaks of malchut beit David. “Tachazirena limkomah” doesn’t necessarily mean the place, it means back to kingship.

The Conclusion – A Verse is Missing

“U’vneh Yerushalayim bekarov ka’asher dibarta. Baruch atah Hashem boneh berachamav Yerushalayim.” There’s no verse here. Usually there is a verse. Perhaps holds, did you see? Boneh berachamav Yerushalayim is the language of a verse. No, it can’t be that simply the… Boneh Yerushalayim Hashem et nidchei Yisrael yechanes. I can perhaps put in the verse that you place, because it bothers me why every piece has a verse and here not. Can I add a verse, but the Rambam doesn’t have it.

So, one can perhaps go up on this verse.

Fourth Blessing (Continued), HaRachamans, and Blessings of the Haftarah

Fourth Blessing – HaTov V’HaMeitiv (Continued)

Three Times Malchut, Three Times Tov, Three Times Gemilah

Right, here in the blessing is hinted three times malchut: melech ha’olam, malkeinu hamelech. This was learned against the two previous blessings where melech is missing. Generally, it completes here. There is also here three times the language of tov, yes? Hamelech hatov v’hameitiv, bechol tuv. And there is also here three times the language of gemilah, which the Rambam doesn’t have, and they also have three gemilahs: gemalanu, gomlanu, yigmelanu. This is all beautiful hints.

HaRachamans – Blessings on Kavod Shamayim and Parnassah

Yes. HaRachaman hu yishtabach ledor dorim, HaRachaman hu yitpa’ar lenetzach netzachim, HaRachaman hu yefarnseinu bechavod. The two are blessings on malchut shamayim, on kavod Hashem so to speak, and the last is HaRachaman yefarnseinu bechavod, this is the blessing on parnassah.

HaRachaman – For Yemot HaMashiach, Building of Beit HaMikdash, Chayei Olam HaBa

And further one requests HaRachaman hu yezakeinu limot haMashiach v’livnyan beit haMikdash u’lechayei ha’olam haba. He should make us worthy of yemot haMashiach, and of building the Beit HaMikdash. After bi’at haMashiach comes building of the Beit HaMikdash, and lechayei ha’olam haba. We discussed that it fits with the Rambam’s order, that yemot haMashiach is the end of the world as we can know it, which is more rest, and afterwards comes building of the Beit HaMikdash, but the greatest redemption is chayei ha’olam haba.

Migdol Yeshuot Malko

Migdol yeshuot malko. The Almighty, the language of the verse is the Almighty is the migdol yeshuot, he is help for his king. Does the king need… Migdol means a tower, a tower of salvations, he brings salvations for his king.

Yes, the Almighty is magdil… the verse appears twice, once in Shmuel and once in, what’s it called, in Divrei HaYamim I think, ah, no, sorry, in Tehillim. And once it says magdil and once it says migdol. And we conduct ourselves, the Sephardim, and in our siddur it says that on Shabbat one should say this verse and during the week that one. The Rambam didn’t know about this, the Rambam says migdol yeshuot malko. It means magdil, it means the Almighty is magdil yeshuot for his king, and he is marbeh chesed for his anointed, to David and to his seed forever. This is a continuation to the prayer for Mashiach seemingly.

Verses About Parnassah and Yeshuah

Afterwards one must say verses that are about parnassah and about yeshuah. Hashem lo yechsar kol tov, v’hodu laHashem ki tov ki le’olam chasdo.

The HaRachamans Are an End to the Four Blessings

And he takes that version. It’s not a version. A Rambam, as we learn, we will see. It seems from the Rambam’s understanding that the HaRachamans are like an end to the four blessings. It’s still part of it. It’s not really extra things, it’s still part of the four blessings. The blessing here, if the editor adds here, is the blessing that the baal habayit for example, he has already said the version that the Rambam says that one must say. He can say himself.

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Blessings of the Haftarah

Now we’re going to learn the blessings that one says on the haftarah. Afterwards the Rambam will say which haftarah one reads each week, and you need to look yourself in the Rambam to know what it is. But the blessings we will learn.

When Does One Read Haftarah

Blessings of the haftarah says the Rambam, after kriat haTorah the Rambam already said in the laws of kriat haTorah that one is maftir in the prophets. And when is one maftir in the prophets? Shabbat and Yom Tov. And on a fast day at minchah. I think that’s how I saw that the Rambam brought.

Blessing Before the Haftarah

He means like this, one blesses before it and after it, one makes a blessing. Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu melech ha’olam asher bachar binevi’im tovim v’ratzah bidvarihem hane’emarim be’emet. This is a sort of special birkat haTorah for the prophet. Because when one reads in the Torah one says birkat haTorah, and it fits very well, asher natan lanu Torat emet, or asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim v’natan lanu et Torato, the Torah that one is reading now. But when one is going to read the prophets, one says a birkat haTorah, but one uses a special version for the prophets. Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu melech ha’olam asher bachar binevi’im tovim v’ratzah bidvarihem hane’emarim be’emet.

