Parshat Bo
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