The chanting of the haftara has become so closely associated with Ashkenazi b’nei mitzva that it even spawned a joke: The singer Neil Diamond is approached by a millionaire to perform at his son’s bar mitzva. “Fine,” says Diamond, “as long as I don’t have to do the whole haftara.”
But beginning with the newest crop of b’nei mitzva students at Congregation B’nai Israel in Millburn, families can opt out of having their children chant the haftara at their service. In its place, they will lead various sections of the davening, or prayer service, on Shabbat morning and/or Friday night.
The switch is in large part an effort to provide young people with skills they can use regularly as prayer leaders. Rather than focusing closely on the haftara — a selection from the books of Prophets that changes week to week based on that week’s Torah portion — the new policy offers the youngsters a chance to focus on skills like leading the Saturday morning Musaf and Torah services and chanting from the Torah.
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