The Mezuzah - Jewish Calendar 2023-2024

Shana Tova

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The Mezuzah Judaism is not confined to synagogues. We strive for spirituality even within the comfort and familiarity of our own homes. The mezuzah designates the home as Jewish, operating by a special set of rules, rituals, and beliefs. Equally, it reminds those who live there of their connection to G-d and their heritage. Hung on the doorpost, the mezuzah separates the house from the outside world and symbolizes its refuge from it. The word mezuzah literally means “a doorpost” but refers to the small parchment scroll upon which Hebrew words are written.

The decorative case containing the mezuzah scroll is just that: a mere container. What’s important is the scroll, upon which the first two sections of the Shema –Judaism’s fundamental declaration of belief in G-d – are handwritten, beginning with the eternal words “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One.” These sections contain the commandment to affix the mezuzah: “And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.”

When a Jewish family affixes a mezuzah on their permanent residence they are forming another link in Jewish history and continuing a tradition that goes back to Biblical times.

SEPTEMBER 2023

Elul 5783 - Tishrei 5784

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The Written Words

Written in the mezuzah parchment are the first two of the three paragraphs of the Shema – the primary Jewish declaration of the belief in one G-d, and the love and devotion to G-d.

The opening line of the prayer is its most significant: Shema Yisra’el, Ad-nai Elo-heinu, Ad-nai Echad –‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One’. The sentence asserts the monotheistic nature of Judaism and the one G-d is the essence of everything.

The first paragraph is the continuation of the Shema verse, (from Deuteronomy 6:5-9,) starting with the word “v’ahavta.” Its major themes in the first paragraph are: G-d is the single source of all of existence, the religious duties to love G-d, to teach Torah to one’s children, to talk of Torah, to put on tefillin, and to place mezuzot on the doorpost of one’s home.

The second passage (from Deuteronomy 11:13-21,) begins with the word “v’haya.” It declares the Jews’ acceptance of the commandments and their undertaking to carry them out as evidence of their loyalty to G-d. It presents the fundamental principle in Jewish belief of reward and punishment that is based on the fulfillment of G-d’s commandments – the positive consequences of fulfilling the mitzvot, and the negative consequences of not.

OCTOBER 2023

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The Scribe Since the mezuzah is a Torah commandment, one must put forth maximum effort of holiness into it. The one entrusted to write the mezuzah – the sofer – must then be first and foremost be a deeply pious individual. They must love and fear G-d, and be very punctilious in performing the commandments properly and with devotion.

The sofer is deeply trained in the many laws of writing mezuzot, tefillin, and Torah scrolls. Their profession is very spiritually demanding as well. While writing, the sofer must be clearly focused and have can only pure thoughts in his mind. Should his mind begin to veer ever so slightly, he must stop writing. Jewish law states that a sofer must fully believe in G-d, and cannot deny just one word of the Torah. Should this not be the case, any mezuzah (or Torah scroll or tefillin) they write is considered unholy and invalid. It may not be used and must be buried.

NOVEMBER 2023

Cheshvan - Kislev 5784

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The Parchment

A “kosher” mezuzah is hand-written on genuine parchment or klaf, prepared from the skin of a kosher animal such as a cow, or a goat, and must be prepared by means of specific processes.

A mezuzah has 713 letters, written in a unique script and 22 lines each with defined justified line breaks and indentation. Every letter has numerous laws pertaining to its form. In order for a mezuzah to be written in accordance with all of the laws, it must meet thousands of requirements. Two letters are larger than the others. One is the dalet of the word ‘echad’ to ensure that the word is not read as ‘acher’ meaning [G-d is] ‘another’. The second being the letter ayin of the ‘shemah’ so that both letters together read as ‘ed’ (witness) as we are the witness of G-d’s Oneness in the world.

Any error, even should one of the mezuzah’s 713 letters is missing, or shaped incorrectly, the entire parchment is rendered invalid. While some errors can be corrected in accordance with Jewish law, others cannot. Heat, humidity and moisture can damage the integrity of the letters on the parchment. Traditionally, a mezuzah is checked twice in seven years for cracked or faded letters.

