Customs: The Mezuzah Defending Our Home From the Meshuganas

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

There is the custom of having a Mezuzah attached to the doorpost of one's home which is used as another reminder of who lives here, under protection, and their customs.  It's a prayer on the door of a Jewish person, hopefully.  

The origin of the mezuzah, a small box containing a scroll with prayers, lies in the biblical commandment to "write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:9). The mezuzah, literally meaning "doorpost," serves as a reminder of the Jewish covenant with God and a symbol of Jewish identity. 

Usually, a rabbi is the one designated to put it on the doorpost for you,  When affixing a mezuzah, the right doorpost as you enter the room should be used, approximately shoulder height or slightly higher. The Ashkenazic custom is to angle the mezuzah with the top tilted inward, while Sephardic custom is to place it upright. The mezuzah should be firmly attached, with screws preferred for ease of removal later. 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21, known as the Shema, is a core Jewish prayer emphasizing monotheism and the importance of remembering and obeying God's commandments.

 In Deuteronomy 6:4, it states, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." It then emphasizes love for God, instructing the people to keep the commandments in their hearts, teach them to their children, and bind them as signs on their hands and foreheads, writing them on their doorposts and gates.

 Deuteronomy 11:13-21 further emphasizes obedience to these commandments, promising blessings for those who hearken to them and serving as a reminder that failing to obey will result in punishment and potential loss of the land. 

   Josh Shapiro's room for 2nd Seder now destroyed:  April 2025, not Germany 1935

In normal times, a Jewish person thinks about this:  You have now affixed the mezuzahs. Your home proudly displays its Jewish identity, and you've tapped into this unique spiritual connection. But today, with anti-Semitism running into our daily life, one might think twice about their protection.   

The Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, experienced an anti-Semite attack on his home shortly after the 2nd Seder this year when he had many guests at his home for it.  They burned the inside of the large room that held the seder.  Luckily, no one was hurt.  The anti-Semite blamed him for Gaza since he was a Jew.  That was his reasoning this act, truly a sick person without any logic, but nevertheless, many people are thinking like him who seem to be normal otherwise. 

Pennsylvania governor Shapiro quotes Priestly Blessing, emphasizes message of religious tolerance, but says New York senator’s demand for civil rights investigation ASAP isn’t ‘helpful’  He is against Schumer's call for a hate probe.  

He also revealed that the family had found solace when a fire chaplain recited the Jewish Priestly Blessing for them.  “It’s a prayer we recite in Hebrew for our kids. It’s from the Book of Numbers: ‘The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.’ That’s a prayer and a hope that we have for our kids every day, that they have peace in their lives,” Shapiro said.    “Obviously, that peace was shattered on Sunday morning, but it is a hope and a prayer that we have, not just for our kids, but every child across Pennsylvania that they live in a society that’s free and peaceful where they are protected and they are watched over by God.”

But you're not finished yet. The mezuzah is a holy object that must be properly maintained.

At least twice in seven years, we take down our mezuzahs and have them professionally checked to ascertain that they are intact. The scribe examines the scrolls to ensure that no letters have been cracked or erased and that the mezuzah is still good. Our vigilance keeps our mezuzahs performing their function: bringing holiness, protection and merit to our home.

After a man tried to assassinate Donald Trump in July at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, quickly issued a statement condemning the attempt on the Republican presidential candidate’s life.“Violence targeted at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable,” Shapiro posted on X that day. “It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States. I have been briefed on the situation. @PAStatePolice are on the scene in Butler County and working with our federal and local partners.”

Yet three days after an arson attack on Shapiro’s residence in Harrisburg on Sunday, Trump still has not called Shapiro or weighed in significantly to condemn the violence.  The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Do other people use G-d in protecting their homes?  Yes, many Catholics use God in protecting their homes through various practices, including prayer, displaying religious images, blessing the home, and using sacramentals like holy water. These practices are seen as ways to seek divine protection and create a holy environment. Praying for protection is a common practice, with many Catholics praying specific prayers for the home and its occupants. Sacramentals :Holy water, crosses, and statues of religious figures are used as tangible signs of faith and are believed to provide spiritual protection. Blessing the Home: Some Catholics have their homes blessed by a priest, while others may bless their own homes using prayers and holy water. Displays: Displaying religious images, like the Sacred Heart of Jesus or crosses, is seen as a way to invoke God's presence and protection. 

Having a custom such as ours with the mezuzah just makes me feel good; not alone. 

