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80-738: In form, Samaritan Aramaic resembles the Aramaic of the Targumim , and is written in the Samaritan alphabet . Important works written in it include the translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch, legal, exegetical and liturgical texts. Exodus XX.1-6: Notice the similarities with Judeo-Aramaic as found in Targum Onqelos to this same passage (some expressions below are paraphrased, not literally translated): This Semitic languages -related article

160-608: A haftara  was read in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , who lived at that time. The Christian Bible indicates that readings from the Prophets - but not necessarily a fixed schedule - was a common part of the Sabbath service in Jerusalem synagogues even earlier than 70 CE. Only one person reads the haftara portion. This differs from the procedure in Torah reading, wherein the text

240-547: A college for converts from Judaism and Islam, until 1886, when the Holy See bought it along with other manuscripts when the Collegium closed (which is the reason for the manuscripts name and its designation). It was then mistitled as a manuscript of Targum Onkelos until 1949, when Alejandro Díez Macho noticed that it differed significantly from Targum Onkelos. It was translated and published during 1968–79, and has since been considered

320-418: A different disquieting verse, a total of 16 verses; Karaites and Romaniote go back and repeat the penultimate verse, promising the reappearance of Elijah, rather than end with the word "desolation" - and the same applies when most communities read that haftarah on Shabbat Hagadol ). Among the consistent characteristics is that entire verses are read; never is only a part of a verse read. In antiquity there

400-532: A minor key), the haftara is chanted in a minor key (as is the blessing before the reading of the haftara) and ends in a pentatonic mode (and the blessings following the haftara reading are also pentatonic). The Haftarot for the morning of Tisha b'Av, and for the Shabbat preceding it, are, in many synagogues, predominantly read to the cantillation melody used for the public reading of the Book of Lamentations , or Eicha. In

480-434: A printed book. This may be either a Tanakh (entire Hebrew Bible), a Chumash (or "Humash"; plural: Chumashim)) (volume containing the Torah with haftarot) or, in the case of the festivals, the prayer book; there are also books containing the haftarot alone in large print. Even when a scroll of haftara readings is used, that scroll - unlike the Torah scroll - is occasionally made of paper and may include such embellishments as

560-631: A single one of your words is recalled as unfulfilled, Because you are God, king, trustworthy. Blessed are you Lord , the God who is trustworthy in all his words. [ congregation : Amen.] Again, this is straight from Massekhet Soferim , paragraphs 8 and 10; Paragraph 9 set out a congregational response which seems not to have been adopted; after the first verse the congregation would rise and say "Faithful are you Lord our God, and trustworthy are your words. O faithful, living, and enduring, may you constantly rule over us forever and ever." This response apparently

640-416: A unit, as are the targumim of the five scrolls (Esther has a longer " Second Targum " as well.) The targum of Chronicles is quite late, possibly medieval. It is traditionally attributed to "Rav Yosef" (meaning either Rav Yosef or Rav Yosef bar Hama ). (The targum to Neviim is also sometimes referred to as the targum of Rav Yosef. ) There are also a variety of western targumim on the Torah, each of which

720-508: Is I who have revealed Thy secrets to mankind. It is fully known to Thee that I have not done this for my own honour or for the honour of my father's house, but for Thy honour I have done it, that dissension may not increase in Israel." He further sought to reveal [by] a targum [the inner meaning] of Ketuvim, but a Bath Kol went forth and said, "Enough!" What was the reason? Because the date of the Messiah

800-516: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Targum A targum ( Imperial Aramaic : תרגום , interpretation , translation , version ; plural: targumim ) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the Hebrew : תַּנַ״ךְ , romanized :  Tana"kh ) that a professional translator ( מְתוּרגְמָן mǝṯurgǝmān ) would give in the common language of

880-462: Is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im ("Prophets") of the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh ) that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice . The haftara reading follows the Torah reading on each Sabbath and on Jewish festivals and fast days . Typically, the haftara is thematically linked to the parashah ( weekly Torah portion ) that precedes it. The haftara

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960-430: Is attested to in late medieval sources, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic . A medieval Sephardic source notes that the melody for the haftarot is a slight variation of the tune used for reading the books of Nevi'im in general (presumably for study purposes), and Jews of Iraqi origin to this day preserve separate "Neviim" and "Haftara" melodies. Note that although many selections from Nevi'im are read as haftarot over

