1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Haptara

by Israel Abrahams

HAPTARA (lit. conclusion), the Hebrew title given to the prophetic lessons with which the ancient Synagogue service concluded. In the time of Christ these prophetic lessons were already in vogue, and Christ himself read the lessons and discoursed on them in the synagogues of Galilee. In the modern synagogue these readings from the prophets are regularly included in the ritual of Sabbaths, festivals and some other occasions.

A list of the current lessons is given in the Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. vi. pp. 136-137. (I. A.)