Kedoshim Haftorah in a Nutshell

Nutshell for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Haftorah

When Rosh Chodesh — the “head of the month,” the one or two semi-festive days marking the beginning of each Jewish month — falls on Shabbat, as is the case this week, a special haftorah is read instead of the regular one. This haftorah concludes with the assurance that during the Messianic Era all Jews will once again come to the Holy Temple to worship on every (Shabbat and) Rosh Chodesh.

Isaiah 66:1-24.

The prophet Isaiah relays G‑d's message: one of encouragement to the poor on those of a contrite spirit, and reproach to the sinners who offer insincere sacrifices, thinking they can atone for their immoral lifestyles. The prophet continues to prophesy about the Future Redemption and the ingathering of all exiled Jews, comparing the process to childbirth, "Who heard anything like this? Who saw anything like these? Is a land born in one day? Is a nation born at once, that Zion both experienced birth pangs and bore her children? For so says the Lord, '...Like a man whose mother consoles him, so will I console you, and in Jerusalem, you shall be consoled. And you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall bloom like grass...'"

These rewards, however, are reserved for those "tremble before G‑d's word." Those who oppressed Israel, however, will then be justly punished for their deeds.

The above haftorah is read since this Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh. In other years, we would read the following text:

Ezekiel 20:2-20.

This week's haftorah mentions G‑d's repeated enjoinders to observe the commandments, keep the Shabbat and eschew idol worship; reflective of this week's Torah portion, which discusses many commandments, including the obligation to sanctify the Shabbat and reject idolatry.

The prophet Ezekiel transmit G‑d's message, reminding the Jews how He chose them as His nation, how He took them out of Egypt and promised to take them to the Holy Land. In Egypt, G‑d dispatched a prophet who exhorted the Jews to abandon their idols, yet they did not do so. He then gave them laws and statutes, including that of the observance of Shabbat as a sign between Him and His people. "But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they walked not in My statutes, and they despised My ordinances, which, if a man keep, he will live through them, and My Sabbaths they desecrated exceedingly."

The prophet goes on to mention G‑d's punishment of the Jews in the desert, namely that they did not enter the Holy Land. He then admonishes the children not to follow their fathers' ways, but to observe the laws and to sanctify the Shabbat.