1040-480: Is correctly labeled as Targum Yerushalmi . The Western Targumim on the Torah, or Palestinian Targumim as they are also called, consist of three manuscript groups: Targum Neofiti I, Fragment Targums, and Cairo Geniza Fragment Targums. Of these Targum Neofiti I is the largest. It consist of 450 folios covering all books of the Pentateuch, with only a few damaged verses. The history of the manuscript begins 1587 when

1120-406: Is divided into anywhere from three to seven portions, which may be read by one person or divided amongst several. The haftara is traditionally read by the maftir , or the last person to be called up to the Torah scroll. Traditions varied or evolved with regard to which person could read the haftara. As an indication that, perhaps to make clear that the haftara reading was not the same status as

1200-453: Is evidenced by recommendations in Talmudic literature that certain passages should not be chosen for haftara readings, which indicates that, to that time, that a regular list for the year's readings did not exist. Further evidence of the lack of an ancient authoritative list of readings is the simple fact that, while the practice of reading a haftara every Sabbath and most holy days is ubiquitous,

1280-509: Is foretold in it. Nevertheless, most books of Ketuvim (with the exceptions of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah, which both contain Aramaic portions) have targumim , whose origin is mostly Palestinian rather than Mesopotamian. But they were poorly preserved and less well known for lack of a fixed place in the liturgy. From Palestine, the tradition of targum to Ketuvim made its way to Italy, and from there to medieval Ashkenaz and Sepharad . The targumim of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job are generally treated as

1360-494: Is his name, the Holy Lord of Israel!"). The blessings following the haftara are standard on all occasions the haftara is read, except for the final blessing, which varies by date and is omitted on some days. There are five blessings, one before, and the others after, the haftara reading. These blessings may go back as far as the haftara ritual itself. It will be immediately noticed that the haftara has more, and longer, blessings than

1440-617: Is not further described. Several references in the Christian New Testament suggest this Jewish custom was in place during that era. No one knows for certain the origins of reading the haftara, but several theories have been put forth. The most common explanation, accepted by some traditional Jewish authorities is that in 168 BCE, when the Jews were under the rule of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes , they were forbidden to read

1520-404: Is not necessary. Thus, the haftara for Ki Teitzei for Ashkenazim and Sephardim is only 10 verses; and the haftara for Miketz is, for Ashkenazim and Sephardim only 15 verses, and for Italian Jews only 14 verses. The Tosefta mentions a haftara in antiquity (before the 2nd century CE) that was just one verse, namely Isaiah 52:3, and some others that were only four or five verses. Another rule

1600-439: Is not recited until the Torah scroll has been rolled shut, so that the roller may listen without distraction. And, similarly, the haftara text itself - whether a book or a scroll - remains open on the lectern until after the final haftara blessing is concluded. The blessings have changed but only a little over the centuries, the current text apparently coming from the late 11th century Machzor Vitry , with slight differences from

1680-589: Is sung in a chant. (Chanting of Biblical texts is known as "ta'amim" in Hebrew , " trope " in Yiddish , or " cantillation " in English.) Related blessings precede and follow the haftara reading. The origin of haftara reading is lost to history, and several theories have been proposed to explain its role in Jewish practice, suggesting it arose in response to the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes which preceded

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1760-447: Is that the haftara reading should not end on a macabre or distressing verse, and therefore either the penultimate verse is repeated at the very end or else verses from elsewhere are used as a coda, such as with the haftara for Tzav (Ashkenazim and Sephardim skip ahead in the same prophet to avoid concluding with the description of the dire fate of the wicked, a total of 19 verses; Chabad and Yemenite also skip ahead to avoid concluding with

1840-629: Is the Hirsch cited throughout this article), is that the haftara reading was instituted to fight the influence of those sects in Judaism that viewed the Hebrew Bible as consisting only of the Torah. However, all offered explanations for the origin of reading the haftara have unanswered difficulties. Certainly the haftara was read — perhaps not obligatorily nor in all communities nor on every Sabbath — as far back as circa 70 CE: The Talmud mentions that

