What is a Mezuzah?

A mezuzah is the tiny parchment scroll that was written in the Shema in the language of Hebrew and is written by hands by the veteran scribe or sofer. The so-called parchment scrolls of the mezuzah are being affixed and hang in every door of the home of the Jewish people. This is the only thing that will designate that the home that has a mezuzah hanging in their doorpost is the home of a Jewish family. The mezuzah will also remind the people living in certain Jewish people that they have a stronger connection with their God.

The case that contains the mezuzah parchment scrolls is just a small container that has attractive designs. It is not essential on where the parchment scroll of mezuzah is placed, and the scroll is more critical than its case. The parchments scrolls of the mezuzah have two Shema that is written in two different sections, and the Shema will start at the infinite words “Hear o Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” Both of these words consist of the instructions of the God about affixing the parchment scrolls of the mezuzah which is: “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates.”

Every term that was written in the mezuzah parchment scroll was written by an expert scribe or sofer that was trained in several laws including on how to write the parchment scrolls of the mezuzah. The writings of the scribe in the parchment scrolls of mezuzah will include the two requirements of writing which are the; all terms of the parchment scrolls of mezuzah must be orderly written, and the scribe should write the writings with a particular intention in his or her heart.

Each letter and words written in the parchment scrolls of mezuzah must be appropriately formed. If a single letter of the parchment scrolls were cracked or damaged, the whole writings in the parchment scrolls of mezuzah would be invalidated. It is acceptable for the Jewish people to purchase printed words and letters of the mezuzah parchment scrolls. Through this, it is required for all the Jewish people to buy the parchment scrolls of the mezuzah in the legit scribe or its retailers.

On the opposite side of the mezuzah parchment scroll, the term Sha-dai was written on it by the scribe which is one of the names by the God. The three letters that composed of this name stands for the acronym word of Hebrew which means the “Guardian of the doorways of Israel.” Since shin is the first letter of this name of God, the cases of the mezuzah parchment scrolls are being designed with the shin letter.

Where do the Parchment Scrolls of Mezuzah Hangs?

The parchment scrolls of the mezuzah must be hanged in the doorposts of your home which is considered as the home of the Jewish family.  You can also exclude the door of your small cabinets or bathrooms on hanging the parchment scrolls of mezuzah.

What Does The Mezuzah Mean?

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. The religion of the Jewish people is not considered as one of the synagogues religions. The Jewish people get their spiritual needs through the familiarity and comfort of their own houses. The parchment scrolls of mezuzah that are affixed in the doorposts of a particular Jewish home will accompany all the Jewish members living in there with the life o a Godly person. And through the use of the Hebrew Bible or the Torah of the Jewish people will help the Jews to be in the path of having a Godly life.

The sages of the Jewish people teach them that the parchment scroll of the mezuzah has its ability to guard the people living in a specific Jewish home where the mezuzah was being hung. The mezuzah will guard the Jewish people whether they are outside or inside of the Jewish house. The helmet is being considered as that has the similar abilities of the mezuzah, where the helmet is a veneer that can protect a person to all the risks that might happen to him anytime and anywhere.

The Talmud also teaches the Jewish people about while the kings who seated and protected the Jewish people in the Jewish home, the God will also protect the Jewish people when they are not inside of their house. The parchment scrolls of the mezuzah are manifesting the protection given by God to His people.

The God promised His people that observe the mitzvah in the parchment scroll of the mezuzah carefully that He will give His people the more abundant and longer life as the Deuteronomy stated that, “So that you will prolong your days and the days of your children.” The Jewish people also stated that when the Jewish people pass the doorposts where the parchment scrolls of the mezuzah are being hung, they are looking at it for a little time and touch it. Then after touching the parchment scroll of mezuzah, some of the Jewish people will kiss the tips of their fingers. Through this, it will always remind them that the God is always in their side even though they are outside or inside of their houses.

