Tetzaveh (תצוה – “You shall command”) – Shabbat Zakhor
Exodus 27:20–30:10 — Special Reading: Deuteronomy 25:17–19 — Haftara for Zakhor: I Samuel 15:1–34
G.od instructs Moses to tell the Children of Israel to prepare pure olive oil for the menorah. He describes the garments of the kohanim, their rites of initiation, the inauguration service of the sanctuary, the daily offerings, and the golden altar for incense. Zakhor recalls Amalek’s attack and the command never to forget it, and the haftara recounts the mission entrusted to Saul to destroy Amalek.
Exodus 27:20
וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל… לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד.
You shall command the Children of Israel… to kindle a perpetual light.
Inaugurated in 2009 and designed by the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki [1], Beth David Synagogue 🔗 in Tokyo (Jewish Community of Japan – JCJ) features a modern façade of textured concrete, animated by subtle motifs recalling the Star of David.
Inside, the Aron ha‑Kodesh, crowned by a contemporary Ner Tamid [2], stands within a warm ensemble of light woodwork illuminated by the natural light of the central atrium.
During the Second World War, Chiune Sugihara [3], the Japanese consul in Kaunas (Lithuania), defied official orders and issued thousands of visas that enabled Jewish refugees to reach Japan and find refuge there.
Today, a few hundred Jews live in Japan, in harmony with Japanese society. The country is also among those where antisemitic acts are among the rarest in the world.
[1] Fumihiko Maki (1928–2024), world‑renowned Japanese architect, laureate of the Pritzker Prize and the Praemium Imperiale, known for his minimalist approach and subtle use of light and materials.
[2] The Ner Tamid refers back to Tetzaveh, which commands the perpetual light in the sanctuary (Exodus 27:20–21). Talmudic tradition (Menahot 86b) describes the “western lamp” as a perpetual testimony (edut tamid) to the Divine Presence, and Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Avodah, Hilkhot Temidin u‑Musafin 3:10–12) details its daily lighting. The Ner Tamid found in synagogues is its symbolic heir.
[3] Chiune Sugihara (1900–1986), Japanese consul in Kaunas in 1940, issued around 2,000 transit visas enabling nearly 6,000 Jewish refugees to escape Nazi‑occupied Europe. He acted against the instructions of his government, sometimes writing visas by hand day and night. Thanks to these documents, refugees were able to reach Japan, mainly Kobe. He was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1985.