 Meshuganas (crazy people) have always been with us since the beginning of time, so that is

why we need the extra protection from HaShem.(the name).  Practices such as customs arrive 

in our culture when we have the need; and I think this one is here to stay, ever since Moses 

 said it, so is it written, almost in 1200 BCE, about 3,000 years ago.  

Resource:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/gov-josh-shapiro-trump-arson-attack-rcna200907

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/mezuzah/#:~:text=Mezuza

h%20is%20of%20biblical%20origin,the%20traditional%20Jewish%20dietary%20laws.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/278460/jewish/How-to-Hang-a-Mezuzah.htm

https://www.timesofisrael.com/josh-shapiro-recalls-arson-attack-declines-to-back-

schumers-call-for-hate-probe/

https://acatholicmomslife.com/spiritual-protection-for-the-catholic-home/

How A Religious Jew Differs From A Religious Christian

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          

 Today's religious Jew, caught in the middle of prayer in the war, already wearing his tefillin (phylacterics)-2 small black boxes containing small scrolls of parchment upon which are written 4 Biblical passages.  The leather straps, the boxes and the parchment are all made from kosher animals.  The writing must be handwritten by a scribe.  Tefillin is not worn on the Sabbath.  He's managing.    

The word "religious" is the crux of what I'm talking about.  Of course we know that Judaism differs from Christianity in that Christianity is about Jesus and Judaism isn't.

To begin with, Judaism broke away from all people's faiths in the very beginning of time when Abraham devoted himself to One G-d, whereas the world was full of the polytheistic faiths, gods imitating people living in their own space and time. There were temples to all sorts of gods, even in India, and still are.

To enter into the Jewish family, and it did start with a family, the family of Jacob whose name was changed eventually to Israel, a boy baby is circumcized on its 8th day.  When that same boy is 13, he is bar mitzvahed.  A bar mitzvah is the compilation of several years of study of Hebrew reading that may even include writing as well, and the study of their religious history.  It is recognized with a performance on a Saturday (Shabbat) morning with a party that includes a lot of treats.  Girls have now entered into this since females are pushing to be equals in the whole world these days, even as soldiers, and they have what is called at bat mitzvah;  bar meaning male and bat meaning female.  We have become an Endogamous people, marrying people that carry some of our own genes from hundreds of years earlier being from the same genetic line.   Marrying outside the faith is, however, becoming more common, a reflection on the whole change of social attitudes for all.    As a rule, it is not strengthening Judaism. 

We noted when I grew up in Portland,  that our Jewish boys would leave their public school and board a bus to go to their Hebrew school at 3:30pm while the Chinese boys would do the same and go to their Chinese school.  Both were conditioned to learning.  

                                In prayer outside, soldier in Israel

They have practiced ritual acts of wearing tefillin and tzitzit, having a mezuzah near their door and why, what that stands for.  Since ancient days, they pronounce passages from the Torah-specifically from Deuteronomy (5 books of Moses found in Old testament) which are the basis for the observance of the 2 unique Jewish symbols that testify to the eternal Covenant between G-d and Israel. 

Both capsule-sized reminders of the entire Torah which the Jew is bidden to observe.   The mezuzah is placed on the doorpost, and the religious Jew may have one posted on all their doorposts inside as well as outside the house.                                        

  Hear O Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is One.  And you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might....And these words which I command you this day...bind them as a sign on your hand and as a symbol (frontlets) between your eyes, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.                

According to Maimonides/ Rambam (1135-1204) , born in Cordova, Spain, a great teacher of ours, said that those who look upon the mezuzah as an amulet, a lucky charm for the household, are ignorant.  "Those fools not only fail to fulfill the mitzvah itself, but they have taken a great mitzvah, which involves the Oneness of g-d and the reminder to love Him and worship Him, and treat it as though it were an amulet designed to benefit them personally...."  (Hil.Mezuzah: 5:4)  The Rambam was escaping with his family at age 13 from Spain during the Almohade Persecutions, wandering in North Africa till they reached Palestine in 1165. 

Because of the persecutions that Rambam saw or was in, in the words of Maimonides, who is seen as the most successful synthesizer of medieval Judaism and the Islamic world, “God has entangled us with this people, the nation of Ishmael, who treat us so prejudicially and who legislate our harm and hatred…. No nation has ever arisen more harmful than they, nor has anyone done more to humiliate us, degrade us, and consolidate hatred against us.”  Actually later, Muslim countries treated Jews better than the Western countries did, though placing us as 2nd class citizens or Dhimmis with rules and regulations.  

