Greta’s Haftarah
This haftarah was first chanted at the annual P’nai Or Philadelphia MLK Shabbat service on January 19, 2020. The haftara is based on Greta Thunberg’s moving speech to the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019 (click above to view the original speech). To learn more about Greta and her leadership, a biography can be accessed here. May Greta’s urgent prophetic message be heeded!
For those unfamiliar with Jewish liturgy, a haftarah is a selection from the Hebrew prophets traditionally chanted in Jewish communities on Shabbat (Saturday) mornings. Greta’s Haftarah is set to the traditional Ashkenazi Haftarah melody. To learn more about the practice of creating new haftarot from contemporary prophetic texts, see article by Hazzan Jack Kessler, "English Leyning: Bringing New Meaning to the Torah Service".
This text was adapted by Tobie Hoffman and notated and chanted by Daniella Forstater. All audio is edited, mixed, and recorded by Tani Nevins-Klein. Below is Tani’s experimental round (4 voices) of the haftarah.