DECEMBER 2023

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Shaddai Inscribed on the outer side of a mezuzah scroll, opposite the empty space between the two passages is י-ד-ש or Shaddai. This is one of the biblical names of G-d meaning Almighty. The Zohar (Kabalistic text) explains that this name describes G-d as our protector. Others explain that it is an acronym for Shomer Daltot Yisrael or “The Guardian of the doors of Israel.” At one point, Kabbalistic symbols and inscriptions once appeared on the back of the parchment, to accentuate the protective element of the mezuzah. ‘Shaddai’, which appears on the back of the parchment, is a remaining example of this. Once the mezuzah is rolled up, Shaddai appears on the outside. The outer case should have an opening through which the word Shaddai is visible when the mezuzah is inserted. If the case does not allow for a window, then the word Shaddai, or the Hebrew letter shin is often part of the outer casing design.

Times listed in date boxes are for Los Angeles (zip code 90045.) For other locations, see inside back cover.

A Sign of a Jewish Home

The mezuzah has always identified a home as being Jewish. Positioned at the doorpost of the house entrance exposed to the outside, the mezuzah separates the house from the outside world as a Jew’s inner sanctum and marks it with the sign of holiness. Travelling throughout the world, one can often seek out fellow Jews by looking for a mezuzah on the door. In areas where Jews have been exiled, or in homes once lived in by Jews, many doorposts still bear the mark of a mezuzah removed – an empty groove or discolored portion of the doorpost. In this photo, the carved out indentation on the stone doorpost indicates the once presence of a mezuzah and Jewish home. The adjacent mezuzah is a testament of the return by a Jewish family. Here, the mezuzah is embedded in the doorpost with concrete as a sign of permanency or of prevention from any attempt to tear it off the wall.

FEBRUARY 2024

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Transformation

Originally built between 1537 and 1541 under Ottoman Empire rule, the Zion Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, became the prominent scene of a short, but fierce battle fought during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Badly outmatched, the desperate Israeli troops opened fire at the Jordanians guarding the gate, wreaking havoc and breaking the siege long enough to evacuate the Old City’s Jewish inhabitants. It left the walls of Zion Gate covered in bullet holes, which earned it the nickname the “Wounded Gate.” However, battle scars aren’t the only remnants left behind from the 1948 skirmish at the Zion Gate. Its mezuzah, is said to have been made from the casings of bullets collected from the shootout to commemorate the bravery of those Jewish soldiers.

This mezuzah is far more than just the fulfillment of a biblical commandment or the memorial leftover from a decades-old war. Beyond its history, what makes the Zion Gate mezuzah special is that it was created from objects normally used to spread violence, transforming them into something wonderful. The mezuzah embodies the message of modern Israel, proving that with enough perseverance, beauty can be born from destruction.

MARCH 2024

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The Samaritan Version

Samaritans are a sect of Judaism tracing their lineage to three of the biblical northern Israelites tribes – Menasheh, Ephraim, Levi. Today there are more than 800 Samaritans in Israel, split between their town next to Mount Gerizim near Schechem (Nablus), and their community in Holon. The Samaritans, who do not accept the oral tradition, do not require a mezuzah to be affixed at the doorpost. They interpret the commandment to mean displaying any select text from the Samaritan version of the Torah. This can contain a blessing or a particularly holy or uplifting message. Nowadays a Samaritan mezuzah is usually made of either marble, a wooden plate, or a sheet of parchment or high quality paper, on which they inscribe select verses. They are placed either above the house door, or inside the house, in the entrance hall or at a prominent place on a large wall. As well, many Samaritans today also use a common-style mezuzah case and place inside it a small written Samaritan scroll, written in the Samaritan alphabet. The more such mezuzot there are in the house, the better.

