HAPTARA (lit. conclusion)  , the Hebrew title given to the prophetic lessons with which the ancient Synagogue service concluded . In the time of Christ these prophetic lessons were already in vogue, and Christ himself read the lessons and discoursed on them in the synagogues of Galilee . In the modern synagogue these readings from the prophets are regularly included in the ritual of Sabbaths, festivals and some other occasions . A list of the current lessons is given in the Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. vi. pp . 136-137 . (I .