Rabbi Dovid Heber, rov of Tzemach Tzedek shul in Baltimore, explains why we haven’t read the Miketz Haftorah in 20 years and why it’s the rarest haftorah specifically for Chabad.
By Anash.org staff
Rabbi Dovid Heber, who stems from Lubavitcher lineage, is the rov of Tzemach Tzedek shul in Baltimore and author of sefer Shaarei Zmanim.
In this shiur, he explains why we haven’t read the Miketz Haftorah in 20 years (!). He further explains that while according to Minhag Ashkenaz it is the second rarest haftorah, he suggests that according to Minhag Chabad it is in fact the rarest haftorah.
VIDEO
Its a true point that the הפטורה for קדושים isn’t the rarest in chabad because we don’t lain the הפטורה of וערבה on a regular שבת הגדול (unless it’s ערב פסח), instead, if שבת הגדול is on שבת פרשת אחרי we would lain (in a שנה מעוברת) the הפטורה of אחרי, and therefore on שבת פרשת קדושים we would lain the הפטורה of קדושים (unlike מנהג אשכנז, to lain וערבה on שבת הגדול, and since the הפטורה of אחרי was never lained that year it can be pushed off to the week of קדושים), nevertheless, the Rebbe (in תשל”ח, [I haven’t found yumanim of other years like 5741 etc]) lained the הפטורה for קדושים on ש”פ קדושים, although the הפטורה for אחרי wasn’t lained that year (because it was מחר חודש). So it seems that it has nothing to do with not laining וערבה on שבת הגדול, but rather by the Rebbe, the כלל of not laining the הפטורה of קדושים when possible, was simply not applied.