PONDERING DOORPOST THEOLOGY

A Christian Goy's View of the Mezuzah

The Romanian-born Jewish author, activist, professor, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor (surviving both the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps), Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (1928-2016), in a statement made to a British newspaper [the Daily Mail] on July 15, 1988, made this observation: "I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people have such an obsession with memory." The concept of remembrance, especially of Yehovah and His gracious dealings with His called-out people, is evidenced throughout the biblical narrative. In fact, the call to "remember" is found hundreds of times in the Scriptures. If we're honest, however, we will admit that the people of Yehovah throughout history have tended to forget Yehovah [YHVH], and such forgetfulness has never served them well.

In Jeremiah 2:32, Yehovah lamented: "My people have forgotten me days without number." Yet, He had clearly commanded, "You shall remember Yehovah your Elohim [God]" (Deuteronomy 8:18). Sadly, we are a fickle people, constantly in need of being reminded of truths and realities we too easily forget. Thus, Yehovah instituted numerous objective focal points among His people to serve as visible reminders of His love and grace and their need to order their lives appropriately in response.

In addition to various commandments and laws, Yehovah prescribed more visible and tangible points of remembrance. There were sacrifices of animals, birds, grain, and wine. There were physical structures like the Tabernacle and later the temple, along with their many dedicated objects such as altars, incense, veils, bowls, etc. There was the pot of manna, Aaron's budding rod, the Urim and Thummim, the priestly robes, and countless other such items, each of which were reminders of something spiritually significant to the people of Yehovah. There were special days and annual events, such as the Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths, Purim, and many others. There were also certain objects the people were to make that contained portions of the sacred writings, and these objects were to be placed on the body or on the doorposts of their homes. The former was known as a phylactery, which was a "small square leather box containing slips inscribed with scriptural passages and traditionally worn on the left arm and on the head by observant Jewish men and especially adherents of Orthodox Judaism during morning weekday prayers" [Merriam-Webster Dictionary]. "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead" (Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). The latter was known as a mezuzah, which is the Hebrew word for "doorpost." Various texts, especially the words of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4f), were to be written on parchment, placed within a case, and affixed to the doorposts of their dwellings. "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:9; 11:20).

It is this tradition of the mezuzah that I want us to examine more closely.

To those of us who are "goyim," a modern Hebrew and Yiddish term meaning a non-Jew (an outsider, a Gentile), such objects as a phylactery or a mezuzah may seem rather strange, although a Jew might have a similar view of a Christian "goy" (singular of "goyim") wearing a cross in the form of a necklace or earring or having crosses attached to the outside or inside of one's home. To both groups, these are simply objects of remembrance and devotion, serving very similar purposes. Yehovah [YHVH] has commanded such remembrances under both old and new covenants: the lord's [Jesus] Supper, for example, for those of us who cherish the sacrifice of Yehovah’s Son. "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). These objects are not holy or salvific in and of themselves (although we sometimes make them so) but are simply emblems and symbols that remind us of the greater realities upon which our faith is fixed. Similarly, the mezuzah case, and the parchment within it, were not holy or salvific in and of themselves, but simply designed to keep God and His words ever before them. "The spirit of the command, and the chief thing intended, was that they would give all diligence to, and use all means to keep, Yehovah’s laws always in remembrance" [The Preacher’s Homiletical Commentary, e-Sword].

Sadly, Yehovah people, under both old and new covenants, tended to lose sight of the spiritual aspects of these items of remembrance, and they elevated them instead to objects of veneration. "The Jews, forgetting the spirit and design of this precept, used these things (i.e., the phylactery and mezuzah) as superstitious people do amulets or charms" [ibid]. Some Christians do the same with the cross, using it (and even making "the sign of the cross") to ward off evil or protect them from demons and vampires! The Jews did the same. An online Jewish site, that dealt with the mezuzah, stated, "Some believe the mezuzah to contain magical properties; that it is a good luck charm that protects them from evil and harm. Many Jews believe that the mezuzah can guard their houses, their cars, and their possessions. Thus, they keep a mezuzah in these places, believing it to be an amulet to defend them from evildoers." Again, we Christian goyim can't be too judgmental of our Jewish brethren, for historically we have done much the same with our Christian objects of remembrance. Such objects can also be abused by allowing them to become objects of pride and vanity. Jesus had some very pointed and harsh words for the Pharisees in Matthew 23, and one of His criticisms of them was that "they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments" (vs. 5). Our lord Jesus did not condemn the use of these items; rather, he took exception to these religionists trying to appear superior to other believers by making these items bigger and fancier. It was all about putting on a show.

