From Hebrew, meaning conclusion. The section from the Prophets recited at the conclusion of the reading from the Torah, or Five Books of Moses, on the Sabbath, holidays, and during afternoon services on fast days. Each portion of the Torah has a specific Haftorah of its own; there is some connection, however remote, between the Torah reading and the Haftarah. Some Sabbath days are named after the Haftarah reading, such as Shabbat Hazon (Sabbath of Vision), when the first chapter of Isaiah, which begins with the words “The vision,” is read.

The Talmud says that the practice of Haftarah readings on the Sabbath goes back to the 1st century C.E. The early Tannaim gradually arranged for the addition of a specific Haftarah for each portion of the Torah.