Haftarah note
Feb. 19th, 2011 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhuWhile today was my bar mitzvah Torah reading (Ki Tisa), the oddities of the Jewish calendar meant that it was not my haftarah (Parah). Instead, we read the actual haftarah for Ki Tisa, which is the amazing narrative from I Kings 18 where Elijah returns to confront Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.
I have long wanted to have the opportunity to chant this haftarah, so when it was offered to me this morning I didn't hesitate to accept. This chapter has it all --- there's sarcasm, fear, anger, humor, and vivid descriptions of the people's actions. I tried to read it not with separate voices for each character, but with different vocal mannerisms. Elijah's words were loud and self-confident; Ovadiah was terrified; Ahab contemptuous. When Elijah mocks Baal ("Maybe he's busy, y'know") I tried to capture his sneer.
Basically, I chanted it not only as a sacred text with a prescribed cantillation, but as a story that needed telling. I think it worked. What I'd really like to do now is practice it and do it again, more smoothly. (Since at our synagogue's early minyan, haftarot are usually assigned about ten minutes before they're chanted, all I had was a chance to glance over it to make sure there were no surprises, such as the one kri/ktiv mismatch.)
I have long wanted to have the opportunity to chant this haftarah, so when it was offered to me this morning I didn't hesitate to accept. This chapter has it all --- there's sarcasm, fear, anger, humor, and vivid descriptions of the people's actions. I tried to read it not with separate voices for each character, but with different vocal mannerisms. Elijah's words were loud and self-confident; Ovadiah was terrified; Ahab contemptuous. When Elijah mocks Baal ("Maybe he's busy, y'know") I tried to capture his sneer.
Basically, I chanted it not only as a sacred text with a prescribed cantillation, but as a story that needed telling. I think it worked. What I'd really like to do now is practice it and do it again, more smoothly. (Since at our synagogue's early minyan, haftarot are usually assigned about ten minutes before they're chanted, all I had was a chance to glance over it to make sure there were no surprises, such as the one kri/ktiv mismatch.)