For what it’s worth, here is a short lesson in Jewish roots, and one I think might be worth picking up for you Jewish rooted Messiah followers.
Mezuzah (מזוזה, literally means a “doorpost” in Hebrew, plural: mezuzot) refers to one of the 613 commandments in Judaism, which requires that a small parchment (klaf) inscribed with two sections from the Torah’s Book of Deuteronomy (6:4-9 and 11:13-21) be affixed to each doorpost and gate in a Jewish home, synagogue, and business.
In English translation, the Torah verses state:
4. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one. 5. And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means. 6. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart. 7. And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes. 9. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 [1]
13. And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14. I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil. 15. And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be sated. 16. Beware, lest your heart be misled, and you turn away and worship strange gods and prostrate yourselves before them. 17. And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you. 18. And you shall set these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes. 19. And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise. 20. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates, 21. in order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:13-21 [2]
For more on Mezuzah’s read up here.
What is a Mezuzah?
The mezuzah scroll is traditionally put inside a small rectangular case and affixed to the doorpost of the home. The mezuzah scroll is the core teaching in Judaism paired down to one paragraph– called the S’hma and V’ahafta. The first of the “Jewish Values” hand-written in Hebrew on parchment are a call to listen and understand that we are all one. Then we are instructed in the writings to love kindness, to treat all things with truth and compassion, to care for the earth and everything that dwells upon it, and to teach these values to your children and your children’s children.
According to the teaching, if we uphold this peace and justice will prevail and there will be protection for the soul.
As an artist in my process of making the cases for the scroll and bringing them out into the world, I enjoy explaining the meaning to anyone who is curious. Ultimately the text reminds us to create sacred space through our actions that the home is a sanctuary and everything starts there.
The Mezuzah is actually a world of its own. The Jewish tradition has volumes of laws about how the scroll is to be prepared, who can write it etc. If anyone would like to learn alot about how it is done, visit http://www.mezuzahstore.com