Times listed in date boxes are for Los Angeles (zip code 90045.) For other locations, see inside back cover.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Resistance Through Art

The Theresienstadt (Czech: Terezín) camp-ghetto was used as a “model ghetto” to deceive the outside world into thinking that Jewish prisoners were treated fairly and given satisfactory living conditions by the Nazis. Considered the “Kingdom of Deceit”, Terezín was falsely advertised to Jews as a self-governing, autonomous town where Jewish people could live in relative comfort until the war passed. Terezín’s deception went beyond tricking prisoners — the ghetto was also used to fool the outside world. On 23 June 1944 the International Red Cross sent a delegation to inspect the camp. In preparation for the inspection, the Nazis deported 7,503 Jews to Auschwitz to create the appearance of a less overcrowded camp. Flowers and grass were planted, prisoners were given new clothes and made a show of providing good food for them. Fake shops, schools and cafes were built, and cultural performances were put on for the delegation. The inspection went smoothly, with the Red Cross being taken on a specified route and only talking to prisoners who looked well and who had been briefed beforehand. The Nazis then returned the camp to its usual state and deportations continued.

From the very beginning, art and education were pervasive in Terezín. Many renowned artists and up-andcoming amateurs made up the ghetto population. To endure the horrible living conditions of Terezín, many prisoners (including many of the 12,000 children that were held there) created various forms of art as a means of survival. Art thus became the primary mode of resistance, therapy, expression, and survival for those imprisoned in Terezín.

One young woman somehow fashioned a mezuzah out of a piece of pipe containing imagery of a crown, Jerusalem, Rachel’s Tomb and in Hebrew script: Kotel Hamaravi, Yerushalayim and Kever Rachel Imenu.

On the bottom she added her name, Edith Simon and Thereisenstadt 1942.

Of the 140,000 Jews that were imprisoned in Terezín, 35,000 died within the ghetto from starvation and disease. Another 88,000 were deported again to concentration camps in the East, such as the AuschwitzBirkenau death camp, where they inevitably perished. Edith Simon was amongst the many who never made it out alive. Although 99% of the Thereisenstadt children were murdered, over 4,500 drawings by them survived, secretly kept in two suitcases.

Note: The original work contains the hebrew letters dalet and yud after the shin to spell out Shaddai.

Credit: Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education and Upon Thy Gates by Kenneth I. Helphand.

MAY 2024

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Remnant of a Community Gone

Kaifeng, in the Hunan Province of China was once the home of a Jewish community. The place of origin of these Jews is unclear as well as the date when they established their settlement in Kaifeng with estimates ranging from the 6th to 10th Century. In the early centuries of their settlement, they may have numbered around 4,000. Despite their isolation from the rest of the Jewish diaspora, they managed to practice Jewish traditions and customs for several centuries. Kaifeng Jews specialized in the manufacture of cotton fabrics, useful in compensating for the chronic shortages in the silk industry. The distinctive customary life of the Kaifeng community slowly eroded, as assimilation and intermarriage with Han Chinese and Chinese Muslim neighbors advanced. By the 19th century, its Jewishness largely became extinct. Few objects of their past remain. In 1955, this ivory mezuzah was discovered, removed from an old building in Kaifeng. It is hand carved in the form of a fish, the symbol of fertility revered in the Orient.

Times listed in date boxes are for Los Angeles (zip code 90045.) For other locations, see inside back cover.

Protection

Many Jews view the mezuzah to be a protective amulet, a symbol of G-d as guardian. Jewish artisans in Yemen developed distinctive silver work techniques to create mezuzahs designed to be worn as amulets. A bride would receive one as part of her dowry and wear it on her wedding day to ward off evil spirits and back luck. Here, set in the hoops on the amulet are bells often in the shape of pomegranates whose purpose was to chase away the evil spirits with their jingling noise. Throughout Jewish sources, the mezuzah offers protection from damaging spiritual forces, from sin and from other dangers. The word “mezuzah” appears for the first time in the Bible in the account of the Exodus from Egypt. Before the last plague smiting the Egyptian firstborn, the Almighty forewarned the Jewish people to mark their doorposts with the blood of the sacrificial lamb so that the forces of destruction would pass over their houses and thereby protect those inside. In ancient times it was a Jewish custom recorded in the Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash to carry a mezuzah in a walking stick for protection. However, the protection only comes with the actual observance of what’s written on the parchment and not through the parchment or casing itself. The mezuzah is there to keep away evil those we can control – inside our doors and our hearts. The mezuzah is a trigger to be mindful of shifting influences whenever moving from one domain, one sphere of activity, to another at the defining checkpoint: the doorway.

Times listed in date boxes are for Los Angeles (zip code 90045.) For other locations, see inside back cover.

