« All Events

Take It or Leave It? Rethinking the Haftarah

January 25, 2027 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
Free
Two iridescent blue damselflies hovering over yellow water lilies.
Monday January 25, 2027
12:00-1:30 p.m. ET
 
For generations, the words of the prophets have been woven into Jewish worship through the haftarah—the reading that traditionally follows the Torah portion. But today, many Jews encounter the prophets only through worship, and many Jews don’t attend Shabbat morning services at all. Some liberal synagogues have even moved away from reading the haftarah altogether.
 
Join Rabbi Barbara Symons, author of Prophetic Voices, for a lively exploration of the history and meaning of the haftarah. We’ll consider why the prophets lost some of their primacy in contemporary Jewish life, what it means that “haftarah” actually means “conclusion” rather than “prophets,” and whether it is “kosher” to let other voices—poets, writers, artists, and contemporary truth-tellers—fill that space.
 
Book cover for Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah, edited by Rabbi Barbara AB Symons.
 
This event will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

A woman with short grey hair smiling in front of a decorative wall with metal leaf shapes.

Rabbi Barbara Symons is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan and was ordained by Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 1994. She currently serves as the rabbi of both Temple Beth-El of City Island, Bronx and the Reform Temple of Putnam Valley. Most recently, she served as the rabbi of Temple David in Monroeville, Pennsylvania just outside of Pittsburgh for 18 years and was named Rabbi Emerita. She loves to pray with and learn with people of all ages as well as actively work together to repair the world especially with partners from the interfaith and local civic community. She is thrilled to have even a small part in raising up prophetic voices through the many diverse voices included in her book Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah (CCAR Press). Barbara met her husband Rabbi Ron Symons during their first week in Jerusalem at Hebrew Union College and is daily and deeply proud of, and inspired by, him and their three children all of whom are not only committed Jews but learned, creative Jewish professionals.

 

Details

Organizer

Venue

Related Events