“Nevi’im Tovim” – Prophets Who Say Good Things

That means, he says two things. First, the Almighty chose, meaning to say He wanted, He agrees to. Not the simple meaning that there are bad prophets and He chose the good prophets. The Almighty has good prophets. But the Almighty also chooses whom to give prophecy. But I think that “nevi’im tovim” means here mainly prophets who tell us good things, because most haftarot one says comforts. Almost, even if there is good comfort, but almost every haftarah in the year is a good prophecy. So the Almighty gives to the good prophets good prophecies.

“V’Ratzah Bidvarihem” – The Will Comes First

V’ratzah bidvarihem hane’emarim be’emet – His will is in their words that are said in truth, that they are not liars, they say the true things, and the Almighty will fulfill their promises.

V’ratzah bidvarihem is interesting, because divarihem is much speech, as if they say it in Hashem’s name. One can say on everything ratzah, ratzah Hashem, v’ratzah benachalateinu et haShabbat. Yes, what does that mean? The will of Hashem is He should have Shabbat, the will of Hashem is He should have the words of prophecy. He doesn’t mean to say that the prophets said after the Almighty wanted, but He wanted before they said. Before they say, this is His will.

Conclusion: HaBocher BaTorah U’veMoshe Avdo U’veYisrael Amo U’vinevi’ei HaEmet V’haTzedek

Very good. Baruch atah Hashem, the conclusion is, baruch atah Hashem habocher baTorah u’veMoshe avdo u’veYisrael amo u’vinevi’ei ha’emet v’hatzedek. There are extra things. It’s very good, the Rambam is explaining, prophets cannot add any Torah, prophets are an extra category. This was done, Torah is Moshe, Yisrael, and the good truthful prophets.

So Yisrael can make Torah in the manner of custom, and nevi’ei ha’emet v’hatzedek in the manner of the custom of prophets.

Blessings After the Haftarah

First Blessing: HaEl HaNe’eman

And blessed after it, simply because the prophets say good things for the Jews. Here one sees that the Almighty loves the Jews. The prophets are in praise of the Jews. I mean you are right, this is very similar to birkat haTorah, asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim v’natan lanu, baruch atah Hashem notein haTorah. Let it be so, asher bachar binevi’im v’natan lahem nevuah tovah, baruch atah Hashem habocher binevi’im. This is approximately the structure of the blessing. Yes, this is fine, one says the words of the prophet, the haftarah.

And afterwards, after it one says like this, baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu melech ha’olam, tzur kol ha’olamim. Tzur means the strong one, yes, the ruler seemingly in all the worlds. Tzadik bechol hadorot, He is always just, He is always righteous. HaEl hane’eman, He is faithful, omer, what He does, that He says, and what He speaks, that He fulfills, v’chol devarav hu emet vatzedek.

Why “Tzur Kol HaOlamim” and “Tzadik Bechol HaDorot”?

I wanted to explain here, what does tzur kol ha’olamim (Rock of all worlds) and tzaddik b’chol ha’doros (righteous in all generations) mean here? I wanted to explain, because the haftaros are all kinds of prophecies where the Almighty promised that Mashiach will come and the like, as we saw a minute ago, we speak of rachem al Tzion (have mercy on Zion) and so on, and it was a long time ago sometimes. So we say, the Almighty is however kol ha’olamim, the Almighty lives forever, the Almighty is the ruler or the source, as the Rambam in another place translates tzur, of all generations. He is tzaddik b’chol ha’doros. There is a tzaddik hador (righteous one of the generation), yes, every generation has one tzaddik, but there is a tzaddik b’chol ha’doros, the Almighty, He lives through all generations. So even though it’s already several generations and what the prophet says hasn’t happened yet, one must know that the Almighty is ne’eman (faithful). Omer v’oseh, medaber u’mekayem (He says and does, speaks and fulfills). He is faithful to it, He is reliable, He is trustworthy that He will still fulfill even what He already said several generations ago.

“Ne’eman atah Hashem Elokeinu v’ne’emanim devarecha”

Yes good, ki El ne’eman atah, baruch atah Hashem. Wait, you skipped a piece. Ne’eman atah… ah, emes v’tzedek, this is also interesting from grammatical perspectives. Ne’eman atah Hashem Elokeinu v’ne’emanim devarecha, v’davar echad midevareha achor lo yashuv reikam. No single thing that the Almighty has said will ultimately turn out to be incorrect. Ki El ne’eman atah, baruch atah Hashem ha’El ha’ne’eman b’chol devarav. This we say after divrei hanavi (the words of the prophet), that we believe in the divrei hanavi, that what the Almighty promised will happen.

