Maftir ( he, מפטיר, , concluder) is the last person called up to the Torah on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings overs) the ''

haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', he, הפטרה) "parting," "taking leave", (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros'') is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Prop ...

'' portion from a related section of the

Nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

(prophetic books). Informally the portion of the Torah read or blessed by the maftir is called the "maftir portion", or the "maftir" for short: in a

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

the word "maftir" is printed in the margin at the beginning of that portion. On a normal Shabbat morning seven people are formally called up to the Torah, and a part of the week's

Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...

is read by or to each of them. The ''maftir'' is not counted among the seven, and is sometimes not formally called up by name: on the conclusion of the seventh reading and after reciting Chatzi kaddish, in some communities the

gabbai A ''gabbai'' ( he, גבאי), also known as ''shamash'' (, sometimes spelled ''shamas'') or warden ( UK, similar to churchwarden) is a beadle or sexton, a person who assists in the running of synagogue services in some way. The role may be under ...

simply calls "''maftir''" (or in Western Ashkenazic communities does not call at all and the Maftir simply goes up) and repeats the last few verses in the presence of the ''maftir''. On

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

and certain Special Sabbaths, special Shabbatot there are readings from two or more Torah scrolls. On these occasions, some call the ''maftir'' by name, followed by the word "maftir", and the reading from the last scroll is read in his presence. On

Tisha b'Av Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian E ...

morning and fast day afternoons, the ''maftir'' portion is the third (and final) section of the portion. After the Torah reading, the ''maftir'' says the blessings for the haftarah, and in most communities reads it (in communities where the Haftarah is read from a Klaf, the Maftir will usually just recite the blessings, and the Baal Koreh will read the Haftarah itself).

Holiday selections

The ''maftir'' portion for the

Festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

and for

Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor h ...

that occurs on Shabbat comes from the appropriate paragraph in Numbers 28 or 29, describing the sacrifice for the day. The ''maftir'' portion for Shabbat during

Chanukah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

comes from Numbers 7, describing the dedication offering of the ''

Mishkan According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

'' (Tabernacle during the wilderness journeys) corresponding to the day of Chanukah where Shabbat occurs.

Double ''maftir''

Shabbat Chanukah and two of the special Shabbatot (Shekalim and HaChodesh) sometimes coincide with Rosh Chodesh. When this happens, the portion for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh is read from a second scroll, then the special ''maftir'' portion for that special Shabbat from a third. Only the person called to the third scroll reads the haftarah, though the haftarah itself may contain verses appropriate both to Rosh Chodesh and to Chanukah or the special Shabbat.

References

* {{Shabbat Shabbat Torah reading Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings