Rabbi Dr. Jana L. De Benedetti

Rabbi Dr. Jana L. De Benedetti
am not so surprised that Barbie has a mezuzah for her home. First of all, the woman who created her (discovered her?) was Jewish. Second of all, it is, after all, a commandment to put a mezuzah on the doorpost of your home. Why shouldn’t she have one? It feels great to have a mezuzah on the doorpost. Each time you go into your house, you are reminded that this is a place where God can be found. Each time you leave your house, you are reminded that God is with you wherever you go. It becomes a daily reminder to think about God being in your life. It feels like God is protecting you and your home, even if it is just because you are aware of God’s presence each time you see it.
I liked some of the other symbolisms that Ms. Winner attributes to the letter Shin that is usually on the outside of the mezuzah. It is the first letter of the Sh’ma, which is possibly the most important prayer that we say (as she mentioned). It is the first letter of the phrase “Guardian of the doors of Israel” (however, at least on the Kindle version, the Hebrew in her book is incorrect – it should say: “Shomer d’latot Yisrael” – not “daltot”). I had never heard of the use of it representing “Shalom bayit” (peace in the home), but it is a nice idea. I think it is stretching things to say that it has anything to do with a shofar – doorposts are thankfully very quiet parts of homes. However, it can be seen as a proclamation of one’s faith (like a Chanukah menorah shining in the window.)
Coincidentally, I have been asked a number of questions recently about mezuzot (plural of mezuzah). The most difficult one was from a local retirement facility. A new couple moved in and, since they are Jewish and it is their new home, they wanted to put a mezuzah on the doorpost. The administration at their new place apparently has a restriction that nothing be hung outside the door of their apartment (other than a wreath). They did not want to bend on this, but were not sure that they should prevent the family from doing something if it really was a religious obligation. So the question came to me. I said that it specifically is a religious obligation to have a mezuzah on their doorpost. I am not sure what the point of allowing a wreath to be hung on the door is, but the mezuzah is something that has to go up. There have been times and communities in various places in the world where it was not safe to have a symbol of Judaism on the outside of one’s home. Those Jews felt they had no other choice than to hang it on the inside part of the doorframe. In the end, I understand that was the “compromise” that the retirement facility provided this family. They were not permitted to hang it outside, but were allowed to hang it on the inside. I am sorry to say, I am a bit disappointed with this decision. I have lived in enough apartments in my life to understand about conforming to building rules. I understand that they may be concerned that other people may want to hang other things on their doors, like expressions of their faith. However, this isn’t just a symbol – it is fulfilling a commandment. It could be really small and fairly inconspicuous. It could be painted to match the doorframe. Instead, it is hiding inside the apartment.
The commandment says to “write these words on the doorposts of your house (and upon your gates).” The obvious question is why do we write them on parchment and put them in a container, when the commandment sounds like it is saying they should be written directly on the doorpost itself? My favorite answer to that question is that if we wrote the actual words – God’s actual words – on the doorpost, most of the time we would not be giving our attention to the words on the doorpost. Most of the time we would probably be inside the house going about our business, or leaving them behind when we leave the house. It seems very disrespectful to have God’s words ignored much of the time – especially since the intention of writing them on the doorposts is to show how valuable and meaningful the words are to us. So we write them on special parchment and put them in a special container, and give them our attention as we enter and leave. If God’s intention by commanding us to do this is for us to be mindful of these words – we are, even when the words are in the container and not visible. If the intention is to write them proudly so that we and all those around us can see their importance to our lives – they are, especially when we can place them proudly on the outside of our homes. If the intention is to be mindful of these words in our homes so that we are reminded to make our homes places of peace, and places where God is found – we do. Plus, having them in a container does allow us to put some effort into making lovely, or cute, or simple, or magnificent containers. It is a way of beautifying a beautiful commandment.
The tradition is that whenever you enter or exit a place with a mezuzah hanging on the doorpost, you gently touch the mezuzah with your fingertips (acknowledging that God’s words are in there, and that this is fulfilling a commandment from God), and then you gently kiss your fingertips where they had touched the mezuzah.
May you be blessed when you come in and when you go out.