The Two-Part Structure: Before and After

That is, in the blessing before we say that we believe in the prophet that this is the correct divrei hanevu’ah (words of prophecy). And here we say, now that we already believe in the prophecy, we believe that it will actually happen, even if there is time, achakeh lo (I will wait for him). This is also similar to birkas haTorah (the blessing over Torah). Before we say “asher bachar banu” (who chose us), and here we say “asher natan lanu” (who gave us). What here we say how good the Torah is, we say how good and how faithful the prophecy is. Something like that.

Second Blessing: Rachem al Tzion

The next blessing is a prayer: “Rachem al Tzion ki hi beis chayeinu” (Have mercy on Zion for it is the house of our life). Zion is the place where we live, this is our beis chayeinu. “Ul’alvus nefesh”, to Zion which is so sad, which is so agmas nefesh (distressed), “toshia b’karov”. We say “l’alvus nefesh”, but there are those who say “l’agumas nefesh”. “Toshia b’karov”, Zion was so greatly bent in Zion, they tortured Zion, let there be vengeance on the wicked. “Meheirah b’yameinu uvneh”, or “u’svnehu”, that You should rebuild Zion speedily. Baruch atah Hashem boneh Yerushalayim.

What Does This Have to Do with the Haftarah?

What does this have so directly to do with the haftarah? Many of the prophets are ba’alei hanechamah (bearers of consolation). The main reason why we read haftaros is to remember the good consolations, and all these blessings of the haftarah revolve around this. And consequently we ask that the Almighty should indeed have mercy. Yes, the suffering is only a preparation for the consolation. That’s how one must say it.

Third Blessing: Sameach/Magen David

“Sameach David meheirah tatzmiach keren tarum yeshuasecha”, baruch atah Hashem magen David. This is interesting, this is exactly the blessing of “es tzemach David” from Shemoneh Esrei. Almost, except the ending which ends with the consolation. We say “boneh Yerushalayim”.

Fourth Blessing: Thanksgiving

And the last blessing is, I thank the Almighty. It ends “al hakol anachnu modim lach u’mevarkhim shmecha”. For all these things we will bless ourselves. For what? “Al haTorah v’al hanevi’im, v’al yom hamenuchah hazeh shenasata lanu Hashem Elokeinu likdushah v’limnuchah, l’chavod ul’tifares. Al hakol Hashem Elokeinu anachnu modim lach u’mevarkhim shmecha”. For all these gifts of the same thing.

The Final Blessing of the Haftarah and the Order of Haftaros

The Final Blessing of the Haftarah – “Al haTorah v’al hanevi’im”

And the last blessing is “al haTorah v’al hanevi’im”. I thank the Almighty, and we say “modim”… ah, it ends “al hakol anu modim u’meshabchim lishemcha”. For all these things we will bless ourselves, for what? “Al haTorah v’al hanevi’im v’al yom hamenuchah hazeh”, the yom menuchah of Shabbos, “shenasata lanu Hashem Elokeinu likdushah, l’chavod ul’tifares”. “Al hakol anu modim u’meshabchim lishemcha”. For all these gifts of Torah, prophets, and this, we thank ourselves, “baruch atah Hashem mekadesh haShabbos”.

If it’s Yom Tov, what do we say on Yom Tov? We say “al yom tov mikra kodesh hazeh shenasata lanu l’sason ul’simchah”. There where we said for Shabbos “likdushah, l’chavod ul’tifares”, here it is “l’sason ul’simchah”. “Baruch atah Hashem mekadesh Yisrael v’hazemanim”.

“K’nusach shechoteim bitfilah birchas emtza’is shel yom, kach hu choteim b’vrachah acharonah b’nusach zeh”. It means the same thing, if you want to know regarding Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, it’s the same chasimah (closing) as the middle blessing.

The Order of Haftaros – The Rambam’s List

Very good. And now, I just want to say something about this, and I don’t want to say that we do things unknowingly, so the Rambam now says, “Hanohagim shenohagim rov ha’am likros min hanevi’im b’chol Shabbos v’Shabbos haftaros, v’eilu hen”. The Rambam goes through the custom. Again, this is the custom of most people, very interesting, because not everything goes with us according to the Rambam. In the haftaros there are really differences, yes, nusach Ashkenaz, nusach Sefard, nusach Teiman. I don’t know, in the chumashim it’s even or it’s printed differently. But the Rambam says that this is the custom of most people, very interesting.

And he brings for each parshah the piece that we read. The Rambam doesn’t say why we read these pieces, he only brings them. A large part is what we do, some are different.

Discussion: Where Is the Custom From?

Speaker 1: For whom is the custom at all? Is it a midrash, a gemara?