1920-602: Is used in the Yemenite version of the blessing. By the time of Amram Gaon (9th century) and Saadiah Gaon (10th century), as well as Mahzor Vitry (ca. 1100), 'be merciful' had replaced 'comfort' - but 'avenge' was still part of the text—and into the last century was still part of both Romaniot and Yemenite versions. It has been suggested that "save" replaced "avenge" in so many communities because of Christian and Moslem censorship or intimidation. The fourth blessing follows immediately: Make us glad, Lord  our God, with

2000-560: The Maccabean Revolt , wherein Torah reading was prohibited, or that it was "instituted against the Samaritans , who denied the canonicity of the Prophets (except for Joshua), and later against the Sadducees ." Another theory is that it was instituted after some act of persecution or other disaster in which the synagogue Torah scrolls were destroyed or ruined, as it was forbidden to read

2080-477: The Nevi'im . Over time, certain choices became established in certain communities; in contemporary Jewish observance one may not choose his own haftara, explained Rabbi Moshe Feinstein , as that would run against accepted custom. Rabbi Karo's explanation, however, helps to explain why communities have varying customs regarding what to read as haftara. Unlike the Torah portion, the haftara is, nowadays, normally read from

2160-804: The Sefer Meturgeman, explaining all the Aramaic words found in the Targums Onqelos , Jonathan , and pseudo-Jonathan . Targumim are used today as sources in text-critical editions of the Bible ( Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia refers to them with the abbreviation 𝔗 ). The noun "Targum" is derived from the early semitic quadriliteral root תרגם ( trgm ), and the Akkadian term targummanu refers to "translator, interpreter". It occurs in Ezra 4 :7 "a letter written in Aramaic and translated." Besides denoting

2240-516: The targumim . This scribal practice is rooted in the public reading of the Targum and the requirement for private study. The two "official" targumim are considered eastern (Mesopotamian, called "Babylonian"). Nevertheless, scholars believe they, too, originated in Syria Palestina because of a strong linguistic substratum of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic . Though these targumim were later "orientalised",

2320-585: The 18th century Rabbi Jacob Emden criticized its omission. The second half of the blessing echoes Isaiah 45:23 and 55:11. The third blessing follows immediately: Be merciful to Zion, because it is the home of our life, And save the downtrodden soon, in our own days. Blessed are you Lord , who makes glad the children of Zion [ or: makes Zion to rejoice in her children]. [ congregation : Amen.] Very similar to Massekhet Soferim , paragraph 11, which begins "Comfort [ Nahem , instead of rahem ], Lord our God, Zion your city..."   and ends "who comforts

2400-560: The 3rd century, "shield of David" was the text in use, predating Soferim. "He" and "his" refer to the Messiah, a descendant of King David. The lines "let no stranger sit on his throne" and "others continue to usurp his glory" might date back to the earliest Talmudic times, when the Hasmoneans and Herodians, rather than true descendants of the royal house of David, were rulers of the Holy Land. The fifth (final) blessing follows immediately: For

2480-459: The Assembly", (on Rosh Hashana) "Day of Remembrance", (on Yom Kippur) "Day of Atonement", - but it appears from Kol Bo (14th century) that Yom Kippur is the only fast day with a name and therefore this final blessing is not recited at all on other fast days, such as Gedaliah or Esther or Tisha B'Av, since they have no such names that can be inserted into the blessing - and then the festival version of

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2560-618: The Babylonian Talmud as targum dilan ("our Targum"), giving them official status. In the synagogues of Talmudic times, Targum Onkelos was read alternately with the Torah, verse by verse, and Targum Jonathan was read alternately with the selection from Nevi'im (i.e., the haftara ). This custom continues today in Yemenite Jewish synagogues. Besides its public function in the synagogue, the Babylonian Talmud also mentions targum in

2640-556: The Festivals." And on Yom Kippur, replace the last line with  : Blessed are you Lord ,      the King who pardons and forgives our sins and the sins of his people, the family of Israel,      and who removes our iniquities year after year, King over all the earth, who sanctifies [the Sabbath,] Israel, and the Day of Atonement. In ancient times the haftara, like

2720-505: The German tradition, the Haftara for the morning of Tisha b'Av, as well as the Torah reading then, are read without cantillation at all, but rather with a melancholic melody. Leonard Bernstein employed the Haftara cantillation melody extensively as a theme in the second movement ("Profanation") of his Symphony No. 1 ("Jeremiah") . Some Rishonim , including Rabbenu Tam , report that a custom in

