[Avodah] VBM - Avodat Hashem #51: The Mitzva of Mezuza (Part I)

[Yeshivat Har Etzion]

PHILOSOPHY > Avodat Hashem - Foundations of Divine Service >
Shiur #51: The Mitzva of Mezuza (Part I)
Harav Baruch Gigi
Yeshivat Har Etzion

I. The Protection Offered by a Mezuza

We are currently engaged in a clarification of the system of mitzvot, in
the framework of the transition in Keriyat Shema from matters pertaining
to the Rambam's Sefer Mada to matters pertaining to his Sefer Ahava. Thus
far, we have studied the mitzva of tefillin and its unique meanings. Now,
let us turn to a closely-related mitzva - the mitzva of mezuza.

One of the central ideas relating to mezuza is the idea of protection.
When one affixes a mezuza to the entrance of his home, his house and
household are protected from all trouble and damage. This idea is
expressed by Chazal in several contexts, and it is based, as we will
demonstrate, on a connection that is already rooted in the verses of
the Torah.

At the end of the passage of Ve-haya im shamo'a, it is stated:

    And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon
    your gates; that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your
    children, upon the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give
    them, as the days of the heavens above the earth. (Devarim 11:20-21)

At first glance, it seems that the Torah's promise of longevity relates
to all that was stated in this passage concerning one who obeys all of
God's commandments and follows His ways.

However, Chazal linked this promise directly to the mitzva of mezuza.
Two talmudic passages establish a connection between longevity and the
mitzva of mezuza.

In tractate Shabbat (32b), it is taught that a person's children die
because of a failure to fulfill the mitzva of mezuza.[1] This is learned
from the juxtaposition of the commandment of mezuza to the verse that
promises that "your days will be multiplied, and the days of your
children." In a positive formulation, the Tur writes:

    Whoever is careful about it, his days and the days of his children
    will be lengthened, as it is written: "That your days may be
    multiplied, and the days of your children." (Tur, Yoreh De'ah 285)

In tractate Kiddushin (34a), the gemara discusses the possibility of
exempting women from the mitzva of mezuza. At first, the gemara is of the
opinion that women are exempt, in view of the Torah's juxtaposition of
the mitzva of mezuza to the mitzva of Torah study, from which women are
exempt. However, the gemara rejects this possibility with the following
argument:

    You cannot think so, because it is written: ["And You shall write
    them upon the doorposts of your house...] that your days may be
    multiplied." Do men only need life, and not women? (Kiddushin 34a)

In this gemara as well, we clearly see that the promise of longevity
in relation to the mitzva of mezuza is so central that there is no room
even to entertain the possibility that women may be exempt from it. For
by removing women from the mitzva of mezuza you would be removing them
from the basic desire of existence, of life.

The Tur adds:

    Moreover, one's house is protected by it, as they expounded the verse:
    "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade upon your right hand"
    (Tehillim 121:5). (Tur, ibid.)

II. The Rambam's View

The Rambam famously writes:

    It is a common custom to write [God's name] Shaddai on the
    outside of a mezuza, opposite the empty space left between the two
    passages. There is no difficulty in this, since the addition is made
    on the outside. However, those who write the names of angels, other
    sacred names, verses, or forms,[2] on the inside [of a mezuza] are
    among those who do not have a portion in the World-to-Come. Not only
    do these fools nullify the mitzva, but furthermore, they make from
    a great mitzva that reflects the unity of the name of the Holy One,
    blessed be He, the love of Him, and the service of Him, a talisman
    for their own benefit. They, in their foolish conception, think that
    this will help them regarding the vanities of the world. (Hilkhot
    Tefillin U-Mezuza 5:4)

The Kesef Mishneh (ad loc.) cites the objection raised by the Ramach
against the Rambam based on the gemara in Avoda Zara (11a). The gemara
there records a story about Onkelos, who became a proselyte, and the
emperor sent a contingent of soldiers after him. Among other things,
it is stated there:

    Again he sent another cohort ordering them not to enter into any
    conversation whatever with him. So they took hold of him; and as they
    were walking on, he saw the mezuza that was fixed on the door frame
    and he placed his hand on it saying to them, "Now what is this?" And
    they replied, "You tell us then." He said to them, "According to
    universal custom, the mortal king dwells within, and his servants keep
    guard on him without; but [in the case of] the Holy One, blessed is
    He, it is His servants who dwell within while He keeps guard on them
    from without, as it is stated: `The Lord shall guard your going out
    and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore' (Tehillim
    121:8)." Then they, too, were converted to Judaism. (Avoda Zara 11a)

>From the difficulty raised by the Ramach, it may be concluded that in
his opinion the Rambam rejects the idea of protection that is attributed
to the mezuza. The Rambam views the mezuza as an expression of man's
connection to God, in that he declares at the entrance to his house
his faith in His unity and his love for Him, two of the foundations of
His service. According to the Ramach, the Rambam rejects the talismanic
qualities that were attributed to the mezuza by the ancients.