Check the Mezuzah

The Jewish people are being required to look at the mezuzahs of their home for about two times within seven years. You can also check your mezuzah each year before the celebration of the High Jewish holidays. Even if you buy your parchment scroll of mezuzah in the legit source or retailer and you may think that it is the perfect kosher for your home, you cannot assure yourself that the parchment scroll of mezuzah doesn’t have any error caused by the human. And the damages and cracks can also occur in just a few times after you purchased it. And it will be recommended for you to check your parchment scroll of mezuzah with the veteran scribe.

The Inside Story of the Mezuzah Parchment Scroll

Can purchasing the parchment scroll of mezuzah and hanging it to your doorposts protect your house? Every doorpost of the Jewish home, there you can see a mezuzah hanging and affixed in there. Some of the non-Jews people who don’t have enough knowledge about the mezuzah may think it as some good luck charm or a sort of attractive décor. But the mezuzah affixed and hung in every doorpost of the Jewish home can make all the bad spirits vanish. Additionally, the parchment scroll of the mezuzah is considered as the public declaration and the daily reminder of the faith and identity of a certain Jewish individual.

The term doorpost is the literal meaning of the word mezuzah. The mezuzah often consists of a parchment scroll, and each parchment scroll of the mezuzah has verses according to the Torah or the Hebrew Bible that was being placed in the doorways of the certain Jewish home. The mezuzah will be the one that will recall the story of Exodus happened in Egypt. The story of Exodus is the scattered blood of the lambs on every doorway of the home of the Jewish people to let God identify that, a certain Jewish family owns that house in the time of the plague sent by the God to all the Egyptians that were first born.

In the home of the exiled Jewish people, the mezuzah’s mark has been removed in their doorposts. From the next couple of days from that day, through the use of the Mezuzah parchment scroll, the house that has it will always be identified as the house of the Jewish family. When a certain Jewish family travels around the world, they can quickly determine that a Jewish family owns a particular house because of the mezuzah hung in their doorposts. In the places such as the Middle East countries and Eastern Europe where the Jewish people have been exiled, the doorposts of their home have still the mark of the removed mezuzah.

The parchment scroll of the mezuzah consists of the first two lines of the prayer of Shema. It contains the meaningful message of God commanding all the Jewish people to follow the will of the God and also to write down the word of the Shema prayer and hung it on the doorways of your home as well as on your house’s gates. The next line will be the Deut. 11:13-21 will teach that the fate of the Jewish people. Both generally and individually, will always vary upon their fulfillment on the will of God.

Dirah is the Hebrew term that will refer to the dwelling of humans and the Hebrew term for the dwelling of animals is the work dir. The letter hey is the only difference between the two terms mentioned earlier, the letter hey will indicate God’s name. Having God’s presence in a certain home will determine that all of us are uniquely human beings. If you want to reflect you inside world to the wills of the God, you are required to guard it against the outside world through putting a parchment scroll of the mezuzah on your doorpost- which is considered as the interface area.

Furthermore, if there is a parchment scroll of mezuzah in every doorway of the rooms inside your house, the people living in there will be safe wherever they want to go, from one sphere of activity to another domain. Through the help of the parchment scroll of mezuzah, you will always be reminded your obligations with God and that God is always with you in anything or any decisions that you do to your life.

Once you have learned all of these, the lessons you have learned will expand in all different rooms of your house. The mouth, nose, ears, and eyes of a certain person are just like the doorposts of the house which are being considered as the portals of yours to the outside world. The lessons you can get from the Hebrew Bible call the mouths for the certain kosher foods to be eaten and recite the words of kosher; and the eyes are being called to stay calm even when you have your desires empty, and your ears to stay it close to hear the words of gossips.

To sum it up, the parchment scroll of mezuzah is always ready to protect and guard the house of the Jewish family from the bad spirits. It will also guard and protect every Jewish person living in a house that has a parchment scroll of mezuzah that hung in their doorposts from the evil doings- whether they are inside their house or outside.

