What is that thing next to Jews doors?
Why do they kiss it when they walk through the door?
What is inside it?
Well, allow us to explain everything about The Jewish Mezuzah...
What is a Mezuzah?
A Mezuzah is a rectangular box drilled into the walls outside of Jewish doors.
Inside the Mezuzah is a parchment.
And on the Mezuzah is two paragraphs from The Torah, handwritten by a Sofer SeTaM
These two paragraphs from The Torah are where Mezuzah's are mentioned: Shema and Vehayah
Why do Jews have a Mezuzah?
Putting a Mezuzah on the gates and doorposts of your house is a Commandment
This Mitzvah (Commandment) has a certain power with it
Many Jews who are not Religious will still put a Mezuzah on their door because they know that a Mezuzah brings a Blessing into the house and also guards the house.
This brings the question:
"If Jews are not meant to do a Mitzvah just for the sake of the reward, isn't putting up Mezuzahs for Blessings and Protection contradicting the Commandment?"
Well, first and foremost, Jews are meant to obey all The Commandments regardless of if there is a clear reward or not.
Jewish Sages say: A Person should always do a Mitzvah even if it is not for the sake of The Mitzvah because at some point it will become for the sake of The Mitzvah.
The Torah says that a person that does the Mitzvah (Commandment) of Mezuzah will gain a long life and have blessings in business.
The Power of Having Mezuzahs
So, what is special about the Mezuzah that provides these blessings?
Jewish Sages explain that the Mezuzah is there to be a 'reminder' because we go in and out of our houses many times during the day and the reminder is that Jews must always be doing Mitzvot (Commandments)
This is similar to the Mitzvah of wearing Tzitzit which reminds Jews that they need to do Mitzvot
There is a story about a Jewish Women who lived in Paris and started to become Religious and after a while, she learnt about the Mitzvah of Mezuzah
So, she put up a Mezuzah on her door and one month later, a friend came over and said: "What are you doing with the Mezuzah?! There's muslims in your apartment block, what if you get hurt for being Jewish?"
So, the women who was becoming religious became afraid and took the Mezuzah off.
One day, she hears a knock on the door and opens the door to an old man who says that he is her neighbour from upstairs and I wanted to ask you a question:
"Why did you take off the Mezuzah?"
The women said because her friend told her it's not safe.
Then the old man responded with the following story:
"I'm a holocaust survivor, and I was in concentration camps, and thank G-d I survived. But I was very angry with The Master Creator after experiencing everything that went on during the holocaust. And after the holocaust, I did not observe any Jewish Commandments and lived a non-religious life. But last month, the elevator wasen't working so I had to take the stairs. And because I am an old man I had to stop for a break after each floor. When I came to your floor, I saw a Mezuzah. And as I saw the Mezuzah, suddenly it hit me. I had all these memories pour into me from when I was a kid, living at home with my family, we had Mezuzahs on our doors and we went to Synagogue. And because I saw your Mezuzah, it made me religious again! I started to put on Tefillin again, I put a Mezuzah on my door. So, why did you take it off?!"
Needless to say, the women was extremely emotional and it made her put her Mezuzah back on and it shows that The Mezuzah is a reminder of where Jews come from and it is a strong connection to Judaism.
For some Jews, they touch and kiss the Mezuzah after the walk in and out of rooms as a natural habit. Other's don't. There is no Halacha (Jewish Law) that states you need to touch or kiss the Mezuzah.
Specifically in Shulchan Aruch, he does not mention anything about touching the Mezuzah.
It is actually The Rama (Ashkenazi) who says to touch the Mezuzah and say a few Verses.
In The Talmud Rabbi Eliezer b. Ya'akov says, "any person who has Tefillin, a Mezuzah and Tzitzit is guaranteed that he will never sin"
Why?
Because the person who is actively wearing Tefillin, Tzitzit and has a Mezuzah is constantly giving themselves a reminder that they cannot do any sins.
Why Does The Mezuzah Guard a Jews House?
It says in The Zohar (Jewish Text) "Write My Name and Put It On Your Doorposts" - This is in reference to The Mezuzah
Meaning, HaShem and His Name is What Guards The House.
When you roll up The Parchment of The Mezuzah and hang it up, it has three letters:
שד-י
And It has to be turned in so people who walk through the door can see It
The acronym of שד-י is Shomer Daltot Yisreal
"The Guard of The Doors Of The Nation of Israel"
Mystical Meaning of Mezuzah
The numerical value (Gematria) of the Hebrew word Mezuzah is 65.
א-ד-נ-י—Alef-Dalet-Nun-Yud is One of Many Names That We Call G-d
And the numerical value (Gematria) of א-ד-נ-י— is also 65.
This is what gives The Mezuzah such power: It Has HaShems Name Inside It
How Much Do Mezuzahs Cost?
There are different kinds of Mezuzahs that vary in cost.
You can buy a Mezuzah for $20 that will be cheap and small
Or
You can buy a Mezuzah for $500 that will be big and special with quality ink and a unique scribe.
See below this incredible story from Rabbi Alon Anava which really highlights the power of The Mezuzah:
Do you put a Mezuzah on Every Door?
Good question. You DO NOT put a Mezuzah on the door of a toliet.
If you only have one Mezuzah then it should be placed on the main door of the house/apartment
However, it is prefrebale to have a Mezuzah on each door.
Error in Mezuzah Scroll?
You cannot fix a mistake in a Mezuzah
What this means is the following:
A Mezuzah has to be written in order.
So, if in the middle of The Mezuzah, a letter was written wrong, you cannot correct the letter because then that particular letter is out of order in the sequence of The Mezuzah
Therefore, you would have to erase everything after that wrong letter. And of course, if one of those letters is HaShem's Name then you cannot erase It.
So practically speaking, a Mezuzah is not fixable unless the mistake is made on the last letter.
This is not the Halacha (Jewish Law) in The Sefar Torah
There you have it!
The power of The Mezuzah
We hope this helped you learn about the beautiful Mitzvah of The Mezuzah
Till next time!
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