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Guarding the Doors of Israel

Dov Gotlieb

The departure from Egypt was accompanied by revealed miracles, a
concrete proof of the "hand of G-d" and of heavenly, direct involvement
with what occurs here on earth. The miracles reached their climax with
the plague of the death of the firstborn – the straw that broke Pharaoh's
hardened heart. The surprising and strange element of this plague is the
hasty preparations for it and their ending point of staining the beam
above the door and the two doorposts of all the homes of the children of
Israel with the blood from the Passover sacrifice to guarantee that G-d
will pass over them – "and will not let the force of destruction enter
your houses to strike."

The immediate association is, of course, the commandment of mezzuzah,
which also appears later in the Torah portion of VaEtchanan. In its name
and place, this commandment reminds us of a specific event – the eve of
the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt. However, in spite of
the similarities between the two, we also find some striking differences.
First, the commandment through the generations refers to only one
mezzuzah rather than two, not to a beam above the door, and to selections
from the Torah rather than blood stains. Most importantly, no reference
is made to an act of guarding or protection from destruction, even though
with mezzuzah an individual remembers and surrounds him/herself and
household members with the recognition of the union with G-d and His
commandments.

However, in the Talmud one can already find the idea of transferring the
element of "guarding" which appears in the Biblical miracle to the
commandment of mezzuzah. The tractate of Avodah Zara tells how Oncoles,
son of Kalonimus, persuaded non-Jews to convert. He placed his hand on
the mezzuzah and said the following: "In the ways of the world, the king
sits inside and his servants guard him from the outside, but with G-d His
servants are on the inside and He guards them from the outside, as is
said, 'G-d will guard your going and your coming from now and forever.' "
The sources are in conflict between the two philosophies regarding the
role of mezzuzah. Towards the end of the period of the Gaonim,
apparently under the influence of the Kabbalah, the word "Shaddai" found
its way to the outside of the mezzuzah. "Shaddai" is not only a name
referring to G-d, but also according to the Zohar, an abbreviation of the
Hebrew "Guardian of the Doors of Israel", a direct reference to G-d's
guarding on the night of the plague of the firstborn.

From here on, the dams bursted. Other customs were added and spread all
over. There is documentation and many sources showing the use of the
mezzuzah as an amulet. For example, the lengthy and detailed description
in the Complete Book of the Pious by Rabbi Eliezer of Metz even includes
drawings of stamps and names of angels such as Azriel, Tzedekiel,
Sarafiel, Aniel, etc. The names of angels, magical words and
incantations, as well as drawings as additions to the Torah sections in
the Mezzuzah received halachic legitimacy by high regarded rabbis.
Certainly, strong protest was expressed regarding these developments.
The chief opponent was the great Rambam. In the Mishneh Torah, Hilchot
T'fillin, he sets down that "those who write inside the names of angels,
holy names, verses, or stamps, do not have a part in the world to come."
We can present Rambam's opinion in A Guide to the Perplexed on the
culture of amulets in general, which is not connected in particular to
the mitzvah of mezzuzah. Rambam writes: "You should not think of writing
amulets and what you hear from them or you find in their strange books…a
whole person should not listen to them or to what they believe." In the
words of the early sages: "Whoever places tefiillin on their head and
arm, tzizit on their clothing, and a mezzuzah on the doorpost will not
sin." Rambam explains this to mean that "an individual has many
reminders, and the angels keep a person from commiting a sin."

The custom of touching and kissing the mezzuzah as well as the use of
the name of Shaddai demonstrate the same tension between the conflicting
points of view. According to Mishneh Hasidim, when leaving the house,
one should place their finger on the name Shaddai and kiss it" and an
explanation of the mystical significance of the act follows. The scribe
Rabbi Mordecai Ben Shabtai, in the beginning of the 17th century, wrote:
"a person will radiate light if they touch the mezzuzah before leaving
their home. Some sources require touching the mezzuzah before going to
sleep and upon getting up in the morning.

Some, however, do not associate this act with the matter of "guarding".
For example, Rabbi Abraham Gallanti, in the 18th century refers to a
common custom from Safad. When one leaves home, he writes, that person
should put their hand on the mezzuzah to remember the unity of G-d and
His commandments. " On the contrary, Rabbi Akiba Eiger, in the 19th
century, in Pozna, Germany, claimed that this custom cannot be traced
back to the Gemorrah and forbade it.

In our times, we do not include with the selections from the Torah names
of angels, stamps, or other verses as in the past. However, I believe
that the struggle today regarding the character and spiritual course of
the commandment of mezzuzah has not as yet been resolved.

Dov Gotlieb is a teacher and member of the cooperative moshav Mesuot
Yitzchak.

Translated by Evelyn Ophir