Mezzuzot

Every Jew should have mezzuzot on their doors.

What is exactly mezuzah? It is not the case that we nail on our doorframe.  The mezuzah is what lies inside the case. What is inside? Most of us never open one to see. 

One day a man’s curiosity got the better of him pulled the mezuzah off his door frame and peered inside.  Inside was a message: “Help.  Call the police. I am imprisoned in a mezuzah factory!”

What is really inside? It is a hand written parchment, just like our Torah, containing sections from the holy Writ. Scribed by hand are the words of the Shma and following sections that we pray daily. Each parchment must have exactly 22 lines and on the reverse side have God’s name, Shaddai.

Mezzuzot are ongoing reminders of God’s presence in our lives and in our homes. We see them on the right-hand side as we enter into the house. Traditionally, we touch it and kiss it as we go into our home seeking God’s blessing. It is at eye level so that we cannot miss seeing it when we come into our house.

When I visited Poland years ago I walked through the old town of Krakow. I saw one doorway after another with a rectangle about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide carved into the lintels.  These once Jewish homes are mute testimony to the vibrant life that once thrived in the communities of Eastern Europe.

Those old scars in the doorways tell stories. Once there were weddings and brises in this home. People gathered around seder tables and sang and studied. Children were chased and chastised. Love was consummated. Chicken soup wafted on the breeze every Friday evening along with the scent of freshly baked hallah.

Now there is only silence.  Yet these empty spaces are witnesses.

Our mezuzah also testifies to what happens there. They are watchful reminders of a power far greater than us.  They mark our homes as Jews who are proud to be counted as God’s people.  Like the lintels marked in Egypt during the final plague, they invite the Holy One to enter and bless us.

The threshold to every house is small; it is passed and a fraction of a second. Yet the threshold is also boundary. It divides the outside world from the inner world. It separates the home from the street, an office from the hall. This space bridges two worlds and is marked by a mezuzah.

Every room in our home has a mezuzah (the only exception is the bathroom).  This creates sacred space.  It is an invitation to God that the Holy One is welcome here.  It also reminds us that our home is holy and to treat everyone in it with care, not God forbid, with abuse or neglect.