2800-657: The Lord of Hosts is his name - the holy one of Israel. Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen. The blessings that follow the reading of the haftara are chanted in the pentatonic scale. The second blessing follows the end of the Prophetic reading: Blessed are you, Lord , our God, King of the universe, Rock of all the worlds, righteous through all eras, The trustworthy God, who says and does, who speaks and fulfills, For all his words are true and just. Trustworthy are you, Lord , and trustworthy are your words, And not

2880-478: The Pentateuch was composed by Onkelos the proselyte from the mouths of R. Eleazar and R. Joshua. The Targum of the Prophets was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel under the guidance of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, and the land of Israel [thereupon] quaked over an area of four hundred parasangs by four hundred parasangs, and a Bath Kol (heavenly voice) came forth and exclaimed, "Who is this that has revealed My secrets to mankind?" Jonathan b. Uzziel arose and said, "It

2960-790: The Peshitta is thought to be before the year 300. Tadmor, H., 1991. "On the role of Aramaic in the Assyrian empire", in M. Mori, H. Ogawa and M. Yoshikawa (eds.), Near Eastern Studies Dedicated to H.I.H. Prince Takahito Mikasa on the Occasion of his Seventy-Fifth Birthday, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 419–426 English translations of Targum Other sources on Targum Haftara The haftara or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) haftorah (alt. haftarah, haphtara , Hebrew : הפטרה ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: haftarot or haftoros ),

3040-478: The Prophet Elijah, your servant, and with the kingdom of the house of David, your anointed, May he arrive soon and bring joy to our hearts. Let no stranger sit upon his throne, Nor let others continue to usurp his glory. For you swore by your holy name that through all eternity his lamp will never go dark. Blessed are you Lord , shield of David. [ congregation : Amen.] This is virtually identical to

3120-447: The Sabbath", is replaced by the appropriate substitute when the occasion is something other than an ordinary Sabbath, if a holiday falling on a Sabbath the phrasing is "And for this Sabbath day and for this day of this...." (if not on a Sabbath, then merely "and for this day of ..."); e.g. (for Passover) "Festival of Matzos", (on Shavuos) "Festival of Shavuos", (on Succos) "Festival of Succos, (on Shemini Atzeres or Simhas Torah) "Festival of

3200-467: The Sabbath. [ congregation : Amen.] This is from paragraph 13 of Soferim, which does not contain the phrase "by every living mouth", and which concludes with "who sanctifies Israel and the Day of [holiday name]." Amram Gaon and Maimonides concluded with "who rebuilds Jerusalem," but this appears to have been discarded by all factions. This final blessing is modified for the various festivals and holidays. In all traditions that last phrase, "who sanctifies

3280-548: The Targum never ceased to be a major source for Jewish exegesis . For instance, it serves as a major source in Shlomo Yitzhaki's Torah commentary, " Rashi ," and has always been the standard fare for Ashkenazi Jews onward. For these reasons, Jewish editions of the Tanakh which include commentaries still almost always print the Targum alongside the text, in all Jewish communities. Nevertheless, later halakhic authorities argued that

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3360-408: The Torah and made do with a substitute. When they were again able to read the Torah, they kept reading the haftara as well. However, this theory was not articulated before the 14th century, when it was suggested by Rabbi David Abudirham , and has several weaknesses. An alternative explanation, offered by Rabbis Reuven Margolies and Samson Raphael Hirsch (except where otherwise identified, this

3440-425: The Torah of words dictated verbatim by God, the prophets were each speaking their own words, which won Divine approval after they were spoken. In this context, 'Israel' means world Jewry wherever they may be. Immediately after the last word of the haftara has been read, many Sefardic , Mizrahi , and Italic congregations traditionally recite two Bible verses, which are then repeated by the maftir: Our Redeemer -

3520-424: The Torah portion from any but a ritually fit parchment scroll, but there was no such requirement about a reading from Prophets, which was then "substituted as a temporary expedient and then remained." The Talmud mentions that a haftara was read in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus , who lived c. 70 CE, and that by the time of Rabbah bar Nahmani (the 3rd century) there was a "Scroll of Haftarot", which

3600-458: The Torah reading (in some practices, the maftir - the last man to have read from the Torah), or even the whole congregation would read the haftara to themselves from the available humashim - this evidently to avoid embarrassing a reader who might make a mistake. Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century) reported that for many years there were no set haftarot: the maftir chose an appropriate passage from