The Ramach attacks the Rambam's position, as he understood it, on the
grounds that the idea of protection is brought in the gemara itself:

    For in tractate Avoda Zara it is implied from that which Onkelos said
    to the Roman contingent that the Holy One, blessed is He, makes the
    mezuza to protect Israel from the outside. And one can force an answer
    that it was Onkelos who said this in order give importance to Israel.
    (Ramach, ad loc.)

In light of this, the Ramach struggles to reconcile the Rambam's
position, arguing that Onkelos said this to the Romans only in order
to praise Israel in their eyes. Onkelos told the Romans that the mezuza
symbolizes God's protection, as it were, over the houses of Israel. In
truth, however, the mitzva of mezuza is not a matter of God's protection,
but rather an expression of a person's faith in God's unity and service.

It stands to reason, however, that the Rambam does not challenge the very
idea of the protection offered by a mezuza. Thus writes the Kesef Mishneh
in light of the fact that the gemara in Menachot uses this principle to
determine the halakha regarding the proper placement of a mezuza:

    For in chapter Ha-Kometz (33b), regarding the rule that a mezuza
    must be placed in the handbreadth adjacent to the public domain,
    R. Huna said: "What is the reason? So that it may protect him."[3]
    Therefore you must say that in fact a mezuza protects the house when
    it is written properly. (Kesef Mishneh)

In the Kesef Mishneh's opinion, the Rambam rejects only those actions that
expanded the talismanic element of a mezuza - namely, the insertion of
the names of the angels into the mezuza. The Rambam sees the protective
quality of a mezuza in the connection between man and God and his belief
in Him and His unity.

In the continuation of our discussion, we will explain the idea of the
protection offered by a mezuza with greater precision and in greater
depth.

III. Additional Sources

The Yerushalmi states in tractate Pe'ah:

    Artaban sent to our holy Rabbi an invaluably precious pearl. He said
    to him: Send me something which is similarly precious. He sent him a
    mezuza. He said to him: What I have sent you is something priceless,
    but you have sent me something which is only worth one follis. He
    [Rabbi] said to him: Your treasures and my treasures are incomparable.
    And moreover, you have sent me something that I have to guard,
    while I have sent you something which guards you when you sleep, as
    it is written: "When you walk, it will lead you; when you lie down,
    it will watch over you; and when you awake, it will talk to you"
    (Mishlei 6:22). (Yerushalmi, Pe'ah 1:1)

Similarly, the Tur writes in Hilkhot Mezuza:

    Moreover, one's house is protected by it, as they expounded the verse:
    "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade upon your right hand"
    (Tehillim 121:5). A mortal king dwells within, and his servants keep
    guard on him without; but you sleep in your beds and the Holy One,
    blessed is He, guards you from without. Therefore, it should be
    placed in the outermost handbreadth, so that the entire house be
    within it and under its protection. (Tur, Yoreh De'ah 285)

The prevalent custom to write on the outside of the mezuza parchment
the name ShaDaY - which is expounded as an abbreviation for the words:
Shomer Delatot Yisrael, "Who guards the doors of Israel"[4] - also
reinforces this idea of a mezuza as protecting a person's home.

As stated, the basis of this idea is already found in the verses of the
Torah. Even though the Torah does not mention the idea of protection in
direct connection to the mitzva of mezuza, it is mentioned in connection
with another mezuza. In Parashat Bo, God commands the people of Israel to
place the blood of the paschal lamb on the two doorposts and lintel. The
reason for this is explained as follows:

    And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you
    are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall
    no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
    (Shemot 12:13)

And later in the same chapter:

    For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He
    sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord
    will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come
    in to your houses to smite you. (Shemot 12:23)

It is further stated at the end of that chapter:

    It was a night of watching to the Lord for bringing them out from
    the land of Egypt; this same night is a night of watching to the Lord
    for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. (Shemot
    12:42)

Rashi writes:

    "A night of watching to the Lord for all the children of Israel
    throughout their generations" - This night is protected, and comes as
    such from ages past, against all destructive forces, as it is stated:
    "And He will not suffer the destroyer to enter your houses" (v. 33).
    (Rashi, ad loc.)

