Mezuzah Project
The Partners in Torah Mezuzah program has been designed to provide highly-subsidized Mezuzas to Partners in Torah participants* who wish to upgrade their observance in this important area of Jewish life. The over 300 recipients of Mezuzas in the six years that the program has been running include college students home from a meaningful trip to Israel, and a senior who started attending the daily minyan to say kaddish for his wife! A quick phone call to Partners in Torah headquarters can put you on the road to observing this priceless mitzvah without breaking the bank.
For more information, please contact us at 973-221-3650 ext.107
*Participation in our program is required
Adapted from Mezuzah: The Inside Story by Rabbi Shraga Simmons:
On the doorpost of every Jewish home rests a mezuzah. Some may think it’s a good luck charm. Put one up to keep the evil spirits away!
Actually, a mezuzah is a reminder – and a public declaration – of Jewish identity and faith. Though mezuzah literally means “doorpost,” it commonly refers to a scroll of parchment containing biblical verses, placed on the doorpost (often inside of a case).
The mezuzah recalls the Exodus from Egypt, when the lamb’s blood smeared on the doorpost “identified” the Jewish homes that God passed over during the plague of the first born. From that day forward, the mezuzah has always identified a home as being Jewish. Throughout the world, one can seek out fellow Jews by a mezuzah on the door.
The scroll contains the first two paragraphs of the “Shema” prayer, declaring the oneness of God, and commanding us “to write [these words] on the doorpost of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:4- 9). The second passage (Deut. 11:13-21) teaches that Jewish destiny, both individually and nationally, depends upon fulfilling God’s will.
In Hebrew, the word for human dwelling is dirah, while the word for animal dwelling is dir. The difference between these two words is the letter hey – signifying the Name of God. The presence of God in one’s home is what distinguishes us as uniquely human.
If we want our internal world to reflect Godly ideals, we have to protect it against the outside world at the point of interface: the doorway. Having a mezuzah on each room means that whenever we move from one domain or sphere of activity to another, we must renew our consciousness of God’s presence and act in a way that sanctifies His Name.
The lesson extends beyond our home and into all areas of life. Just as a house has doorways, so too we have eyes, ears, nose, and mouth – portals to the external world. The values of the Torah call for our mouths to eat kosher food and speak “kosher” words; for our ears not to listen to gossip; for our eyes not to run after empty desires.
So the mezuzah is there to keep away evil spirits. Not those that [are] the figments of Hollywood’s rich imagination, but those that we can control, inside our doors and our hearts.