The idea behind the phylactery and the mezuzah was that these items would be constant reminders that Yehovah is Elohim [God], and His love for them and their love for Him, would fill their hearts and their homes; He would indwell them and dwell where they dwelled. Thus, the powerful words of the Shema would always be in their hearts and homes! "Hear, O Israel. Yehovah is God, Yehovah is one. You shall love Yehovah your Elohim [God] with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). The passage then immediately gives instructions about the phylactery (vs. 8) and the mezuzah (vs. 9). The parallel passage to this is Deuteronomy 11:18-20. In both old and new covenants, the primary Truth that is to be impressed upon our hearts and minds, and which is to be imparted to our households, is that we are to love Yehovah God with all of our being, and we are to evidence that love in all our daily actions and interactions. Thus, the phylactery on the body is to remind us that Yehovah is the Lord of our lives; the mezuzah on the doorpost is to remind us that Yehovah is the Lord of our homes! "The mezuzah represents the concept of the doorpost as the dividing line between the outside world and the sanctity of the home" [from an online Jewish site].

The doorpost has always played a significant spiritual role in the lives of the people of Yehovah. Before inflicting the tenth plague upon the Egyptians, for example, Yehovah ordered the people of Israel to take some of the blood of a lamb and "put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses" in which they were to eat this "Passover" lamb (Exodus 12:7). When the angel saw the blood on the doorpost, he would pass over that house and spare those within from death. This practice would become part of their Passover tradition for generations to come. The shed blood of the lamb would signify the covering of that home (i.e., its occupants) from the curse of death; they would fall under the loving protection of Yehovah - God. The shed blood of the Lamb of Yehovah does the same for us today. Not only individually, but if we have the same resolve as Joshua ("But as for me and my household, we will serve Yehovah” - Joshua 24:15), that resolve will place our homes and families under the saving power of the Messiah's blood. "There is a fine hint here that home devotions and home teaching of the words and will of Yehovah should be a prominent feature in every Christian family" [Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 314]. Our God - Yehovah always intended the home to be a safe haven for His people, a place where love reigned (love for God - Yehovah and love for one another). It would be a constant refuge from the harshness and cruelty of the world around them. As the members of each home came and went daily through the doorway of their house, they would see the mezuzah, which would remind them that they were loved by their God - Yehovah and that they were to love Him and others, and that they were to manifest this love in their lives. We all need that same reminder today, for the home should be the first line of defense against the godlessness of this world, yet far too often it is not.

The mezuzah is typically affixed in a slanted fashion to the doorpost of a house, and oftentimes to doorposts within the house (customs vary among Jewish communities on this). You will rarely see it hung straight (either vertically or horizontally). "The reason behind the slant dates back to the 11th century, when a French rabbi named Rashi, and his grandson Rabbenu Tam, who was also a rabbi, argued about the proper orientation of the mezuzah. Rashi believed the mezuzah should be hung vertically, pointing towards God, while Rabbenu Tam argued for a horizontal orientation, citing instances in the Bible where important documents were kept horizontally. This issue was eventually solved by placing the mezuzah at a tilt. This symbolizes an important compromise in Jewish law, symbolizing how multiple voices and perspectives are welcomed and considered in Judaism" [from an online Jewish site].

"The home is here supposed to be a center in which the conserving forces of truth and godliness are to be themselves conserved. What a profound principle Moses here indicates, viz. that a nation will be good or bad according to its home life! How wonderful that an infant nation should, at its starting, have this truth deep graven in its statutes - i.e., our land will be as our homes are!

NOTE: Whatever was essential in the days of Moses, in the training of children for Yehovah as the means of guarding a nation, is no less needful now - 'Fathers, bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of God - Yehovah' - Ephesians 6:4" [The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 3, p. 123]. The slanting of the top of the mezuzah toward the interior of the house indicates Yehovah's focus upon those within this dwelling. His love and concern are for them, and His eyes are ever on them to guide and protect them. This mezuzah would be a constant reminder to those within this house that they were to be mindful of Yehovah and His will for their lives at home as well as during those times at the Tabernacle or the Temple [Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary, vol. 1, p. 755]. "Every home in which love dwells will be a temple" [The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 3, p. 129]