Bible, History, Archaeology
Bible,
History,
Archaeology
The mezuzah,
divine protection
Video from the program «À l'origine» hosted by Steve Suissa on France 2. With the participation of Rabbis Michaël Azoulay and Élie Ebidia. © France 2.
The mezuzah (Hebrew: מזוזה, «lintel»; plur. mezouzot) refers metonymically to a Jewish object of worship affixed to the doorframe of a dwelling's entrance. In rabbinic Judaism, it takes the form of a box containing two biblical passages written according to the rules of the art on parchment, affixed to the doorframe of permanent living quarters, including the various rooms of this dwelling (kitchen, living room, bedrooms), excluding toilet and storage areas.
Presentation
The instruction to write «these things which I command you this day» on the doorposts is based on two passages from Deuteronomy (6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These passages contain the Shema Israel, which begins with the letter shin (ש). This letter appears on every mezuzah and stands for «Shaddai» (שדי), which is one of the names of God in the Bible.
Image opposite: different models of mezuzah. © Judaiculte.com
The prescription in Deuteronomy has been interpreted differently by different Mosaic currents: the Samaritans engrave these biblical passages above their front door, while the Jews (Rabbanites) write them on parchment (vellum), written according to scrupulously established and followed rules, and apply it to the lintels of all habitable rooms with a door. The Karaites, followers of a scripturalist Jewish current (basing their interpretation of the Law on the letter of the Bible and not on rabbinic oral tradition), consider this passage to be a metaphor. Many Israeli Karaites, however, place a plaque symbolizing the Ten Commandments (or even a Rabbanite mezuzah) on the lintel of their front door, as a matter of social convenience.
The first mention of a sign to be placed at the entrance to a dwelling is the blood of the Paschal lamb, which the Hebrews had to sacrifice on the night of the plague of newborns, when God passed over dwellings bearing such a sign, but took the life of any firstborn of a dwelling that had not been so consecrated.
