B"H

 

 

 

Haftorah for Shabbat the day before Rosh Chodesh

 

I Samuel (Shmuel)

Chapter 20

 

18. And Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be remembered, for your seat will be vacant. 19. And for three days, you shall hide very well, and you shall come to the place where you hid on the day of work, and you shall stay beside the traveler's stone. 20. And I shall shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a mark. 21. And behold, I shall send the youth, (saying,) 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the youth, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you,' take it and come, for it is well with you, and there is nothing the matter, as the Lord lives. 22. But, if I say thus to the youth, 'Behold, the arrows are beyond you,' go! For the Lord has sent you away. 23. And (concerning) the matter which we have spoken, I and you, behold, the Lord is between me and you forever." 24. And David hid in the field, and when it was the new moon, Saul sat down to the meal to eat. 25. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat down beside Saul, and David's place was vacant. 26. And Saul did not say anything on that day, for he thought, "It is an incident; he is not clean, for he is not clean." 27. And it was, on the morrow of the new moon, the second (day of the month), that David's place was vacant, and Saul said to Jonathan, his son, "Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?" 28. And Jonathan answered Saul, "David asked leave of me (to go) to Bethlehem. 29. And he said, 'Let me go away now, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and he, my brother, commanded me, and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me slip away now, and see my brothers. ' He, therefore, did not come to the king's table." 30. And Saul's wrath was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a straying woman deserving of punishment! Did I not know that you choose the son of Jesse, to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 31. For all the days that the son of Jesse is living on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. And now, send and take him to me, for he is condemned to death." 32. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" 33. And Saul cast the spear upon him to strike him; and Jonathan knew that it had been decided upon by his father, to put David to death. 34. And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger; and he did not eat any food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved concerning David, for his father had put him to shame. 35. And it was in the morning, that Jonathan went out at David's appointed time, and a small boy was with him. 36. And he said to his boy, "Run, find now the arrows which I shoot." The boy ran; and he shot the arrow to cause it to go beyond him. 37. And the lad came up to the place of the arrow, which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan called after the lad, and said, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?" 38. And Jonathan called after the lad, "Quickly, hasten, do not stand!" And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 39. And the lad knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40. And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to him, "Go, bring (them) to the city." 41. The lad departed, and David arose from (a place) toward the south; and he fell upon his face to the ground three times, and prostrated himself three times. And they kissed one another, and wept one with the other, until David exceeded. 42. And Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace! (And bear in mind) that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.' "

 

 

Though we will not be reading it this year, the following is the standard Haftorah for this week's Torah reading.

 

Malachi

Chapter 1

 

1. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel in the hand of Malachi. 2. I loved you, said the Lord, and you said, "How have You loved us?" Was not Esau a brother to Jacob? says the Lord. And I loved Jacob. 3. And I hated Esau, and I made his mountains desolate and his heritage into [a habitat for] the jackals of the desert. 4. Should Edom say, "We were poor, but we will return and build the ruins"? So said the Lord of Hosts: They shall build, but I will demolish; and they shall be called the border of wickedness and the people whom the Lord has damned forever. 5. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say, "The Lord is great beyond the border of Israel." 6. A son honors a father, and a slave his master. Now if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says the Lord of Hosts to you, the priests, who despise My name. But you said, "How have we despised Your Name?" 7. You offer on My altar defiled food, yet you say, "How have we defiled You?" By your saying, "God's table is contemptible." 8. When you offer a blind [animal] for a sacrifice, is there nothing wrong? And when you offer a lame or a sick one, is there nothing wrong? Were you to offer it to your governor, would he accept you or would he favor you? says the Lord of Hosts. 9. And now, will you pray before the Lord that He be gracious to us? This has come from your hand. Will He favor any of you? says the Lord of Hosts. 10. O that there were even one among you that would close the doors [of the Temple] and that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain! I have no desire in you, says the Lord of Hosts. Neither will I accept an offering from your hand. 11. For, from the rising of the sun until its setting, My Name is great among the nations, and everywhere offerings are burnt and offered up to My Name; yea, a pure oblation, for My Name is great among the nations, says the Lord of Hosts. 12. But you are profaning it by your saying, "The Lord's table is defiled"; and its expression is "Its food is contemptible." 13. And you say, "Here is a weary one," and you cause it pain, says the Lord of Hosts. And you brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame and the sick. And you bring an offering-will I accept it from your hand? says the Lord. 14. And cursed is he who deals craftily; although there is a ram in his flock, he vows and sacrifices a blemished one. For I am a great King, says the Lord of Hosts, and My Name is feared among the nations.

 

Chapter 2

 

1. And now, to you is this commandment, O priests. 2. If you do not heed, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My Name, says the Lord of Hosts, I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed I have [already] cursed it, for you do not take it to heart. 3. Behold! I rebuke the seed because of you, and I will scatter dung upon your face-the dung of your festive sacrifices, and it shall take you to itself. 4. And you shall know that I have sent you this commandment, that My covenant be with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. 5. My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave them to him [with] fear; and he feared Me, and because of My Name, he was over-awed. 6. True teaching was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. In peace and equity he went with Me, and he brought back many from iniquity. 7. For a priest's lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth, for he is a messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

 

Please note: These Haftorah texts follow Chabad custom. Other communities could possibly read more, less, or a different section of the Prophets altogether. Please consult with your rabbi.