This week I had the honor of affixing a mezuzah with members at their new home. As we recited the blessing and I watched them look for the exact place on their door frame to hang it, I was reminded of an experience I had at my first pulpit in Indianapolis, Indiana, some fifteen years ago.
One of my students who had recently converted asked me to hang her mezuzah with her. As I stood with her and we prepared to hang it, being new to Judaism, she said the mezuzah felt like some kind of security system. I chuckled, and I said, “Well actually..in some way it is.” As I explained to her, the Mezuzah is made up of the Shema and the V’ahavtah. When you come into your home you are supposed to kiss it as a reminder to remember who you are, and to bring all the values and teachings of our people into your home with you. Hopefully it will remind you to embrace our heritage and to study and learn, and that learning will help you to grow in spirit and mind. And if you bring our teachings in with you and you carry them with you on your way... yes it’s like a security system. It’s a system that will hold you and strengthen you. It’s a system that will keep you serene and safe in your heart. It’s a system that will keep you secure throughout all the days of your life.
If you need help affixing your “security system” let me know.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Marci R. Bloch
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