                           Chassidic rabbi praying in Ukraine

 You can also add that our religious Jews have either suffered because of being Jewish or had ancestors who did and somehow have felt their pain.  Rambam did a great deal of writing throughout his life, establishing our 613 precepts or laws of Judaism.  That's why we know there were more than the first 10 that Moses brought to his awaiting people, that he would keep on writing more.  At least most of the 613 are things we normally do anyway without any prodding.  

The purpose of being a Christian is mainly to be saved when they die .  They expect the saying that they believe in Jesus to be saving them so that they will go to heaven.  They have elevated this son of Joseph, the carpenter in Bethlehem as the son of G-d.  Jews believe that we all, all people are sons of G-d.  

The Jew has no such worries such as placing their sins on another's back.  They know each of them is responsible for themselves and so throughout their life, try their best to accumulate mitzvot, good deeds.  They can be thought of as being weighed on a scale and hope they outweigh their sins.  Whatever g-d plans for as to their after they die is up to G-d.  We Jews have enough to worry about while living and how we behave.  

      Bethlehem, skyline is Judea-Samaria

Today we have many orthodox or religious Jews moving into Judea and Samaria.  Why?  Actually there can be 2 reasons.  

1. Finding a dwelling in Israel proper is difficult; a home such as a westerner knows does not exist except in Judea and Samaria in some sections.  

2.  Israel started in Judah.  This is history with Jacob and the family where he had 12 sons, each one claiming territory through Joshua in Eretz Yisrael.  Jerusalem was built by king David in Judah.  The other 11 tribes were spread out throughout the rest.  When king Solomon-David's son died, Jeroboam stepped forward and was pronounced king-so the land was then divided into a Civil War.  Samaria became their capital.  The land around it was also called Samaria later.  So we have today, Judea and Samaria which are called by Jordan as the West Bank.  

Orthodox Jews should be very much into our Jewish history as well as our holidays created for remembering so many of our near-deaths as well as what G-d decreed.  They've been raised since birth to be participants with the Jewish people.  I find that most are raised in a home with the highest expectations of education.  

Today, with some groups, not enough of that education is spreading out to what our history has been in the past 100 years or so.  When I hear of religious Jews not participating in the IDF, I feel most disappointed.  Our religious historically did a lot of soldiering.  Our numbers call for it.  How can any man feel they can allow another to take the risks they deny themselves?  On the other hand, we don't want to see our smartest young men wasted in war, either, when they are so capable of doing such important things other than fighting.   I wish no one had to go into the service.  There are many orthodox or religious Jews in the IDF today.   

In the USA, we have 3 political parties;  Republicans, Democrats and Independents.   Religious should not be involved according to the  constitution.            

Israel was created for Jews who had been the scapegoat of the world long enough; causing the explosion of Zionism and what prayers 3 times a day were saying;  the return to their own land of Israel.  

In Israel, there are even the Political -Religious parties of conservative Sephardi (Ladino)and Mizrahi(Middle Eastern) and Haredi (consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to halakha (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to modern values and practices. Its members are usually referred to as ultra-Orthodox in English; however, the term "ultra-Orthodox" is considered pejorative by many of its adherents, who prefer terms like strictly Orthodox or Haredi    interests;  After all, the country is created as a Jewish country/haven, just as it was thousands of years ago only updated today to meet modern needs.  Jews have been returning from all over the world and come with their particular language and style of devotion to Judaism.  There's also religious zionism, conservatism, Ashkenazi haredi and haredi non-zionism.

Judaism differs from Christianity in so many ways anyway, like the Sabbath "Shabbat" being from sunset Friday night to Saturday night at the appearance of 3 stars; a special meal on a Friday night in honor of the Sabbath, lighting candles and saying a special prayer before that;  things many of Jews do without feeling they are orthodox;  just Jews; but the more orthodox do eat Kosher food, for sure, meaning only certain meats are allowed, specific qualifications for the food.  

Resource:

Edit: 1/6/23

To Be a Jew, by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Israel

Where is Love in the Jewish Religion?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                     

There are people who think that Jews do not emphasize love in their religion.  They've known and expressed love perhaps in a way that others have not understood, but it's been there, and is loud and strong.

Jews do many things to remind themselves of the presence of the Lord.  They use these reminders to remember His commandments that keep us ethical and loving, and of our duties to Him in return.  Some people feel this intuitively, but many of us need the help.  It doesn't hurt.  That's the first to receive of our love.