Guardian of Israel

During the Talmud’s generation, the King Arteban which is the King of Persia had boasted about the so-called unmatched wealth. One time, the King of Persia sent a pearl to his friend Rabbi Yehudah. Then for Rabbi Yehudah return the gift of King Arteban, he sent him a mezuzah with the words around it saying; “Your gift of the pearl must be guarded against thieves who may harm you, but my gift is even more valuable because it guards us against harm!”

Some of the mezuzahs can guard a certain Jewish people and his house even though that person is actively doing things that he wants to do, but most of the mezuzahs have their own ability to protect the Jewish person and his house even when he was asleep. One of the Jewish people has a story, and he tells it like this scenario. The grandmother of his wife feels that her hand is being numb. The grandmother of his wife often visits several of specialists and doctors, but beyond all of the specialists and doctors she visited, no one has the ability to reduce the numb she is feeling with her hands. And the numbness that his wife’s grandmother is experiencing is getting worse for a couple of months. Then one time, his wife visited a rabbi in their place to ask some advice on how to treat the numbness of her grandmother’s hand. Then the rabbi told her to look at their mezuzah. After checking the parchment scroll of mezuzah in their house, she concluded that it looks so right, but there is a missing letter- which is the yud letter, and that Hebrew letter refers to the word hand.

The grandmother of his wife has been replaced the parchment scroll of mezuzah, and she uses this o look at herself to know the cause of her numbness with her hand. Then she found out that the parchment scroll of the mezuzah has been triggered the improvement of her hand. And a few days later after she checked the parchment scroll of her mezuzah, the numbness of her hands she feels disappeared.

We can say from this story from the Jewish male that the very foundation of the Jewish religion is that God is always with us to take us good care. He always loved to offer us the richer and longer life that we want to as well as His protection, and if we had a stronger connection with our God, the more that we can ensure our safety and health. Though fulfilling our obligations to our God such as guarding the parchment scroll of the mezuzah, I am sure that in return of fulfilling our obligations to Him, he will always guard us against the bad people and evil spirits.

A Mezuzah is a Kosher

Even though the word mezuzah describes to its actual parchment, it is also colloquially being used to refer to the cases of the mezuzah that has attractive designs round of it. But in this generation, some of the Jewish people’s houses have the decorative cases of the parchment scroll of mezuzah hung in the doorposts of their house but the scroll it contains are not valid- or sometimes there is no scroll inside the mezuzah at all. Furthermore, a Xerox copy of a parchment scroll of mezuzah is not considered as kosher at all, and that Xerox copy of mezuzah doesn’t have any purpose at all. But there is still parchment scroll of mezuzah that is still valid, so make sure that you are buying your mezuzah parchment scroll in the legit sellers or retailers. If you purchase a parchment scroll of mezuzah that has cracked letters or missing words, it is not considered as the valid parchment scroll of a mezuzah at all.

A scribe is writing a certain mezuzah that is considered as a kosher on the parchment that is considered as genuine. The so-called original parchment of the mezuzah is made up of the animal’s skin that is also kosher. The softer or the expert scribe gently writes down the every Hebrew letters and words on the parchment through the use of the special quill pen with black colored ink. Every letter and word of the mezuzah must be writing through following the law of the Jewish people or the so-called halacha. And the words and letters of the parchment scroll of mezuzah must be written correctly. If there is any mistake on writing the letters and words on the parchment scroll of mezuzah, the whole mezuzah will be invalidated.

It is true that it is tough to know if the parchment scroll of mezuzah you have purchased is not fae through looking at it thoroughly, since one part of the parchment scroll of the mezuzah must be written by the veteran scribe or sofer with his or her bare hands. This is the reason why it is required for the Jewish people to purchase their mezuzah from the person that has fear with the God. To know if the mezuzah you have purchased is real, ask the scribe or the sofer if he or she has the certificate given to him or her by the Vaad Mishmeret Stam.