3680-446: The Torah reading, a minor (i.e., a boy not yet bar mitzvah age) was permitted to chant the haftara (at least on an ordinary Sabbath), and there were even communities where the haftara reading was reserved exclusively for minor boys. In recent centuries, Ashkenazi bar mitzvah boys, (now an adult) will read at least the maftir portion and the haftara. In some other communities, the haftara could only be read by one who had participated in

3760-436: The Torah reading, and for the worship service, and for [the reading from] the Prophets, And for this Sabbath day [ or: for this ( holiday )], which you have given us, Lord our God, For holiness and for respite, for honor and for splendor, For all of this, Lord our God, We gratefully thank you, and bless you. May your name be blessed by every living mouth, Always and forever. Blessed are you Lord , who sanctifies

3840-423: The Torah reading. However, the connection can be quite vague; the relevance for the parashah Bamidbar (addressing a census of Israel) is that the haftorah beginning that the people of Israel will be numerous like the sand of the sea. The Talmud also says that the haftara should be at least 21 verses in length, to match the minimal Torah reading, but if the "topic finished" ( salik inyana ) applies this requirement

3920-470: The Torah, was translated into Aramaic as it was read, and this is still done by Yemenite Jews . The Talmud rules that, while the Torah must be translated verse by verse, it is permissible to translate other readings (such as the Haftara) in units of up to three verses at a time. Haftarot must have something in common with the day. On an ordinary Sabbath, this would mean that they have something in common with

4000-490: The blessing concludes:  "... which you have given us, Lord our God, [( on Sabbaths ) for holiness and respite,]      for gladness and joy [ on Yom Kippur this is replaced with : for pardon, forgiveness, and atonement],      for honor and splendor. For all this Lord our God we thank you and praise you. May your name be blessed by every living mouth, always and forever. Blessed are you Lord , who sanctifies [the Sabbath and] Israel and

4080-416: The books of the Prophets, possibly the only instance of a non-biblical text to be equipped with such marks. This initial blessing is only two verses, but both begin with blessing God, yet are not interrupted by an intervening Amen. The blessings are as follows: The first blessing precedes the reading: Blessed are you, Lord   [YHVH], our God, King of the universe, Who has chosen good prophets, And

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4160-468: The cantillist with only an etnachta between sentences. The first blessing is straight from the minor tractate Massekhet Soferim , chapter 13, paragraph 7. The first verse praises God, "who has chosen good prophets" (presumably distinguished from false prophets not called by God), the second verse is one of the few places in the Sabbath liturgy that mentions Moses, also chosen by God as were the prophets. "Pleased with their words" because, while Moses wrote

4240-512: The censor Andrea de Monte (d. 1587) bequeathed it to Ugo Boncompagni—which presents an oddity, since Boncompagni, better known as Pope Gregory XIII , died in 1585. The transmission route may instead be by a certain "Giovan Paolo Eustachio romano neophito." Before this de Monte had censored it by deleting most references to idolatry. In 1602 Boncompagni's estate gave it to the College of the Neophytes ,

4320-533: The children of Zion." Zion means Mount Zion, the hill in Jerusalem on which the Temple stood, although it had been destroyed centuries before this blessing was composed. It is possible that Mount Zion is mentioned formerly to deliberately refute the Samaritans, who centered their devotion to Mount Gerizim instead of Mount Zion. Instead of "save" ( toshiya ) the downtrodden, Massekhet Soferim has "avenge" ( tenikum ), which

4400-540: The context of a personal study requirement: "A person should always review his portions of scripture along with the community, reading the scripture twice and the targum once" (Berakhot 8a–b). This, too, refers to Targum Onkelos on the public Torah reading and to Targum Jonathan on the haftarot from Nevi'im. Medieval biblical manuscripts of the Masoretic Text sometimes contain the Hebrew text interpolated, verse-by-verse, with

4480-452: The correct Targum Yerushalmi (תרגום ירושלמי). Scholars refer to this targum as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan . To attribute this targum to Jonathan ben Uzziel flatly contradicts the Talmudic tradition (Megillah 3a), which quite clearly attributes the targum to Nevi'im alone to him, while stating that there is no official targum to the Ketuvim. In the same printed versions, a similar fragment targum

