The Mitzva of Mezuza (Part II)

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In memory of Rebbetzin Miriam Wise, Miriam bat Yitzchak Ve-Rivka z”l,

whose yahrtzeit is on 9 Tevet

by Rav Yitzchak and Stefanie Etshalom

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I. Protecting the House of God

 

In the previous shiur, we analyzed the mitzva of mezuza in light of the pesach offering. We then proposed that the mezuza serves as a guard because a person turns his home into the house of God, and his home is thus protected.

 

It seems to me that the fixing of the mezuza at the entrance to one's house should be interpreted in a similar manner. The significance of placing a mezuza is that this transforms a person's home into the house of God. The person understands and internalizes the fact that God is master of all the earth and that He is the only One in the world, and he therefore wishes to live before Him. The Sages established that "a mezuza is the dweller's obligation," and therefore the mezuza that a person affixes at the entrance to his house defines the person dwelling in the house as dwelling in the house of God and before Him. From this, as stated, the idea of protection for the house, which is the house of God, is self-evident.

 

This notion is supported by what is stated in Tehillim 121. A person lifts his eyes to heaven and concludes that his help will not come from any place other than "the place of the world," God Himself:

 

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Tehillim 121:2)

 

This person merits all the blessings mentioned in this psalm. One who seeks that God should be at his side at all times will attain this and merit His constant blessing and providence:

 

He will not suffer your foot to be moved; He that keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He that keeps Israel does neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade upon your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall keep you from all evil; He shall keep your soul. The Lord shall guard your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and forever. (Tehillim 121:3-8)

 

The Maharil writes:

 

My teacher R. Shalom said: ... Whenever a person leaves through the entrance of his house, he should place his hand on the mezuza and say: The Lord is my keeper; the Lord is my shade upon my right hand. (Maharil, Mezuza)

 

The Rema cites this:

 

Some say that when a person leaves his house he should place his hand on the mezuza (Maharil, and proven from Avoda Zara 11), and say: The Lord shall guard my going out, etc. (Midrash). And similarly when a person enters his house, he should place his hand on the mezuza. (Rema, Yoreh De'ah 285:2)

 

One should not suffice with the technical fixing of the mezuza at the entrance to his house in order to attain God's protection and defense. As stated, the mezuza symbolizes the house's being the house of God, and only by virtue of this fact is the house protected. A person who sets a mezuza at the entrance to his house should aspire to adopt a deeper connection to Torah and mitzvot and greater sensitivity to all things holy. This follows from the very fact that he lives his life in the house of God and before Him.

 

II. The Mezuza and the Ark as Talismans

 

Many people relate to a mezuza as having unique and mystical qualities of protection. When they experience some trouble or disruption in their lives, or when they feel in special need of good health, livelihood, a spouse, or the like, they check the mezuzot in their houses. Paradoxically, if the mezuzot are found to be kosher, they are concerned that there is no explanation for their troubles and difficulties, but if they find something that needs to be fixed in one of the mezuzot, they "relax", because once the problem is found, it can be easily repaired. In exchange for a few shekels, they will have a kosher mezuza, and the blessing, success, good health, and joy will soon follow.

 

A mezuza is not an amulet or a talisman, God forbid. Rather, it is an expression of one's personal connection to God. Therefore, when a person experiences difficulties, he should first examine his actions and mend his ways. Sometimes his mezuza must be repaired as well, but most of all, he must worry about repairing his heart, as the prophet states:

 

And rend your heart, and not your garments. (Yoel 2:13)

 

Relating to a mezuza as an amulet misses the central and most important element of the mezuza.

 

One must, however, remember that it is human nature to relate to things on their outer and technical level. This has happened throughout the generations in different contexts. One very significant event in which we see this was Israel's war against the Pelishtim, as recorded in the beginning of the book of Shemuel.

