The case generally
features the Hebrew letter shin (ש) inscribed on
its upper exterior, which protects a piece of
parchment scroll (called a klaf), on which is
inscribed two passages from the Hebrew Bible: the
Shema Yisrael and V'havata (Deuteronomy 6:4 to
6:9). In some cases Deuteronomy 11:13 to 11:21 are
also added.
As with tefillin, mezuzahs came about from part of
the V'havata. Though the verse is often
interpreted metaphorically today, even Reform Jews
often have mezuzot:
"You shall love God with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your power. These words
which I command you today shall be on your
heart...You shall inscribe them on the doorposts
of your home and your gates."
Halakha (Jewish law) prescribes in detail the
affixing of mezuzot on doorposts. Since almost
every Jewish home has a mezuzah on its front
doorpost, it has historically been a means of
recognition in times of persecution.
According to halakha the case should be placed on
the right side of the door (from point of view of
one entering the building or room) on the lower
part of the upper third of the doorpost (or around
shoulder height for high doorways), within
approximately 3 inches of a doorway opening. The
case should be permanently affixed with nails,
screws, glue, or strong double-sided tape.
Ashkenazi Jews tilt the case (to accommodate the
variant opinions of Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam as to
whether it should be placed horizontally or
vertically) so that the top slants [45 degrees]
toward the room the door opens into, but other
Jews place the case vertically.
The procedure is to hold the mezuzah against the
spot upon which it will be affixed, then recite a
blessing, which translates as "Blessed are You,
Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified
us with His mitzvot, and commanded us to affix a
mezuzah." After the blessing is made, the
mezuzah is attached. When affixing many mezuzot,
the blessing is made only before affixing the
first mezuzah, while keeping the others in mind.
Observant Jews affix mezuzot on all the doors of
their homes with the exception of bathrooms or
very small rooms (e.g., closets). The garage door
is not exempt from the mezuzah.
The City Gates of Jerusalem have huge mezuzot that
were affixed after the liberation of the Old City
in 1967.
Writing the scroll
The rendering of the Hebrew text on the scroll is
a matter requiring great care. Each letter must be
written precisely, preferably by a certified sofer
(scribe), as one letter written incorrectly would
render the scroll invalid (pasul). As there are
twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the
scripture is written in a single column on 22
scored lines. On the reverse is written Shaddai,
one of the names of God and also serves as an
acronym for the words: "Shomer Daltot Yisrael"
(Guardian of the Doorways of Israel). Those 3
letters are written opposite to the space left on
the reverse side of the parchment, due to the
indent of the second paragraph of the Shema. For
Kabbalistic reasons, most klafim will also contain
three words (starting as Ku- Bemokh- Kuz- on this
reverse side. The parchment is then rolled into a
scroll, (evoking the image of a Torah scroll) such
that the first words "Shema Yisrael" ("Hear O
Israel...") will be read first upon unrolling. The
Ayin of Shema and the Dalet of E`had are always
oversized. In all, the Mezuzah scroll must contain
22 lines of caligraphic script writing comprised
of 713 letters. There are a total of 4649 separate
instructions that govern the preparation and
inscription of a truly kosher mezuzah scroll. When
prepared correctly, it is believed that the truly
kosher mezuzah serves as "guarding your going out
and your coming in" as written in Psalm 121.8.
Text of the scroll - In English translation,
the Torah verses are:
Hear O Israel, God our Lord is God the Only One.
You shall love God with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your power. These words
which I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them to your children and you
shall speak about them when you dwell in your
house, when you travel on the road, when you lie
down and when you arise. You shall tie them as a
sign on your arm and as a head ornament between
your eyes. You shall inscribe them on the
doorposts of your home and your gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
and
And it shall happen, if you obey my commandments
which I command you today, to love God within all
your hearts and all your souls that I will give
the rains of the land in its proper time, the
light rains and the heavy rains, and you will
gather your grain, your wine and your oil. I will
give grass in your fields for your livestock. You
will have enough to eat and you will be satisfied.
Guard yourselves, lest your hearts lead you astray
and you will serve other gods and you will bow to
them. God will then become angry with you and will
withhold the rain, and the land will not produce
its bounty. You will quickly be lost from upon the
good land that God has granted you. You shall
place these words on your hearts and on your
souls. You shall tie them as a sign on your arms
and they shall be head ornaments between your
eyes, and you shall teach them to your children to
speak about them when you dwell in your house,
when you travel on the road, when you lie down and
when you arise. You shall inscribe them on the
doorpost of your houses and your gates. So that
you and your children may live many years on the
land that God has promised to your forefathers, as
many as the days that the heavens are above the
earth. (Deuteronomy 11:13-21)
Checking the scroll
Because the scroll is tightly wound, it is easy
for letters to become cracked or flake off
entirely. As a scroll with a cracked or missing
letter is no longer considered valid, halakha
mandates that every scroll must be checked by a
sofer (scribe) twice every seven years, to ensure
that it has not been damaged.
Customs
When passing through a doorway with a mezuzah,
some Jews touch the mezuzah and kiss their
fingers, as an expression of devotion to Torah.
This custom originated as a result of a story
brought down in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 11a). A
Roman Caesar sent guards to arrest Onkelos the son
of Kalonymus, a Jewish convert who wrote a
tremendous amount of commentary on Biblical texts,
and he was to be put to death. When the guards
seized Onkelos, he explained to them the basis for
faith in the Jewish God and enticed them with the
benefits a life of Judaism has to offer until they
could not resist their urge to convert, and they
released him.
When the Caesar realized what had happened, he
sent another set of guards, but this time, with
explicit instructions not to listen to the man at
all. When they arrived to capture him, Onkelos
tried to convince them to release him, but to no
avail, because they were under orders not to
listen to him. As they pulled him from his house,
he touched the mezuzah on the doorpost. When one
of the guards asked him what it was that he
touched, he replied as follows: "A king of flesh
and blood sits in the palace while his servants
guard from outside. Yet our Lord allows his
servants to sit inside while he guards from
outside." When they heard this, these guards, too,
could not resist their urge and converted to
Judaism.
The external artistic mezuzah cases are often
given as gifts for weddings and other special
occasions. |
