Schedule for the Reading of Psalms and Hafṭarot corresponding to the Weekly Torah Portion (and Hafṭarot for Festivals) according to the Damascus Ḳaraites (ca. 1700)

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation) and Unknown

Shared on:

15 March 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tags:

הפטרות haftarot, Nusaḥ haKaraim, לוח lu'aḥ, תהלים Psalms

A schedule for hafṯaroṯ for the weekly portions and festivals, as well as psalms for the weekly portions, according to a Damascus Karaite siddur from approximately 1700. According to the work of Jacob Mann’s The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue (1940), the Ḳaraite hafṭaroṯ schedule was probably adapted from the practice of the Byzantine Romaniotes, whose practice was in many ways much closer to the one attested here than to rabbinic norms practiced today. Both ultimately derive from the old Western Rite hafṭaroṯ, albeit adapted to the annual cycle originating from the east.

Shabbat/Festival Reading	Haftarah portion	Psalm
Bə-reshiṯ	Isaiah 42:1–16	008
Toləḏoṯ Noaḥ	Isaiah 54:1–55:5	029
Lekh Ləkha	Isaiah 40:25–41:17	015
Va-Yera Elav	II Kings 4:1–37	011
Ḥayye Sara	I Kings 1:1–31	052
Toləḏoṯ Yiṣḥaq	Malachi 1:1–3:4	023
Va-Yeṣe Yaȝaqoḇ	Hosea 11:7–12:14	132
Va-Yishlaḥ Yaȝaqoḇ	Obadiah in its entirety	060
Va-Yesheḇ Yaȝaqoḇ	Jeremiah 30:18–31:13	091
Va-Yhi Mi-qeṣ	I Kings 3:15–4:1^[1] Note that Karaites do not celebrate Ḥanukkah, so this hafṭara is much more commonly recited than in rabbinic practice.	039
Va-Yigash Elav	Ezekiel 37:16–28	133
Va-Yəḥi Yaȝaqoḇ	I Kings 2:1–12	067
V-Eleh Shəmoṯ	Ezekiel 16:1–14, 63	094
Va-Era el Aḇraham	Ezekiel 28:24–29:21	076
Bo el Parȝo	Isaiah 19:1–25	114
Va-Yhi Bə-shallaḥ	Judges 4:23–5:31	066
Va-Yishmaȝ Yiṯro	Isaiah 5:30–9:6	096
Mishpaṭim	Jeremiah 34:10–35:19	082
Ṯəruma	I Kings 5:26–6:13	084
V-Ata Təṣave	Ezekiel 43:10–27	132
Ki Ṯissa	I Kings 18:1–39	130
Va-Yaqhel	I Kings 7:13–22	087
V-Ele Fəquḏei	I Kings 7:40–50	132
Va-Yiqra	Isaiah 43:21–44:6	050
Va-Yaqhel II (leap years)^[2] According to the practice of this Karaite community, during leap years these three portions are divided in half and recited over six weeks instead of three. Meanwhile, several other readings (marked below) which are, in Rabbinic practice, divided during leap years, are never recited separately.	Isaiah 56:1–58:14	087
V-Ele Fəquḏei II (leap years)	I Kings 7:51–8:15	132
Va-Yiqra II (leap years)	Isaiah 33:2–22	050
Ṣav eṯ Aharon	Jeremiah 7:21–28, 9:22–23	020
Ba-Yom Ha-Shəmini	II Samuel 6:1–7:3	067
Ki Tazriaȝ	II Kings 4:42–5:19	139
Məṣoraȝ	II Kings 7:1–20, 13:23^[3] The custom of reading 7:1–20 and concluding with 13:23 is attested elsewhere, for instance in Yemenite and Italian rabbinic communities.	039
Aḥarei Moṯ	Ezekiel 22:1–16	032
Qəḏoshim	Ezekiel 20:1–6	016
Emor^[4] Written as Amor, a common scribal mix-up of ḥataf pataḥ and ḥataf segol.	Ezekiel 44:15–31	132
Bə-har/Im Bə-ḥuqoṯai^[5] Included together. It seems that in practice of this Karaite community the two were never recited separately. See note 2.	Ezekiel 34:1–27	067
Bə-miḏbar	Hosea 2:1–22	080
Nasso eṯ	Judges 13:2–24	067
Bə-haȝaloṯ-kha	Zechariah 2:14–4:9	037
Shəlaḥ Ləkha	Joshua 2:1–24	095
Va-yiqaḥ Qoraḥ	I Samuel 11:14–12:22	055
Ḥuqqaṯ ha-Tora	Judges 11:1–40	051
Va-yar Balaq	Micah 5:6–6:8	083
Pinḥas^[6] Maṭot is not included. Perhaps in the practice of this Karaite community it was combined with Pinḥas. See note 2. In rabbinic practice, it is almost always combined with Masȝei.	I Kings 18:46–19:21^[7] This manuscript appears to treat each one of the twenty-two eight-verse stanzas in the great acrostic of Psalm 119 as a distinct “sub-psalm” which can be recited on its own.	119:121–128
Masȝei	Isaiah 40:1–41:17	077
Ele Ha-Dəḇarim	Jeremiah 30:4–31:13	019
Va-Eṯḥanan	Jeremiah 32:16–39	017
V-Haya Ȝeqeḇ	Isaiah 49:14–50:10	119:105–112^[8] See prior note.
Rə’eh Anokhi	Isaiah 54:11–55:5	024
Shofṭim v-Shoṭrim	Isaiah 51:12–52:10	058
Ki Ṯeṣe	Isaiah 54:1–17	144
V-Haya Ki Ṯaḇo	Hosea 14:2–10, Micah 7:18–20	067
Atem Niṣaḇim^[9] Va-yelekh is not included. Perhaps in the practice of this Karaite community it was always combined. See note 2.	Isaiah 61:10–63:1	040
Ha’azinu	II Samuel 22:1–51	027
V-Zoṯ ha-Bərakha	Joshua 1:1–9,^[10] Or possibly Joshua 1:1–10 and 6:27. The instructions are ambiguous. Joshua 1:1–9 and 6:27 is attested in Yemenite practice, while most modern Karaites recite 1:1–10 without the additional verse 6:27	067
Yom Təruȝa^[11] Karaites do not refer to this day as Rosh haShanah. For more information, find this article at theTorah.com by the Karaite author Shawn Joe Lichaa.	I Samuel 1:1–3:20
Yom Ha-Kippurim	Jonah in its entirety, Micah 7:18–20
Day 1 of Ḥaḡ ha-Sukkoṯ	Zechariah 13:9–14:21
Shabbaṯ Purim^[12] This may refer to the day rabbinic Jews refer to as Shabbaṯ Zakhor, the Shabbat before Purim. However, unlike rabbinic Jews, Karaites celebrate Purim as two days everywhere they live rather than just in certain cities. Also, the Karaite calendar is based on seeing the new moon rather than the rabbinic calendar algorithm, so the first day of Purim may also fall on Shabbat. So perhaps what is intended is any year when either day of Purim falls on Shabbaṯ. In rabbinic practice in walled cities, the hafṭara for Shabbaṯ Zakhor is repeated when Shushan Purim falls on Shabbaṯ.	I Samuel 15:1–16:13^[13] Probably, based on parallel customs. Unfortunately, the manuscript only specifies it begins with a verse in I Samuel 15 that starts with “and Samuel said,” which also applies to verses 14, 16, and 17.
Day 1 of Ḥaḡ ha-Maṣṣoṯ	Joshua 3:5–7, 5:2-6:1, 6:27^[14] As attested elsewhere, for instance in many Ashkenazi customs. The manuscript only specifies 3:5 and 6:27, though, and several of its haftarot for festivals are much longer than rabbinic practice, so it is a distinct possibility that the entirety of Joshua 3:5–6:27 was intended.
Shabbaṯ Pesaḥ	Ezekiel 36:37–37:14
Shəḇiȝi Ȝaṣeret^[15] Literally, the seventh day of assembly. Referring to the last day of Pesaḥ, based on Deuteronomy 16:8. Ironically, in rabbinic practice Pesaḥ is the only one of the three pilgrimage-festivals for which “day of assembly” is not used!	II Samuel 22:1–51
Ḥaḡ ha-Shaḇuȝoṯ	Ezekiel 1:1–3:12
Shabbaṯ and Rosh Ḥoḏesh	Isaiah 66:1–23
Shabbaṯ and wedding	Isaiah 61:10–63:1