 

In the first stage of the war, the people of Israel are defeated by the Pelishtim, with four thousand Israelite soldiers falling in battle. The elders decide to join to the battle a balance-upsetting weapon – the ark of the covenant:

 

And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord smitten us today before the Pelishtim? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shilo to us, that He may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies." So the people sent to Shilo, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who sits upon the keruvim; and the two sons of Eli, Chofni and Pinchas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang. And when the Pelishtim heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What means the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” And they knew that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Pelishtim were afraid, for they said, “God is come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For there was not such a thing yesterday and the day before. Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues and in the wilderness.” (I Shemuel 4:3-8) 

 

The ark's impact on the morale of the two camps was as expected. The people of Israel were confident in their imminent victory, whereas the Pelishtim were very worried. In reality, however, the result for Israel was an even more devastating defeat, and the "redeemer" – that is, the ark – was captured:

 

And the Pelishtim fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Chofni and Pinchas, were slain. (I Shemuel 4:10-11)

 

Chazal explain that Israel suffered such a great defeat because instead of correcting their ways, they put their trust in the ark of God as a talisman. They were routed in battle because they set their eyes on the exteriors rather than on the essence:

 

The Holy One, blessed is He, punishes measure for measure. Because the sons of Eli were corrupt in their actions, they went out to war and four thousand Israelites were killed. Israel said: Why has God smitten us? The Holy One, blessed is He, said: When they provoked me in the courtyard of Israel and in the women's courtyard you did not say that.[1] They sent and brought the ark of the covenant and shouted with a great shout. About that time it was said: "She has uttered her voice against Me; therefore have I hated her" (Yirmeyahu 12:8). Immediately, thirty thousand footmen were killed and the ark of the covenant was captured. (Yalkut Shimoni, Shemuel 103)

 

God made it clear to them that there is no automatic cure; indeed, in exceptional cases, even the "savior" itself can fall. The road to salvation, rescue, and protection depends on the repair of one's ways and the internalization of the correct connection to God.

 

This is true both with respect to the ark of the covenant and with respect to the Torah, tefilin, and mezuza.

 

The mezuza does not protect. Rather, it is a tool that creates a connection. It is God who protects, and a person who stands before God and accepts the yoke of his kingdom merits to stand alongside Him. God accompanies and watches over such a person wherever he turns: God is your shade upon your right hand, and He will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

 

The Rambam writes at the end of Hilkhot Mezuza:

 

A person must show great care in [the observance of the mitzva of] mezuza, because it is an obligation that is constantly incumbent upon everyone.

[Through its observance,] whenever a person enters or leaves [the house], he will encounter the unity of the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and remember his love for Him. Thus, he will awake from his sleep and his obsession with the vanities of time, and recognize that there is nothing that lasts for eternity except the knowledge of the Creator of the world. This will motivate him to regain full awareness and follow the paths of the upright.

The early Sages said: Whoever wears tefilin on his head and arm, wears tzitzit on his garment, and has a mezuza on his entrance can be assured that he will not sin, because he has many who will remind him. These are the angels who will prevent him from sinning, as it is stated (Tehillim 34:8): "The angel of God camps around those who fear Him and protects them." (Rambam, Hilkhot Mezuza 6:13)
 

Protecting a person and saving him from sin are the result of the spiritual tension of remembering and the sense of closeness to and love of the Almighty, and it is they that ensure that a man walk in the paths of the upright.

 

III. Placing a Mezuza in a House in which Sins are Committed

 

For a clearer illustration of the ideas that have been proposed above, I wish to mention two halakhic questions regarding the laws of mezuza that I have recently dealt with.

 

The first halakhic question was posed by a community rabbi abroad, who was asked by a member of the community to fix a mezuza at the entrance to his new store, for blessing and success. The problem was that the store sold non-kosher meat to the public at large, both Jews and non-Jews. The rabbi asked me what to do in such a case, emphasizing the importance that he attached to maintaining a connection with the Jewish owner of the store in order to keep him within the fold.

 

The second halakhic question was about a Jew living together with a gentile woman. Does the apartment in which they live require a mezuza?

 

When I was first asked these questions, without hesitation I immediately answered that in my opinion there should be no mezuza in such places. I said this in light of what we said regarding the significance of fixing a mezuza at the entrance to one's home – that it involves a declaration of faith in the unity of God and a sanctification of the house as the house of God. For this reason, the halakha is that a structure that is not used for an honorable purpose is exempt from mezuza, and it is even forbidden to place a mezuza there. Accordingly, it seems to me that we should relate to houses lacking honor on the spiritual level, such as a store selling non-kosher meat[2] or an apartment in which a Jewish man is living with a non-Jewish woman,[3] with even greater severity than we relate to houses lacking honor on the physical level, e.g., bathrooms and showers. There is no place at all to fix a mezuza in them.

