Time of the Gemara
24. “ספרא דאפטרתא.” In the time of the Gemara, they had a Sefer Haftaros. This was a sefer written with all the requirements of a sefer Torah. It did not contain an entire sefer of Navi, but rather all the haftara sections lained on Shabbosos and Yomim Tovim. There is a machlokes Amora’im whether one may lain a haftara from this.
25. Raba and Rav Yosef hold one may not lain from it, as only a full sefer or Navi may be written, not sections of Torah. If one lains from such a sefer to be motzi others, it is like he lained by heart something which has to be lained from a written text which is prohibited.
26. However, the Gemara’s conclusion is that one may lain from a Sefer Haftaros written on klaf due to the rule of “עת לעשות לה' הפרו תורתך” (תהילים קי''ט), i.e., occasionally, there was a necessity to institute something l’sheim Shomayim despite the fact that it nullifies words of Torah. This was because not every tzibbur had the ability to write complete sifrei Nevi’im for themselves.
Printed Haftara Sefer
27. The poskim discuss whether one may lain from a haftara printed in modern sefer form, with binding and on paper, or from a printed chumash that has each parsha together with its haftara.
28. Some say one is only yotzei with a haftara written on a klaf that rolls up, like a sefer Torah or Megilla, even if it is not a complete sefer Navi, like the Sefer Haftaros mentioned in the Gemara. One is not yotzei with a haftara printed on paper like a modern-day sefer (לבוש הובא במ''מ סי' רפ''ד סק''א).
29. However, most later poskim justify the minhag to lain from printed chumashim, reasoning that printing has the status of writing, as many poskim write (שו''ת רמ''ע מפאנו, משאת בנימין, דברי חמודות). With the exception of a sefer Torah and Megillas Esther, there is no need to write sifrei kodesh with a specific type of ink [דיו]. Thus, it is not an issue if a haftara is printed on paper and does not roll up (ט''ז סק''ב, א''ר סק''ג, מג''א ריש הסי').
30. Complete, printed sefer Navi. Some hold the haftara may be lained from a complete, printed sefer Navi, but not from the haftara printed in the chumashim. The reason is because the whole heter in the time of the Gemara to lain from a Sefer Haftaros was because people did not have the ability to write complete sifrei Navi. Today, though, when it is cheap to print sefarim and shuls can buy complete sifrei Navi, the halacha reverts to the issur to write a sefer of just haftaros. The haftara must be lained specifically from a complete sefer, even if it is printed (מג''א שם, א''ר).
31. Complete Tanach. For this reason, some lain the haftara from a complete Tanach. Although there is no need or advantage for it to be specifically from a complete Tanach [it is enough to be a complete sefer Navi], they lain from a complete Tanach for convenience, as it is a single sefer that contains all the haftaros.
32. Nevertheless, if a tzibbur only has the haftara printed after the parsha in the chumash, they can be meikel and rely on that (שם).
33. However, others hold there is no advantage to a complete sefer Navi. Once it is not written like a kosher sefer Torah [e.g., proper ink, rolls up], it is a problem of writing an incomplete sefer. We rely on the fact that it does not need to be a kosher sefer that is rolled up, in which case even the haftara printed in the chumash is kosher (ט''ז סק''ב, חזו''א סי' ס' סקי''א).
34. Modern-day printing. However, some recent poskim pointed out that the poskim only considered printing a form of writing [thereby giving printed materials kedusha] because printing used to involve engraved, inked letters and manual power. However, modern-day printing, which uses electricity, lasers, screening, offset, and the like, and which involves no manual human power, is not considered writing. Accordingly, it would not have any kedusha or advantage whatsoever even according to the Magen Avrohom (above, 30) (שו''ת שבט הלוי ח''ב סי' קמ''ג; see Issue 44, par. 7 regarding the chiyuv to put modern-day printed material in geniza).
Haftara from a Klaf
35. Some try l’chatchila to lain the haftaros from a full sefer Navi on klaf. It is certainly fitting and proper for every tzibbur to have Nevi’im written on klaf according to halacha, as the names of Hashem are written with kedusha, as opposed to a haftara printed on paper. The Vilna Gaon did this in his community, and today this is spreading in many communities – praiseworthy is their share (חי''א כלל ל''א ס''מ, מ''ב סי' רפ''ד ססק''א). Many bnei Yeshiva, Litvishe communities, and Prushim in Eretz Yisroel who follow the Gra do this too. It is important to note that even according to the Gra, it is mutar to lain from a printed chumash, only it is more l’chatchila to use a klaf (תשובות והנהגות ח''ה סי' פ''ב).
36. Nevertheless, most are meikel to lain from printed chumashim (above, 29) or from a complete, printed sefer Navi (30). This is either because this is included in the heter of “עת לעשות לה'” (26), or because Chazal did not institute that the haftara should specifically be lained from a kosher sefer (מג''א שם, שו''ת הרשב''א ח''א סי' תפ''ז, כל בו ס''כ, שו''ת דברי יציב ח''א סי' קכ''ט).
