Catastrophe and Consolation: Reading the Haftarot Before and After Tisha B’Av
There are no seasonal festivities on the Jewish calendar between Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah. Because of this, Tisha B’Av is by default the major calendrical observance of the Summer months. Beforehand, we build up to it for Three Weeks, beginning on 17 Tammuz; afterward, we pivot from its themes of despair and lowliness to Elul & Tishrei’s more hopeful themes of repentance and rebuilding.
The haftarot assigned to the weeks surrounding Tisha B’av trace this path for us. Each Shabbat in the Three Weeks, we read one of the “Three Haftarot of Punishment,” prophecies of doom and well-deserved downfall that establish the seasonal mood.
As soon as the fast has passed, we move to a sequence of “Seven Haftarot of Comfort,” readings designed to reassure and revivify our spirits after the period of intense mourning. These latter haftarot hold our hand and bring us back from the brink of guilt and doom, shepherding us to the High Holidays and our chance at redemption.
Join us for ten sessions of text study and get more familiar with some of the most beautiful, evocative, and gripping — but also challenging — haftarot of the year.