 

I later came across a similar responsum. R. Eliyahu Bakshi Doron, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel and Rishon LeTzion, ruled that a mezuza should not be placed at the entrance to the Haifa Municipal Theater:

 

And if women wash and stand there naked, it is not an honor to God for a mezuza to be there. It is clear that the obligation of mezuza is restricted to the doorway of a house that is used in an honorable fashion that accords with the honor of heaven, and does not apply to a house that is meant for a dishonorable use… Since the place is meant for a dishonorable use that does not accord with the honor of heaven… for it generally hosts performance that involve a desecration of God's name and a desecration of the honor of Israel and of the honor of Torah. (Responsa Binyan Av 2:51)[4]

 

It seems that with these two mitzvot, the mitzva of tefillin and the mitzva of mezuza, a person is asked to adorn his body and his house with the verses from the Torah that mention these mitzvot. In this way, they represent the entire Torah, as we explained in our explanation of the words "these words" in the parasha of Shema, which, according to the plain sense, refer to the entire Torah. The Sages explain that the obligation relates to specific passages which represent the words of the Torah as a whole.

 

This connection with the Torah, the word of God, means attachment and devotion to God, as it is stated with regard to tefillin: "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you; and they shall be afraid of you" (Devarim 28:10), for the person adorns himself with tefillin, which is an ornament that represents God. The same is true of a mezuza; a person adorns his house with a mezuza that represents God's presence in the person's house.

 

The moment that a person expresses his devotion to God through tefillin and mezuza, he merits life and protection, as it is written:

 

But you that did cleave to the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. (Devarim 4:4)

 

IV. Longevity for those who Don Tefilin and Fix a Mezuza in their Doorway

 

The Sages said in tractate Menachot:

 

Resh Lakish said: One who puts on tefillin will live long, as it is written: "The Lord upon them, they shall live, and altogether therein is the life of my spirit; wherefore recover You me, and make me to live." (Yeshayahu 38:16)

 

Rashi explains (ad loc.):

 

Those who bear the name of God upon them in their tefillin will live.

 

The Tur adds:

 

Great is the mitzva of tefillin, for he who puts on tefillin will live long, as it is stated: "The Lord upon them, they shall live." And Rava said: He who puts on tefillin, and wraps himself in tzitzit, and recites the Shema, and prays, is promised that he has a share in the World-to-Come. And Abbaye said: I guarantee that the fire of Gehinnom will have no power over him. R. Pappa said: I guarantee that all of his sins are forgiven. And he who does not put them on is included among the sinners of Israel with their bodies. Therefore, every person must be careful about them. (Tur, Orach Chayim 37)

 

As we have said, the longevity connected to tefillin and mezuza stems primarily from the cleaving to God. One who cleaves to life merits life, and one who cleaves to the Shekhina is protected, as “the Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your shade.”

 

The Bach explains this as follows:

 

And because his body cleaves to the Lord, the living God, in that he puts the name of God on his head close to his body, therefore his reward in this world is that he should live long, as it is written: "But you that did cleave to the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day" (Devarim 4:4). This day means in this world, the life of his body, apart from the reward in the World-to-Come. This is why our master brings afterwards that which Rava said: He who puts on tefillin, etc. is promised that he has a share in the World-to-Come. In other words, not only will he live long in this world, but he is also promised a share in the World-to-Come. And he maintains that the main reason for this reward is because he put on tefillin. (Bach, ad loc.)

 

The concept of holiness always expresses Divine connection and presence. This is true when we are dealing with a holy place, a holy time, a holy person, or a holy object. Therefore, mezuza and tefillin, which are holy objects, express a person's cleaving to God.