Doing these acts of reminders are called mitzvot, which is the plural form of a mitzva.  To do a mitzva is to do a good deed.  We try to do some form of mitzvot daily.  The highest level of a mitzvah is to save a life.

The first call we have been given is to love G-d.  It's like our command to obey Him.  We repeat an affirmation of G-d's unity or oneness 2 times a day by saying: Hear O Israel, the lord is our G-d, the Lord is One.  This is the start of the Shema (to hear).  We say this when we are dying, as well.
                                                                          

The reminder that follows is: And you shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.  For these words which I have commanded you this day upon your hearts, to love your G-d, must be diligently taught to the children.  It must help to mold one's thought and action when arising and when going to bed, and when walking on the street and going about one's affairs.  Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes.  And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.  

Shema Yisrael Adonoi, Elohenu, Adonoi echad.  

We need reminders, so they must be placed where we can see these reminders and so we have them around us.  They are on one's hand and head, and upon the gates and doorposts of one's home.

 They are in the shape of tefillin, phylacteries, which are a 2 little black leather boxes fastened to leather straps that sits on a man's forehead when he prays in the morning and afternoon that contains 4 portions of part of the 5 Books of Moses:  Exod. 13:1-16;  Deut. 6:4-9;  and 11:13-21. They are in the shape of the wrapping  the straps on the forearm while doing their morning prayers which is the other piece of tefillin.

They are in the shape of the mezuzah that we hang on the right side of the doorpost that contains the Deut.6:4-9 and 11:13-21 which we kiss before entering the house.

 Below you see a man praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem which was a part of the remnant of the Herod's Temple.  The original Holy of Holies, where Aaron would have been in, is at the West end of the Temple so this wall is considered sacred to Jews.  Jews could not come here again from 1948 until after 1967's war as Jordan would not allow it.
                                                                     

They are in the shape of the tzitzit a man wears under his clothing, a set of fringes made of threads that are intertwined with blue cord, as males were commanded to wear this on the corner of our clothing.  Therefore, men wear an arba kanphot (4 corners) or tallit katan (little Tallit) and a large Tallit during morning prayers.  A Tallit is a prayer shawl, traditionally used by men, though some women are starting to use it, also.  It is a 4 cornered rectangle cloth that a man puts over his head.  It's like a miniature tent that gives him privacy to pray to his G-d.  The corners have the Tzitzit that have been knotted into the fabric.  In Israel, a prayer shawl is huge.  I had the privilege of being above the men's prayer service in a balcony in Safed, and looked down to see a sea of tents.  Inside each one was a man, of course, praying, which usually is done in a singing melody in a minor key that reaches every heart.  It was so different from the men in the USA at the synagogues I had attended who in a mixed male female group, wore a very small prayer shawl about their shoulders.  It was still a reminder of what it was all about, however.

The moral lesson here is that all man's material possessions are a gift of Heaven.  This is love.  This is commitment.  We have loved long and hard, ever since being taught by Abraham that there was but one G-d back in the 2nd millennium BCE and then in their advanced lessons from Moses in about 1271 BCE.  It's been an never-ending love affair.

Hillel, a great Rabbi, was asked by a stranger what Judaism was all about, but told to tell it quickly while standing on one foot.  He answered, "What thou dost not like when done to thyself, do not unto others."  It is right in Leviticus, 19, verse 18.  "You shall love your fellow as yourself."  

This shows that if we love G-d, that love is a learned reaction and we will love;  animals, plants, the earth, mankind as well, for how can you love G-d without appreciating where we are as living creatures and what is around us?

This is a deep form of love.  It's different from sexual love, in the sense that that acts as an attraction to get 2 people together.  After the honeymoon wears off you're facing a person, not necessarily a love object standing on a pedestal.  .  Then comes another type of love, a little more like the deeper kind of appreciation as found for our G-d.

Yes, we have always had love in our religion.  You could say that our religion is all about love.  It's what we love that counts.  What we learn here is that this love must be in our heart for starters.  The reminders are just that, reminders to love and appreciate our world and our G-d who created it.  This is something that cannot be taken for granted, but taught to our children.  Once in a blue moon you will meet someone who has been born with such love in his heart, and he or she is a diamond in a box of unpolished rocks, a very special man.

Resource: To Be a Jew by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, page 142, Chapter 8, signs of the covenant:  Love and Reverence
The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Tanach,  The Stone Edition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shema_Yisrael