Marvin Tokayer Explained

Marvin Tokayer (born 1936) is an American rabbi and author who served as a United States Air Force chaplain in Japan. He was later advised by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to return to Japan where he served for eight years as the only rabbi in the country. Tokayer currently serves as a rabbi in Great Neck, New York.

Career

In 1971, Tokayer published a book in Japanese entitled 5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom: Secrets of The Talmud. The book, written in only three days, was translated into Japanese and sold over a million copies. It was later translated into Korean and has sold over two million copies in South Korea.^[1]

South Korean designer Rejina Pyo recalls reading Tokayer's Talmudic tales as a child, saying the stories about kindness, truth, and determination have always stayed with her.^[2] Tokayer has written 20 books in Japanese. He has researched the history of the Jews in China and Japan, including the role that the Japanese played in helping victims of the Holocaust.^[3] In the book The Fugu Plan published in 1979, Tokayer with co-writer Mary Swartz, wrote the story that how two Japanese officials helped the Jews in Lithuania escape to Japan before World War II.^[4]

In the 2010s, he collaborated with Kenneth X. Robbins in editing studies of expatriate communities in Asia. He praises General Hideki Tojo and General Kiichiro Higuchi, who saved 20,000 Jews that the USSR intended to send back to Germany, and is disappointed that this piece of history is not well known.^{[5] [6]}

Tokayer currently serves as a rabbi in Great Neck, New York.

Selected publications in English

• The Fugu Plan. Paddington Press, 1979. (with Mary Swartz)
• Western Jews in India: From the Fifteenth Century to the Present. Manohar Publishers, 2013. (editor with Kenneth X. Robbins)
• Pepper, Silk & Ivory: Amazing Stories about Jews and the Far East. Gefen, 2014. (with Ellen Rodman)
• Jews and the Indian National Art Project. Niyogi Books, 2015. (editor with Kenneth X. Robbins)

Honours

• : The Consul General’s commendation (2014)^{[7] [8]}
• : The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (2017)^{[9] [10] [11]}

Notes and References

1. Arbes . Ross . How the Talmud Became a Best-Seller in South Korea . The New Yorker . Jun 23, 2015 . Aug 14, 2019.
2. Web site: Rejina Pyo on the books that have Inspired Her . A-LIST . 15 May 2019 . 20 August 2019.
3. http://www.rabbitokayer.com/ About Rabbi Tokayer.
4. Web site: An Evacuation of Jews, With Help From Japan. The New York Times. March 5, 2014. https://archive.today/20140903170401/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/nyregion/an-evacuation-of-jews-with-help-from-japan.html?_r=0. September 3, 2014.
5. Web site: みんなの経済新聞:ユダヤ人を救った東条英機・樋口季一郎 - livedoor Blog（ブログ）.
6. Web site: 戦後70周年 the Miracle of General Kiichiro Higuchi. YouTube.
7. Web site: Background: Marvin Tokayer. Consul General of Japan in New York.
8. Web site: 2014 Consul General's Commendation. Consul General of Japan in New York.
9. Web site: The Conferment Ceremony of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for Mr. Marvin Tokayer(writer). Consul General of Japan in New York.
10. Web site: GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN TO HONOR: Mr. Marvin Tokayer. November 3, 2016. Consulate General of Japan in New York.
11. Web site: Rabbi Marvin Tokayer Honored for Lifetime of Service Between Jewish and Japanese Communities. Tablet Magazine. February 17, 2017. Masha. Leon.