To keep your parchment scroll of mezuzah safe from any evil spirits or elements, you are in need to store it in the case that has a lock. The bookstores of the Jewish people offer a more extensive range of the cases of the mezuzah parchment scrolls. They offer cases that are made up of porcelain that has attractive decor, plastics that has a lower price and silver. If you were going to place the parchment scroll of the mezuzah on the doorposts of your house, make sure that you will also purchase a waterproof case. You are also in need to check the parchment scroll of your mezuzah for about twice within seven years. It is because the letters and words of the parchment scrolls of the mezuzah might be faded or cracked because of a longer time.

Which Doorposts Need to Put the Mezuzah Parchment Scroll

In this generation, the culture of the Jewish people that is to hang the mezuzah parchment scroll on the doorposts of their houses has still existed. And that is why, the home of the Jewish people typically had the mezuzot hung on their side doors and front doors, bedrooms, porch, living room, garage, playroom or any room that are being used to store essential things and many more. Some other Jewish people do not hang a mezuzah parchment scroll on their bathroom or on any cabinets that have spaces that are not too wide to become the room where Jewish people can live. But there are also some Jewish people that even the smallest room that they can see inside their house, they will hang a mezuzah on its doorpost.

In the land of the Israelites, the buildings that are being used by the public such as the offices of the government, restaurants, hotels and many more are required to have a mezuzah parchment scroll hung on their doors except in the door of their comfortable rooms. For instance, if a non-Jewish person and the Jewish person shared only one house, they are required to have their place or room inside the house. Then it is not required to hang a mezuzah parchment scroll on the main doorpost of the house unless it is necessary to put the mezuzah parchment scroll on the doorway of the room of the Jewish person.

If you are planning to purchase a new home and start living there, you should immediately hang a mezuzah parchment scroll on its doorposts. If you are renting an apartment or a room that was placed in the land of Diaspora, then you can hang the mezuzah parchment scroll inside the 30 days on the doorpost of your rented room or apartment. If you are also going to sell your old home and your buyer is also a Jewish person, it would be a sign of respect to the both of you if you would not remove the mezuzah parchment scroll hung on the doorposts of your house. But it is also essential to involve the money you have paid on purchasing the mezuzah parchment scrolls of your house. It is just right for the new owner of your house to give money as if they are purchasing your mezuzah parchment scrolls.

What are the obligations of a certain Jewish person that is in need to fulfill for their mezuzah parchment scroll? According to the Yoma 11, Sukkah 3b, a Talmud, the conditions to your mezuzah parchment scrolls are the following:

•    A certain space or room must have a 4×4 square meters of space.

•    The main entrance of your house must have a lintel with two doorways, and the height of the doorpost must be 80-100 cm. If your ceilings were flushing the top of your doorposts or even if your walls are also flushing the sides of your doorposts, it is not required for you to hang a mezuzah parchment scroll o it.

•    And a certain room of the Jewish house is also required to be non-holy. The holy room such as the synagogue must be excluded. Since the synagogues in today’s generation consist of social halls, offices and any rooms that are for the public. Putting a mezuzah parchment scroll is very important.

•    Each room of the Jewish house must also be designed only for the human being, a barn is excluded from hanging a mezuzah parchment scroll and for occupying the room permanently, and the sukkah is not considered as the room with permanent occupants, that is why it is not needed to hang a mezuzah parchment scroll on it.

•    The room of the Jewish place must also be designed for dignified occupants, and the bathroom is not included on it.

How to Roll the Parchment Scroll of the Mezuzah?

When the time that you already have your mezuzah scrolls the following are the tips on how you should roll it.

•    Try to locate the parchment scroll of the mezuzah in your front so that the Shema prayer is also in front of you.

•    It is important for you to know that the mezuzah parchment scroll is not folded, it must be rolled. To roll the parchment scroll of the mezuzah, you can begin to the left side of the parchment scroll, for instance from the edge of the Hebrew words, for the Shema prayer gets inside of the parchment scroll.

•    You must roll the parchment scroll gently and make sure that the parchment must not be creased. If you scratched the letters or the words written in the mezuzah parchment scroll, it might not work anymore.