Notes

Notes
1	Note that Karaites do not celebrate Ḥanukkah, so this hafṭara is much more commonly recited than in rabbinic practice.
2	According to the practice of this Karaite community, during leap years these three portions are divided in half and recited over six weeks instead of three. Meanwhile, several other readings (marked below) which are, in Rabbinic practice, divided during leap years, are never recited separately.
3	The custom of reading 7:1–20 and concluding with 13:23 is attested elsewhere, for instance in Yemenite and Italian rabbinic communities.
4	Written as Amor, a common scribal mix-up of ḥataf pataḥ and ḥataf segol.
5	Included together. It seems that in practice of this Karaite community the two were never recited separately. See note 2.
6	Maṭot is not included. Perhaps in the practice of this Karaite community it was combined with Pinḥas. See note 2. In rabbinic practice, it is almost always combined with Masȝei.
7	This manuscript appears to treat each one of the twenty-two eight-verse stanzas in the great acrostic of Psalm 119 as a distinct “sub-psalm” which can be recited on its own.
8	See prior note.
9	Va-yelekh is not included. Perhaps in the practice of this Karaite community it was always combined. See note 2.
10	Or possibly Joshua 1:1–10 and 6:27. The instructions are ambiguous. Joshua 1:1–9 and 6:27 is attested in Yemenite practice, while most modern Karaites recite 1:1–10 without the additional verse
11	Karaites do not refer to this day as Rosh haShanah. For more information, find this article at theTorah.com by the Karaite author Shawn Joe Lichaa.
12	This may refer to the day rabbinic Jews refer to as Shabbaṯ Zakhor, the Shabbat before Purim. However, unlike rabbinic Jews, Karaites celebrate Purim as two days everywhere they live rather than just in certain cities. Also, the Karaite calendar is based on seeing the new moon rather than the rabbinic calendar algorithm, so the first day of Purim may also fall on Shabbat. So perhaps what is intended is any year when either day of Purim falls on Shabbaṯ. In rabbinic practice in walled cities, the hafṭara for Shabbaṯ Zakhor is repeated when Shushan Purim falls on Shabbaṯ.
13	Probably, based on parallel customs. Unfortunately, the manuscript only specifies it begins with a verse in I Samuel 15 that starts with “and Samuel said,” which also applies to verses 14, 16, and 17.
14	As attested elsewhere, for instance in many Ashkenazi customs. The manuscript only specifies 3:5 and 6:27, though, and several of its haftarot for festivals are much longer than rabbinic practice, so it is a distinct possibility that the entirety of Joshua 3:5–6:27 was intended.
15	Literally, the seventh day of assembly. Referring to the last day of Pesaḥ, based on Deuteronomy 16:8. Ironically, in rabbinic practice Pesaḥ is the only one of the three pilgrimage-festivals for which “day of assembly” is not used!

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

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