4560-410: The course of the year, the books of Nevi'im are not read in their entirety (as opposed to the Torah). Since Nevi'im as a whole is not covered in the liturgy, the melodies for certain rare cantillation notes which appear in the books of Nevi'im but not in the haftarot have been forgotten. For more on this, see Nevi'im . As a generality, although the Torah was chanted in a major key (ending in

4640-491: The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. At least some haftara blessings were in use by the second century. The blessings are read by the person designated to read the haftara portion; the blessing before the haftara is read in the tune of the haftara. The Sephardic practice is to recite, immediately after the text of the haftara and before the concluding blessings, the verse of Isaiah 47:4 ("Our Redeemer! The Lord of Hosts

4720-407: The different traditions and communities around the world have by now adopted differing lists, indicating that no solid tradition from antiquity dictated the haftara selections for a majority of the ordinary Sabbaths. The haftara is read with cantillation according to a unique melody (not with the same cantillation melody as the Torah). The tradition to read Nevi'im with its own special melody

4800-677: The era of the Talmud was to read a haftara at the mincha service each Sabbath afternoon — but that this haftara was from the Ketuvim rather than from the Nevi'im . Most halachic authorities maintain that that was not the custom in Talmudic times, and that such a custom should not be followed. In the era of the Geonim , some communities, including some in Persia , read a passage from Nevi'im (whether or not in

4880-404: The form of a haftara) Sabbath afternoons. Although this practice is virtually defunct, most halachic authorities maintain that there is nothing wrong with it. Rabbi Reuven Margolies claims that the now-widespread custom of individuals' reciting Psalm 111 after the Torah reading Sabbath afternoon derives from the custom reported by Rabbenu Tam . Louis Ginzberg makes the analogous claim for

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4960-412: The haftara reading. One reason the reading of the haftara is a special honor is because of the voluminous blessings that accompany the reading. These blessings are derived from the minor (and uncanonical) Talmudic tractate Massekhet Soferim - also called, simply, Soferim , which dates back to the 7th or 8th century CE. But it is possible that these blessings, or at least some of them, date from before

5040-456: The listeners when that was not Biblical Hebrew . This had become necessary near the end of the first century BCE, as the common language was Aramaic and Hebrew was used for little more than schooling and worship. The translator frequently expanded his translation with paraphrases, explanations and examples, so it became a kind of sermon . Writing down the targum was initially prohibited; nevertheless, some targumitic writings appeared as early as

5120-455: The middle of the first century . They were not recognized as authoritative by the religious leaders. Some subsequent Jewish traditions, beginning with the Jews of Lower Mesopotamia , accepted the written targumim as authoritative translations of the Hebrew scriptures into Aramaic. Today, the common meaning of targum is a written Aramaic translation of the Bible. Only Yemenite Jews continue to use

5200-539: The most important of the Palestinian Targumim, as it is by far the most complete and, apparently, the earliest as well. The Fragment Targums (formerly known as Targum Yerushalmi II) consist of fragments divided into ten manuscripts. Of these P, V and L were first published in 1899 by M Ginsburger, A, B, C, D, F and G in 1930 by P Kahle and E in 1955 by A Díez Macho. These manuscripts are all too fragmented to confirm what their purpose was, but they seem to be either

5280-631: The oldest among the Palestinian Targum and have been dated to around the seventh century. Manuscripts C, E, H and Z contain only passages from Genesis, A from Exodus while MS B contain verses from both as well as from Deuteronomium. The Samaritan community has their own Targum to their text of the Torah. Other Targumim were also discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Peshitta is the traditional Bible of Syriac Christians , who speak several different dialects of Aramaic. The translation of

5360-440: The reading of the Torah itself; it is plausible that the reading from the Prophets was given this distinction in order to emphasize the sacred nature of the Prophetic books in the face of Samaritan rejection. If the haftara is read by the maftir , then he had already recited two blessings for the Torah reading and the five haftara blessings means he has recited a total of the significant number of seven blessings. The first blessing

5440-678: The remains of a single complete targum or short variant readings of another targum. As a group, they often share theological views and with Targum Neofiti, which has led to the belief that they could be variant readings of that targum. The Cairo Geniza Fragment Targums originate from the Ben Ezra Synagogue's genizah in Cairo. They share similarities with the Fragment Targums in that they consist of many fragmented manuscripts that have been collected in one targum-group. The manuscripts A and E are