 

It is possible to illuminate the issue of longevity and observance of these mitzvot, in light of the words of the Beit Ha-Levi in ​​the introduction to his book. He notes the idea that Torah protects a person even when he is not actively engaged in it, as opposed to the other mitzvot, which provide protection only when they are being performed:

 

In Ketubot 111: "R. Elazar said: The illiterate will not live. R. Yochanan said to him: It is no satisfaction to their Master [God] that you should speak to them in this manner… He answered: I expound the verse: 'For your dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the dead' (Yeshayahu 26:16). One who makes use of the 'light' of the Torah will the 'light' of the Torah revive, but him who makes no use of the light of the Torah the light of the Torah will not revive. Observing that he [R. Yochanan] was distressed, he said to him: Master, I have found for them [the illiterate] a remedy in the Torah: 'But you that did cleave to the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.' Now is it possible to cleave to the Shekhina?… But [the meaning is this:] Any man who marries his daughter to a scholar, or carries on a trade on behalf of scholars, or benefits scholars from his estate is regarded by Scripture as if he had cleaved to the Shekhina."

The explanation seems to be that at first he said to him that the illiterate will not live in the future, since they do not have the light of the Torah. Even though they keep the rest of the mitzvot, surely we maintain objects used for a mitzva may be thrown away, whereas objects used for holiness must be stored away, for something that was used for a holy purpose becomes hallowed forever. Even after that use stops, the object remains in its sanctified state. But as for objects used for a mitzva, immediately when the mitzva is finished, the holiness leaves the object. Therefore, the body of a Torah scholar is an object used for holiness, as it is used for the study of Torah, as is stated in the book Nefesh Ha-Chayim. And for this reason the body remains in its sanctified state, and that holiness in his body will revive him in the future, as the verse states: "For your dew is as the dew of light." For the light, that is, the Torah - which is called light, as it is written: "And the Torah is light" – is your dew, that is, the dew of resurrection. But an illiterate person will not live, for even though he will certainly receive good reward for the mitzvot [he performed] in the world of the souls, his body itself will not live in the future… This is what he said: I have found for them [the illiterate] a remedy in the Torah: "But you that did cleave to the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day"… Any man who benefits scholars from his estate is regarded as if he had cleaved to the Shekhina," as he becomes an object used for holiness, and not an object that is used for something that is used for holiness, and through this "you are alive every one of you this day," as they will remain in their sanctified state forever, and live in the future. (Beit Ha-Levi, introduction)

 

What emerges from this is that anyone who is directly connected to the Torah, through studying it or serving it, is connected to the source of holiness, the source of life. If so, it may be suggested that this is the foundation of tefillin and the mezuza which connect a person to the Torah, adorn his body and house, and allow him to cling to the source of life, and because of this "you are alive every one of you this day."

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

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[1] The reference is to the sons of Eli and their actions. See I Shemuel 2:22-24.

[2] Inviting God to such a store, which brings people together eat non-kosher meat, is a great descecration of His name. I invested a great deal of effort in explaining the matter to the store owners. I recommended to the rabbi of the community to explain the meaning of a mezuza at the entrance to the store, and that it would be inappropriate to invite God into such a store, and therefore a mezuza should not be affixed to its doorway.

At the same time, people are not perfect, and sometimes we have weaknesses, and there are areas in which we are more successful in standing up to the challenges that we face. We must try to do what we can, while aspiring for continuous and steady progress. Unfortunately, this type of situation is very common outside Israel, and it is desirable not to reject such people completely. As Chazal said: "Always let the left hand thrust away and the right hand draw near." The Chazon Ish writes (Iggerot 81) that sometimes one must even draw another person near with two hands. 

[3] On the one hand, this seems to be a simpler manner, for if we define the structure as the home of partners, the halakha is that a non-Jew's partial ownership of a building exempts it from a mezuza. However, it seems that even if the house is owned exclusively by the Jew, since the primary way in which the house is being used, as the living quarters of a Jew with a non-Jewish woman, is by definition prohibited, this is not honorable use. This is not the same as a house in which from time to time prohibitions are being transgressed. While this is certainly inappropriate behavior, the primary way in which the house is being used is not in itself sinful.

[4] In this context, my goal is not to address the issue itself of a mezuza in a theater building, as this must be examined from a broad and careful perspective. I cite this responsum only because it also recognizes that a house can serve a dishonorable use from a spritual perspective.