Tetzaveh begins with a command to take olive oil for the perpetual lamp set before the LORD:

And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a statute for ever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. (Exodus 27:20–21)

וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר – לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד. בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, מִחוּץ לַפָּרֹכֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל הָעֵדֻת יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו, מֵעֶרֶב עַד בֹּקֶר, לִפְנֵי ה' – חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. (שמות כ"ז, כ-כא)

Lighting the lamps is already mentioned in Terumah’s command to make the menorah:

And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven; and they shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it. (Exodus 25:37)

וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת נֵרֹתֶיהָ שִׁבְעָה וְהֶעֱלָה אֶת נֵרֹתֶיהָ וְהֵאִיר עַל עֵבֶר פָּנֶיהָ (שמות כ"ה, לז)

There are significant differences between the passages:

  1. Terumah speaks of lamps, rather than a lamp. Although “lamp” could be a collective noun, a difference remains.
  2. Terumah describes lighting the lamps without “continually,” whereas Tetzaveh says “to cause a lamp to burn continually.” The omission is even more striking in the wider context: the preceding table description concludes “And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before Me alway” (Exodus 25:30), but the lamps do not.
  3. Tetzaveh ignores the furnishing on which the lamp is set. Rather than mentioning the menorah, it specifies only the perpetual lamp’s location: “In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony” (Exodus 27:21).

This seems to be the Torah’s way of teaching that the menorah has two roles. The first is functional and perhaps aesthetic: illuminating the space before it (see “Over against the Candlestick”). This is emphasized in the commands to make it in Terumah and in Beha‘alotekha (Numbers 8:2). It also appears in Solomon’s Temple, where ten menorahs (I Kings 7:49) illuminated a building twelve times the Tabernacle’s volume: twice its length and width, and three times its height.

The menorah also provides a place for a perpetual lamp before the LORD, symbolizing His presence continually dwelling in the Tabernacle. This role needs no seven-branched menorah; one candlestick with one lamp suffices, like the perpetual lamp in our synagogues. Tetzaveh’s opening presents this aspect.

These functional and symbolic roles complement one another. Their synthesis appears in Emor in Leviticus. The Torah repeats almost the same words as Tetzaveh’s opening, adding what was absent there: the perpetual lamp is ultimately arranged as lamps on the menorah:

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: ’Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, shall Aaron order it from evening to morning before the LORD continually; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually. (Leviticus 24:1–4)

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: צַו אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר – לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד. מִחוּץ לְפָרֹכֶת הָעֵדֻת, בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן, מֵעֶרֶב עַד בֹּקֶר, לִפְנֵי ה' – תָּמִיד, חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם. עַל הַמְּנֹרָה הַטְּהֹרָה יַעֲרֹךְ אֶת הַנֵּרוֹת, לִפְנֵי ה' – תָּמִיד. (ויקרא כ״ד, א–ד)