5520-491: The requirement to privately review the targum might also be met by reading a translation in the current vernacular in place of the official Targum, or else by studying an important commentary containing midrashic interpretation (especially that of Rashi). The Talmud explicitly states that no official targumim were composed besides these two on Torah and Nevi'im alone, and that there is no official targum to Ketuvim ("The Writings"). The Talmud stories state: The Targum of

5600-408: The substratum belying their origins remains. When most Jewish communities ceased speaking Aramaic in the 10th century, the public reading of Targum, along with the Torah and Haftarah, was abandoned in most communities, Yemen being a well-known exception. The private study requirement to review the Targum was never entirely relaxed, even when Jewish communities had largely ceased speaking Aramaic, and

5680-568: The targumim liturgically. As translations, the targumim largely reflect midrashic interpretation of the Tanakh from the time they were written and are notable for favoring allegorical readings over anthropomorphisms . Maimonides , for one, notes this often in The Guide for the Perplexed . That is true both for those targums that are fairly literal as well as for those that contain many midrashic expansions. In 1541, Elia Levita wrote and published

5760-463: The technology of printing, and therefore the accuracy and characteristics of the printed books, has improved. There were opinions that a haftara scroll should not be stored in the holy ark , but other opinions (such as Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef ) were that it was permitted; however the haftara scroll is not decorated in the manner of the Torah scrolls but may be given distinctive (and inferior, such as copper) decorations. Blessings both precede and follow

5840-529: The text in Massekhet Soferim , paragraph 12, until the last line. Before the second "Blessed are you", Soferim contains the line: "And in his days may Judah be made safe, and Israel to dwell securely, and he shall be called, ' the Lord is our vindicator'." This line remained in Romaniot liturgy. Instead of "Shield of David", Soferim has "who brings to fruition the mighty salvation of his people Israel." But by

5920-406: The texts perpetuated in the tractate Massekhet Soferim (possibly 7th or 8th century), and the writings of Maimonides , dating back to the 12th century. The first blessing, chanted before the haftara portion read, uses the same melody as the haftara chant itself, also in minor mode. For this reason, many prayerbooks print this first blessing with the cantillation marks used in the Bible itself for

6000-450: The translations of the Bible, "targum" also denoted the oral rendering of Bible lections in synagogue , while the translator of the Bible was simply called hammeturgem (he who translates). Other than the meaning "translate", the verb tirgem also means "to explain". Targum refers to " translation " and argumentation or " explanation ". The two most important targumim for liturgical purposes are: These two targumim are mentioned in

6080-460: The vowel points and trope. However, according to most halakhic decisors ( posqim ), it is preferable to read the haftara out of a parchment scroll, and according to a small minority of posqim (mainly the followers of the Vilna Gaon ), such a parchment scroll is an absolute requirement. This may take various forms. It would seem that the initial resistance to using a printed book has diminished as

6160-576: Was in use in antiquity - the Jews of the eastern diaspora would recite this while seated, the Jews of Eretz Yisrael would stand. This practice appears to have ceased during the Middle Ages: it is not in Amram's prayerbook of the 9th century although a phrase of it ["Trustworthy are you Lord our God, living and enduring forever", right after "words are true and just"] is in the Mahzor Vitry , (ca. 1100), but in

6240-466: Was no prescribed list of haftara readings for the year, although the Talmudic literature (including the Midrash and Tosefta) does report some recommendations for specific holidays. It would appear that, in antiquity, the choice of portion from the Prophets was made ad hoc , without regard for the choice of previous years or of other congregations, either by the reader or by the congregation or its leaders; this

6320-426: Was pleased with their words spoken in truth. Blessed are you, Lord , who has chosen the Torah, and his servant Moses, And his people Israel, And the prophets of truth and righteousness. [ congregation : Amen.] This is a somewhat free translation from the poetic Hebrew text which is roughly the same in both Ashkenazic and Sephardic prayerbooks. The blessing is printed in one paragraph and read continuously by

6400-471: Was traditionally called Targum Yerushalmi ("Jerusalem Targum"), and written in Western Aramaic. An important one of these was mistakenly labeled "Targum Jonathan" in later printed versions (though all medieval authorities refer to it by its correct name). The error crept in because of an abbreviation: the printer interpreted the abbreviation TY (ת"י) to stand for Targum Yonathan (תרגום יונתן) instead of

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