Maftir () is the last person called up to the Torah on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

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

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

'' portion from a related section of the

Nevi'im The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...

(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

* Pentateuch (dis ...

,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 The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

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'' (), sometimes spelled ''gabay'', also known as ''shamash'' (, sometimes transcribed ''shamas'') or warden ( UK, similar to churchwarden), is a beadle or sexton, a person who assists in the running of synagogue services in some w ...

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'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

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 ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

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 Klaf or Qelaf () is the designation given a particular piece of skin. The Talmudic definition includes both the form of the skin and the way it is processed, in particular, that it must be tanned. Since the innovative ruling of ''Rabbeinu Tam'' ...

, 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 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, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

and for

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

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 Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. Han ...

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

Mishkan According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

'' (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