Parshat Va'eschanan
August 8-9, 2003
11 Av, 5763

"Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One…And these words that I command you today shall be upon your heart…Bind them as a sing upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes…And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates." (6, 4-9)

Transitions in life can pose a difficult challenge for us. As we shift from one phase to another, we may feel ourselves losing our sense of security and stability. Though there is often excitement at the prospect of new experiences, we are, at the same time, vulnerable to being diverted from long-established (and perhaps healthy) patterns of thought and behavior. We can become unfocused.

I think you’ll agree (if you give it just a moment’s thought) that our Torah--with its myriad mitzvot [commandments], offering guidance in every sphere of our lives--essentially functions as a grand Divine program to help us Jews avoid becoming unfocused during our journey on earth.

Our tradition teaches that G-d put us here to achieve a great and transcendent purpose: to elevate ourselves, and sanctify the whole physical world, so that all Creation can attain holiness and closeness to G-d. That’s a mighty important job, and every moment is precious…and we human beings tend to be forgetful. We are easily distracted and diverted in this world with its innumerable attractions. We need many reminders to help us stay in touch with our basic purpose--to help us to keep our spiritual focus, even while partaking of many of the permitted delights this world offers us. And especially, perhaps, we need those reminders when we are in transition.

While each individual mitzvah of the Torah gives (indispensable) "nourishment" to a certain unique aspect of our spiritual selves, the mitzvot collectively work to make sure that we do not become unfocused.

Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto makes this very point in his classic work on Jewish thought and spirituality, The Way of G-d: "Man serves G-d by observing all His commandments, and the root purpose of this service is to make man always conscious of G-d, and to turn him in G-d’s direction."

There are many, many directions to go in this world--and a lot of them, wrong-- but the mitzvot turn us (wherever we find ourselves) in G-d’s direction.

One mitzvah, in particular, can play a particularly important role in keeping us always headed in the right direction. Its greatness, though, is often overlooked. Indeed, many of us usually walk right by it (literally) without giving it as much as a glance…or, more importantly, a thought. Yes, you guessed it: the mezuzah--the writings that are to be affixed to "the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates."

The writings are the key to the mezuzah, not the cover (however beautiful) that is placed on top for protection. A parchment (not paper), on which are written (not photocopied) the first two paragraphs of the Shema: Deuteronomy 6, 4-9 (in this week’s parsha) and Deuteronomy 11, 13-21 (in next week’s parsha). The first paragraph

speaks--among other things--of the Unity of G-d, and of our obligation to love Him and to meditate on His Torah constantly, to recite the Shema (watchword of our faith) in the morning and the evening…and to affix a mezuzah on our doorposts and gates. The second paragraph exhorts the Jewish people to fulfill ALL of the mitzvot, reminding us that our success as a people depends on their fulfillment. (It teaches us, therefore, the key Jewish concepts of G-d’s supervision over this world, and of reward and punishment--i.e., consequences--for the actions we choose.)

Is it not true that each time we cross the threshold of our homes, either going in or going out, we are experiencing a transition? Is it not true that at such a time we especially need to make sure we maintain our focus? (Actually, the same could be said for crossing from one room into another…and, in Jewish law, each habitable room requires a mezuzah on its doorpost.)

As we go from our home to the outside world, we need to strengthen our focus on what life is all about--lest we become spiritually unfocused in our struggle to make a living, or in our other mundane involvements. And as we come from the outside world into our homes, we need to remember that the Torah intends our homes to be miniature Tabernacles or Holy Temples: sanctified places of holiness, where the Word of G-d is studied and lived (and taught to the next generation).

Mezuzah helps remind us of the most important principles in Jewish life--helps us call those key concepts written in the Shema back to our distracted minds--as we transition from the private realm to the public realm, and back again. We can thereby re-inspire ourselves to sanctify both those realms through our mindful fulfillment of the Torah’s commandments. In the striking words of the Chofetz Chayim (from The Concise Book of Mitzvot, a compendium of all the mitzvot that can be observed at the present time, published by Feldheim; my translation):

"A person has a duty to take care about a mezuzah, so that every time he enters or leaves he will encounter the unity of the blessed G-d [written in the mezuzah] and will remember his love for Him, and so he will awaken from his slumber and his blunders in [straying after] the transitory pursuits of  the time. And he will realize that nothing endures forever and ever except a knowledge of the ‘Rock of the World’ [G-d], and so he will return at once to his settled frame of mind [i.e. FOCUS!] and walk in the paths of uprightness and decency." (pp. 25-26)

Many people touch a mezuzah as they pass through a doorway, and kiss their fingertips. This is a commendable practice, no doubt, as it is a (split-second) reminder of holiness in the world. But the full benefit of this mitzvah (as with every mitzvah) comes when there is a moment of thought, of hisbonenus, ["meditation"] on its profound message. What an incredible opportunity presents itself to us when we walk through a simple doorway: to consciously call to mind that G-d alone is the One enduring reality, and His Torah is our guideline (lifeline!) for a meaningful and blessing-filled existence. Perhaps we will not be able (right away) to make every doorway the occasion for connecting to G-d, but the opportunity is there for us to grab as much as we can.

May we all deepen our appreciation of the mitzvah of mezuzah…and hurry before Rosh Hashanah to take care of any bare doorposts that may still be standing around. (In the South, we’d say, Y’all better get fixin’ to do some affixin’!) And may all our many comings and goings be healthy, and full of meaning and purposeful direction!

GOOD SHABBOS.

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

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Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 912-351-0469; fax: 354-9923