Friday, February 29, 2008

Historical Backround to the Haftorah # 2

Why is it called the Haftorah?
The Avudraham (Seder Shacharis shel Shabbos) writes that the world Haftorah means leaving, meaning we are leaving the morning prayer. Others write that it comes from the word Pesichah, entrance or opening (see Shemos 13:2), connoting the fact that during the Torah reading we must refrain from talking but afterwards it is permitted for us to open our mouths and talk. This of course does not mean it is permitted to talk about anything during the Haftorah rather it means we can now talk about things that relate to Halacha. (Levush Orach Chaim 284:1)

No comments: