Barukh atah Adonai, Elohaynu, melekh ha-olam Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe

asher keed'shanu b'meetzvotav v'tzeevanu leek'boa mezuzah who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to affix a mezuzah

The mezuzah should then be affixed to the upper third of the doorpost on the right side as one enters the house or room. If the doorpost is wide enough to permit, the mezuzah should be tilted with the upper part slanting inward toward the house or room.

8/3/01 2:07:46 PM

bs"d. Friday, Av 14, 5761 / August 3, 2001 In this week's Parsha, Vaetchanan, we read about the mitzvah of teaching our children Torah; the mitzvah of Tefillin; and the mitzvah of Mezuzah. "And these words [the Torah], which I command you this day, shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children... And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand and... between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house and your gates." Inside each box of Tefillin are four passages of the Torah. In the hand Tefillin, all passages are contained on one parchment. The Tefillin which we don on the head consist of four compartments. Each of the four passages is written on a seperate parchment and placed into each of the four compartments. The Mezuzah consists of two passages of the Torah written on one piece of parchment. The writing of the Tefillin and Mezuzah must be done by a Scribe and must comply to the Code of Jewish Law. It is important to remember that the Mezuzah is not the casing, but the written parchment. It is ironic that some people will buy an expensive case, but overlook the fact that the actual Mezuzah is not kosher. A Mezuzah must be placed on each door-post of the house (except the bathrooms). Q. What is the meaning of the word Mezuzah? A. "Mezuzah" means "door post" for the Mezuzah is placed on the door-post. In addition, the Hebrew word "Mezuzot," found in this Parsha, is written: mem, zayen, zayen, vav, tav. If we rearrange the letters we can spell the two words, "zaz mavet" which means "pushing away death." Thus, a kosher Mezuzah acts as protection even to the extent of saving from death! In Psalms King David says, "G-d shall protect your exit and your entry from now and forever." Our sages say that this applies to the Mezuzah. It acts as a shield and protects people, not only when they are inside the home but also when they go out. In time, the letters on a Mezuzah may fade or crack, which renders the Mezuzah not kosher. Thus, it must be checked at least twice in seven years. Many people have their mezuzot checked each year, especially during the month of Elul when we prepare for the New Year. Q. Why is the letter "Shin" written on the outside of the Mezuzah cover? A. "Shin" stands for the word "Shad-eye" which is one of G-d's names. The word "Shad-eye" is spelled; shin, daled, yud. These three letter serves as an acronym for the words, "Shomer Daltei Yisrael" - "G-d watches over the doors of Israel." The Talmud tells the following wonderful story: A special friendship existed between King Antoninus and Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi (known as Rebbi). Once King Antoninus sent Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi a precious stone as a gift. In return Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi sent him a Mezuzah. Antoninus was puzzled: "I sent you such an expensive gift and you send me a piece of parchment?" To which Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi replied, "Your gift I will always have to guard to make sure that no one will steal it. But my gift to you, the Mezuzah, will watch over you and protect you at all times!" SHABBAT SHALOM Montreal candle lighting time: 8:02 / Shabbat ends: 9:09 ************************************ Mailing address: TorahFax Box 373 Station Snowdon. Montreal, Quebec. H3X 3T6 Canada TorahFax Web Page at: www.torahfax.net Refuah Shleimah page at: www.torahfax.net/refuah.html

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