The mezuzah parchment scroll that was rolled must be covered for its protection. You should wrap the mezuzah parchment scroll only from its outside and must not between its rolling. It is preferable to wrap the parchment scroll of the mezuzah with wax paper or any covering that is breathable. If you will wrap the parchment scroll with plastic, it has a higher chance to become sweat that can damage both the words and letters of the mezuzah parchment scroll, most especially when you prefer to store the mezuzah parchment scroll outside of your house. It is not a requirement for the Jewish people to wrap their mezuzah parchment scroll, it is also preferable for you to leave the mezuzah parchment scroll to unwrap if it was store in a case has a glass material, but this is only for aesthetic purposes only.

Perfect Placement of the Mezuzah Parchment Scroll

If you want to place your mezuzah parchment scroll outside your house, make sure that it has a cover for its protection against the heat or in the rain. If you are going to place it on the walls of your house, make sure that the Shaddai, which is a Hebrew word, it is written at the back part of the mezuzah parchment scroll, is facing the outside world, for instance, toward the doorpost of your home once it was hung. Also, keep in your mind that the mezuzah parchment scroll must not be placed upside down. The mezuzah parchment scroll must be located on the right side of your doorway; for instance, it is located at the right side of your entrance when you are going to enter your house or room. This is being learned by the Talmud people from the term beit’echa or your house, which are rendered from the word bi’atcha or as you enter.

How Far You Should Place the Mezuzah Parchment Scroll from Your Doorpost

You must place your mezuzah parchment scroll on the lower area of the third upper of your doorway- it might be similar to the height of your shoulder. The Talmud people also compare the mezuzah parchment scroll on the tefillin. The so-called tefillin are being located at the upper arm of the certain male Jewish.

At Which Angle?

The culture of the Ashkenazi is to put the mezuzah parchment scroll in the slight angle of your doorposts. The half of the top of the mezuzah parchment scroll must point toward the area you want to enter. The culture of the Sephardi, the mezuzah parchment scroll must be placed vertically straight up. If the doorway of the certain Jewish home is too small to create the slanting position, the culture of the Ashkenazim can also use the placement of the Sephardi culture.

If the doorpost of the certain Jewish family is deep, the mezuzah parchment scroll must be located about three inches farther from the entrance. If the doorposts of a Jewish family are not that deep, for instance, it will be impossible for the mezuzah parchment scroll be placed in its doorway, and then you can place the mezuzah parchment scroll on the outside part of the door, but still follow the three inches farther from the doorway.

The parchment scroll of the mezuzah must be hung on the doorpost of the Jewish family permanently, through the help of screws, nails or glues. If you use any tape, it might be easy for the parchment scroll of the mezuzah be discarded and can still be considered temporary and is not be hung permanently. Similar to the tapes, it is also not recommended for the mezuzah parchment scroll to affix through the use of magnets or Velcro.

The parchment scroll of the mezuzah must be attached from the bottom to the top. If you are going to use a double sided tape, you can put a longer tape from the top to bottom of the mezuzah parchment scroll or attach two pieces of the tape, the first one is placed at the top of the mezuzah parchment scroll, and the other one is attached on the bottom of the mezuzah parchment scroll.

It will also be acceptable if you are going to use a double-sided tape and stronger glue on affixing the mezuzah parchment scroll on your doorposts. But this is only acceptable to use these two when the top and the bottom of the mezuzah parchment scroll case is open. But if the back of the mezuzah parchment scroll is open, it would be best for you to use the foam tape or the glue but the only thing that you can affix on your doorpost is the cover of the back that is removable, but the area where it contains the mezuzah parchment scroll will not be affixed. So it will be best for you to use the screws or the nails for the open part of your mezuzah parchment scroll are affixed to your doorposts. If the said option does not work, you can still use any tape for the back of the mezuzah parchment scroll be sealed, and you can now affix it on your doorposts.

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