We all know how it is to forget certain important things from time to time: whether meetings, which grocery items to buy from the store, whose birthday is fast approaching, etc. Usually, it’s best to write it down.
God believes in writing to remember, too. He’s called “the author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and the first Ten Commandments were written in stone by him. (The second set of tablets, Moses was on his own….)
Today, we’re examining the mezuzah (pronounced meh-zoo-ZAH), which literally means the doorpost of a house. In current times, it refers to a rectangular box affixed to the doorpost of a Jewish home. This might be created from wood, ceramic or metal and ranges in size from 3.5 inches long to sometimes quite large. Inside, on a kosher parchment and written by an official scribe is the “Shema Yisrael” prayer— Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one.
Specifically, Deuteronomy 6:9 instructs the people of Israel to write God’s word on the doorposts of their home. That means the front door, the doorframe leading into the dining room, the living room, the bedroom, etc. To those not from a Jewish background, a small, rectangular box on every doorframe may appear slightly mysterious: placed 1/3 of the way down from the top on the right-hand side when entering, tilted slightly at an angle. However, details such as these for placement differ among various Jewish communities.
Keep in mind that it is not a good-luck charm. The mezuzah serves as a reminder of the Lord’s presence and blessing in our home or office. Maybe some of you take a 3×5 index card and post a favorite Scripture verse on your refrigerator or the dashboard of your car.
Similar idea: remember.
And yes, there are mini “car mezuzot” which sort of strikes me as overkill—I mean, what’s next—a purse mezuzah, or dog house mezuzah, or temporary airplane tray table mezuzah? On the other hand, if you think about it, can you really go overboard on remembering the Lord…?
This command to affix Scripture to one’s doorposts was first delivered at Sinai in the mid-15th century BC and was most likely initially observed when the Israelites settled in Canaan circa 1400 BC. A case may be argued for writing the word on the “door” of tents in the wilderness, but archaeologically, we will never know. In the first century AD, Jewish/Roman historian Josephus writes of mezuzot (plural) already as an ancient Jewish practice. Second Temple period (530 BC – 70 AD) mezuzot exist as found in excavations near the Dead Sea.
Interestingly, a congregation does not place a mezuzah on their doorpost. I guess if you can’t remember why you’re there, that’s a much deeper issue, right?
Focus.
Which leads us to the elephant in the room, the question that inquiring minds may want to know: do you place one on a bathroom doorframe?
That would be a yes. (Which makes absolute sense considering how much time some of you spend in there….)
Should one be affixed to a closet?
Not so much.
And so it goes. God is basically telling us that, in order to remember, it’s best to write things down. Our prayer today: may he always be inscribed on our hearts and minds!
In closing, here are the Scriptures written in Hebrew inside a mezuzah:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 11:13-21:
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
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