The Mezuzah What is the source for the tradition of the
Mezuzah? We are commanded to
“write
them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” The very sight of the
Mezuzah
prompts curiosity. "What is that?" “And you shall tell your child on that
day...” This is because of what HASHEM did for me in the house of bondage.
Commandment 81 D’varim 6:9
9And write them on the doorposts of your
house and upon your gates.
D’varim 11:19-20 19You shall teach them to
your children to discuss them, while you sit in your home, while you
walk in the way, when you retire and when you arise. 20And
you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
D’varim 6:5-6 5You shall love HASHEM, your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your resources.
6And these
matters that I command you today shall be upon your heart.
The infamous phrase is the one elected to be in the Mezuzah.
What is a Mezuzah? The Mezuzah is usually a little metal case, with the
Sefer Torah
inside. A Mezuzah is actually a little Tefillin that your house wears, one on every door
frame (the word actually means "Doorpost"), except for the bathroom. You can
basically find one in every shape size and color (often very decorative). The very
presence of one can remind you to wear Tefillin. One often touches the Mezuzah and kisses
their fingers as a sign of devotion when entering a house or leaving it (only the most
very devout would kiss every Mezuzah in a house as they went from room to room, and after
four or five years would finally make it out of the house!).
What's on the
Sefer Torah inside the metal case:
D’varim 6:4-9 4Hear, O Israel:
HASHEM,
is our God, HASHEM is the One and Only. 5You shall love
HASHEM,
your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
resources.6And these matters
that I command you today shall be upon your heart. 7You
shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them
while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire
and when you arise. 8Bind them
as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes.
9And write them on the doorposts of your
house and upon your gates.
D’varim 11:13-21 13It
will be that if you hearken to My commandments that I command you today,
to love1HASHEM,
your God, and to serve Him
with all your heart and with all your soul, 14then
I shall provide rain for your Land in its proper time, the early and the
late rains, that you may gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.
15I shall provide grass in your
field for you cattle and you will eat and you will be satisfied.
16Beware for yourselves, lest your heart be
seduced and you turn astray and serve gods of others and prostrate
yourselves to them. 17Then the
wrath of HASHEM will
blaze against you; He will restrain the heaven so there will be no rain,
and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will be swiftly
banished from the goodly Land that HASHEM
gives you. 18You shall place
these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul; you shall bind
them for a sign upon your arm and let them be and ornament between your
eyes. 19You shall teach them to
your children to discuss them, while you sit in your home, while you
walk in the way, when you retire and when you arise. 20And
you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
21In order to prolong your days and the days
of your children upon the Land that HASHEM
has sworn to your forefathers to give them, like the days of the heaven
over the earth.
B’midbar 15:38-41 37HASHEM said to Moses, saying, 38“Speak
to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves
tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations.
And they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of turquoise
wool.239It
shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the
commandments of HASHEM
and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes
after which you stray. 40So that
you may remember and perform all My commandments and be holy to your God.
41I amHASHEM,
your God, who removed
you from the land of Egypt to be an God unto
you; I amHASHEM
your God.”
The Blessing:
Barukh ata HASHEM, elohaynu Melech
ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav vitsivanu likboa
Mezuzah
Blessed are you, HASHEM our God,
King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to
affix the Mezuzah.
Place the Mezuzah on the upper third of the right-hand doorpost as you enter from the
outside.
Position the Mezuzah diagonally, with the top of it toward the house and bottom toward
the outside. Why? Because this was one argument the sages in the Talmud never settled.
That's why.
1D’varim 11:13.
To
love, i.e., perform the commandments purely out of love, and the honor will
come ultimately (Rashi).
2B’midbar 15:38.
One of the strings of each fringe is to be dyed turquoise with the blood
of an aquatic creature known as chilazon
(Rashi).
The exact identity of the
creature that is the source of this blue dye is unknown nowadays.
The Mezuzah