His House is His Wife

Elaborate mezuzah covers were among the most important religious artifacts in Jewish households in Morocco. They were considered “feminine” objects, bear ing the name of the lady of the household. The covers were usually cut out or engraved of silver or gold, overlayed on velvet of vibrant colors. Silver and gold work in Morocco was almost exclusively in Jewish hands. It was a specialty of many Jewish craftsmen in Fez beginning in the 1920s. In the Moroccan tradition for the inside rooms of a building, a small opening was carved into the wall into which the parchment mezuzah was placed. This sil ver mezuzah covered that opening. Since Jewish houses in Morocco (like Muslim houses) were closed off for reasons of modesty and safety, and due to the value of the silver or gold mezuzah covers, they were not hung on the outside but rather inside the house, often at the entrance to the living room. Thus, the mezuzah symbolized the central place of the wife and mother as the supporting pillar of the family, in the spirit of the Mishnaic saying “his house is his wife.”

The mezuzah cover was often made for the bride’s dowry, but in some cases the need for it arose only later; at first, the young couple would live with the husband’s parents and only when children were born and the family moved to a more spacious house would a new mezuzah cover be made.

AUGUST 2024

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Lost in Space

Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, was killed in 2003 along with the rest of crew when the Columbia Space Shuttle disintegrated upon reentering the atmosphere.

Ramon Museum and Memorial in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, you’ll find this on display. The sign below it reads “Replica of the Mezuzah carried by Ilan space.”

copper and barbed-wire mezuzah, about the size of a lipstick case, was San Francisco artist, Aimee Golant. It was a gift to Ilan Ramon from the Club, a Holocaust survivors organization based in Beverly Hills, CA. Golant is affiliated with the club through her grandparents, who survived six years in labor and concentration camps in Poland.

Although secular, Ramon felt closely connected to both Judaism and Israel. second-generation Holocaust survivor. Ramon requested kosher food and Shabbat while in space. Amongst the items he took aboard the Space Shuttle of a moon landscape created by 16-year-old Peter Ginz who had died in miniature Torah scrolls, and a dollar of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson. “I feel I am representing all Jews and all Israelis” Ramon commented Bill Elperin, reflected “When you think about it, it’s from Auschwitz to outer space in one generation. Who could have thunk that!’.

Note: The original work appears with the Hebrew letters shin, dalet and yud on the parchment spelling out Shaddai Listed on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s website is the replica of a different mezuzah carried aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia by Ilan Ramon and presented by the State of Israel. Photos by George Post.

SEPTEMBER

Av

Times listed in date boxes are for Los Angeles (zip code 90045.) For other locations, see inside back cover.

CANDLIGHTING TIMES FOR 5 7 84 SHABBATS AND HOLIDAYS

All times adjusted for Daylight Savings where applicable.

CINCINNATICLEVELANDCOLUMBUSDALLAS

HOLIDAY 5784 / 2023-24 5785 / 2024-25

Rosh Hashanah September 16 October 3

Yom Kippur September 25 October 12

Sukkot September 30 October 17

Hoshanah Rabah October 6 October 23

Shemini Atzeret October 7 October 24

Simchat Torah October 8 October 25

Chanukah December 8 December 26

Tu Bi’Shevat January 25 February 13

Purim March 24 March 14

Passover April 23 April 13

Lag Ba’Omer May 26 May 16

Shavuot June 12 June 2

Holidays begin at sundown on the preceding day

Baruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-olam A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-tav Vi-tzi-va-nu Le-had-lik Ner Shel Shabbat.

Blessed are You, Lord, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctifed us with His commandments and commanded us to light the candles of Shabbat.

CANDLE LIGHTING BLESSING FOR SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING BLESSINGS FOR

Blessed are You, Lord, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctifed us with His commandments and commanded us to light the candles of (Shabbat and of) the holiday.

*Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-olam She-he-che-ya-nu Vi-kee-yi-ma-nu Vi-hi-gee-ah-nu Laz-man Ha-zeh.

*Blessed are You, Lord, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive and sustained us and let us reach this time.

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*Recited by Ashkenazim. Most Sephardim recite Shehecheyanu over Kiddush instead of over candles.