Ki Tetze, Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19 and Isaiah 54:1-10 1
In the parashah Ki Tetze (כי תצא — when you go out), Moses sets out a series of laws governing social life, including family relations, workers’ rights, and rules of warfare, as well as the obligation to build a guardrail on rooftops.
Deuteronomy 22:8
When you build a new house, you shall make a guardrail for your roof.
כִּי תִבְנֶה בַּיִת חָדָשׁ, וְעָשִׂיתָ מַעֲקֶה לְגַגֶּךָ
The Itzkhak Elchanan2 Synagogue, better known as the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, was inaugurated in 1982. Built on the site of a synagogue destroyed during the 1948 War of Independence, it is located in the heart of Jerusalem, on King George Street, and can accommodate around 1,400 people. It was designed by architect Alexander Friedman in a monumental 3 neoclassical style. The roof is topped with a dome surrounded by a stone balustrade. This dome dominates the prayer hall and is adorned with stained glass windows. A large stained glass window 4 rises above the Holy Ark. The balustrade of the women’s gallery, made of carved wood, is decorated with geometric patterns and traditional Jewish symbols.
The synagogue was designed as an Ashkenazi synagogue, but the seating arrangement resembles that of Sephardic synagogues, symbolizing the unity 5 of the Jewish people.
1 The haftarah for Ki Tetze is the same as for No’ah. Its themes are redemption and consolation.
2 Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector (1817-1896) was a prominent rabbi of the Russian Empire (Lithuania and Belarus), renowned for his exceptional Talmudic knowledge and influential rulings.
3 Monumental: The façade measures 40m wide by 30m high.
4 The stained glass windows are a tribute to European synagogues destroyed during the Holocaust, and are the work of Regina Heim and David Pinsky.
5 To further reinforce this unity, beside the choir are two chairs reserved for Israel’s chief rabbis, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, and facing them, two more chairs bearing the emblems of the State, reserved for the Prime Minister and the President.