Speaker 2: No, in the gemara there weren’t yet these customs. The custom of most people, he doesn’t say. And every Yom Tov is inyanah shel Yom Tov (the topic of the holiday). Every week is inyanah shel haparshah (the topic of the Torah portion). He goes through all the parshiyos, and after what the Rambam says yamim tovim? No, the haftarah of yamim tovim is indeed in the gemara. The Rambam already spoke after krias haTorah (the Torah reading). If we remember, the topics are in the gemara. But the haftarah of Shabbos is not in the gemara, so it’s only a custom, he brings it here.

Rules in the Order of Haftaros

And afterwards the Rambam says various rules that are worthwhile to know. The Rambam, “Kol Shabbos shekorin bo shtei parshiyos, maftir b’inyan haparshah ha’acharonah, v’zehu minhag rov hamekomos”. So usually when there is Behar-Bechukosai, we say the haftarah of Bechukosai. Except parshas Acharei, he says, there are places that conduct themselves a bit differently. But generally this is the rule.

Sheva D’nechamta

The Rambam says another thing which is not like the custom that he said. The Rambam here brings haftaros on the words of “Va’eschanan”, “Eikev”, “Re’eh”, etc., according to the topic of the parshah. And afterwards he says that most people have a custom that “they read haftaros from the consolations of Isaiah after Tisha B’Av until Rosh Hashanah”. This is the correct custom, just as he said earlier he says “most people”, he also says here “most people”. But there are two customs. Tosafos says that it’s possibly a dispute in the gemara, and in the gemara we see that it’s actually not so, because we learned that in the gemara it states the haftarah of Rosh Chodesh Av that falls on Shabbos, and we do a different order.

And the Rambam says that the custom is that from after Tisha B’Av until Rosh Hashanah we read haftaros of consolations from Isaiah, which we call “sheva d’nechamta” (seven of consolation). And he brings here the seven haftaros. These are our seven haftaros, I think, that we say, right? Yes. And “ad kan seder hatefilos” (until here the order of prayers).

The Topic of Haftarah – Why Do We Read from the Prophets?

What is the greater topic? The greater topic is to connect Torah with prophets, to show that the words of the prophets are equally important.

Discussion: The Reason for Haftarah

Speaker 1: You love to say that. I know, they learned why.

Speaker 2: No, the Rambam didn’t bring today why there is the haftarah. No, there is a topic to read in the prophets. I once said what could be a simple explanation in the haftarah. I think it’s because we always want to say that Mashiach will come. People come to shul. As I told you, if you look in the midrash, the custom that we have, every drasha is concluded with “bulmosim go’el” (speedily the redeemer), this is a custom in the midrash, a very old custom. And the reason is because a Jew comes to shul, come here, how long will this story go on? Will there be a redemption? Won’t we tell him this?

Speaker 1: Ah, no, the commentators say that the entire haftarah is a matter of “mesayem b’davar tov” (ending with a good thing) for the Torah reading. We always bring something… And then in the haftarah itself we always see to end with a davar tov. Aaron will.

Most Haftaros Are Consolations

Not known from parshas Metzora. Acharei Mos Kedoshim is also consolation. Emor el hakohanim is consolation. Because it speaks of kohanim, but it speaks of the future to come. Bechukosai is consolation.

Speaker 1: But there are laws of the Beis Hamikdash.

Speaker 2: Yes, but think about it, he’s speaking about the pieces, not just a story from the book of Kings. It’s Yechezkel, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu. Bamidbar is consolation, we didn’t say this week it was Rosh Chodesh, but it’s consolation from “Vayomer Hashem livnei Yisrael”. Naso is the story of Shimshon, the song, the Almighty helps Jews. Beha’aloscha is “Roni v’simchi”, it’s consolation. Shelach is the story of the spies of Yehoshua, also, it’s the correction of the spies, yes? The spies said it’s not good, this is indeed good. Korach is Shmuel, it’s really consolation there. Chukas is the story of the red heifer, almost most is consolation.

And you see here that the Rama has different names for many parshiyos. For example, which parshah is this week for us? Ah, the Rama calls it parshas Bamidbar Sinai. And Vayikach Korach, and Vayar Balak, Pinchas, Roshei Hamatos. It’s interesting, “Eileh hadevarim” which is Churban. In short, it seems to me that 90 percent, at least, of the haftaros are basically consolations.

Speaker 1: No, I said a large percentage. But what do you do with all the beautiful Torah thoughts that you made on the remaining 30 percent?

Speaker 2: Okay. Hello, but beautiful Torah thoughts have already been made by the chevrei haftarah. True, as I said that in truth most of them end with good good, and we unfortunately haven’t been helped by the world that doesn’t even say the beautiful verses. But this is a topic, we must try to bring it back, but first we must know, if we don’t know it has no point. Okay, until here is the laws of the order of prayer.