Thursday, April 8, 2010

On The Doorposts of Your House

Once I knew my parents were coming out last week there was one I was hoping they would be able to bring, a mezuzah for the house. I'm sure I could have found one myself (most likely on Esty), but I trusted my mom's judgement and thought she'd be able to find a good one. But wait, you might be wondering, what exactly is a mezuzah?
Mezuzah on the new house
Basically, it's a prayer on the outside of the house. In the Torah, one of the mitzvoh or commandments, is to "inscribe these laws on the doorposts of your house." I'm sure part of that is meant to be figuratively, that you will follow the Jewish commandments while living in the house, but it's also taken a figurative approach as well. And once I knew I was buying my first house, I knew I wanted to have a mezuzah out front.

There's all types of mezuzot that exist, some completely over the top and some fairly simple. When I was younger I remember loving mezuzot with little people on them, something similar to a wedding cake top. My new mezuzah is fairly simple, but I love the design, and think it works pretty perfectly for the house.
Close-Up of the Mezuzah
Anyone else out there have a mezuzah on your house or apartment? Or maybe it's your first time hearing about them? Let me know what you think of my new mezuzah, and maybe what type of muzezah you might want to put outside your place.

~Shoshanah

Edit: In case anyone was curious. The mezuzah I have was made by Emily Rosenfeld.

6 comments:

  1. Very cool! Thanks for explaining the significance of it. I remember when Charlotte on SATC becomes a Jew and hangs one outside of the door of her co-op! Never knew what they were called or what the symbolism was behind them!

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  2. I like it! I never really knew what they meant. I am slighty embarassed to say the only reason I knew what they were is from Sex and the City when Charlotte becomes a Jew. Thanks for sharing

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  3. First time commenter, long time reader (haha)

    I've seen them before, but I've always wondered why they were always hung at an angle instead of straight. Is there a reason why?

    Thanks!
    Amy

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  4. Bahaha, I agree with Lisa, I totally thought of SATC reading this!

    Very cool, I'm glad your mom brought you a neat one. :)

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  5. My God parents are Jewish so I see them on the doors when I go over to their house. The designs are always so different. I love seeing different ones.

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  6. What a gorgeous mezuzah! And I agree with everyone - we definitely have SATC to thank for knowing that ;) But now we also have you :D

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