IV. The Mezuza and the Paschal Offering

On the night of the exodus from Egypt, God protected the houses of the
people of Israel by way of the sign of the blood on the doorposts and
lintels, and because of this the night became a night of watching for
all generations.[5]

At first glance, it seems that the common denominator between the mitzva
of mezuza and the paschal offering is that in both cases we are commanded
to place a specific thing on the doorpost, thereby securing the protection
of the house and its inhabitants.

On the deeper level, it seems that the connection between the mitzva of
mezuza and the paschal offering is more substantive.

What is the significance of placing blood on the doorposts and lintel
of one's house? The paschal offering that the people of Israel brought
in Egypt was sacrificed as a family offering, a sheep for each family,
at the entrance to each family's home. In Egypt, of course, there was no
Temple and no altar. Therefore, it seems that the meaning of the blood
was to distinguish between the houses of the Israelites and the houses
of the Egyptians, in order to prevent the destroyer from coming into
the homes of the Israelites to attack.

However, the possibility that the blood was meant to distinguish between
the houses of Israel and the houses of Egypt raises a great difficulty, in
light of the midrashim of Chazal, which indicate that God Himself passed
through the land of Egypt. He certainly did not need a distinguishing
sign. So writes the Beit Yosef in his book, Maggid Meisharim:

    As for the difficulty with the verse, "And when I see the blood, I
    will pass over you," why was a sign needed, for surely everything is
    revealed to Him? It may be suggested that a sign was needed for the
    angels who came with Him. It may further be objected that this sign
    was with blood, which is a sign of death, the opposite of what they
    wanted. And furthermore, the sign should have been on the outside,
    and this sign was on the inside. But the secret of the matter is that
    the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted them to trust in Him and place
    the blood on the door from the inside. This is what is written:
    "And the blood shall be to you for a token." And instead of being
    afraid when they see the blood on the door, on the contrary they
    should trust their Master who commanded them to do this, so that
    He would be a salvation for them. This merit of trusting God would
    protect them. This is the meaning of what is written: "And the
    blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are;
    and when I see the blood, I will pass over you." That is to say,
    I will see the merit of your trust, that the blood that is a sign
    of death will be for you a sign of life when you trust the words of
    your Master. And for this reason, "when I see the blood, I will pass
    over you." (Maggid Meisharim, Parashat Bo)

It seems that trust in God involves not only doing the action required by
God on the simple level. What we have here is an important and profound
principle, in light of the gemara in Pesachim:

    R. Yosef taught: There were three altars there, on the lintel and
    on the two doorposts. (Pesachim 96a)

A broader picture emerges from the gemara. The paschal offering brought
in Egypt was a sacrifice offered at the entrance of a person's house,
his house serving as the Temple, and the entrance to his house being
the altar. While Chazal speak of three altars, it seems more accurate
to say that they are referring to the three corners of the altar.

The people of Israel are commanded to see their homes as the house
of God. With their trust in God, they express the strength of their
connection to Him by seeing their homes as God's house. And if their
house is the house of God, then the entrance to the house is an altar,
and they put of the blood on the three corners of the altar - the lintel
and the two doorposts.

This view, which sanctifies the houses of the people of Israel as the
Temple, is similar to what is stated: "In every place where I cause My
name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you" (Shemot 20:20).
In this way, the house becomes the basis of the covenant that is being
formed between God and His people, by virtue of their seeking His presence
within them.

If we are correct, it stands to reason that the idea of the protection
offered by a mezuza has a more fundamental and inner meaning. A person
turns his house into a house of God, and a house of God is protected,
as is stated in Tehillim:

    A Song of Ascents; of Shelomo. Except the Lord build the house,
    they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city,
    the watchman wakes but in vain. (Tehillim 127:1)

God's protection is protection, and there is no other, it alone being
considered true protection.

These words connect with the words of the Rambam in Hilkhot Beit
Ha-Bechira, that the guarding in the Temple was merely a display of honor,
and not needed for the protection it offered, since the house of God is
not in need of protection:

    There is a positive mitzva to guard the Temple. [This mitzvah
    applies] even though there is no fear of enemies or thieves, for
    the guarding [of the Temple] is an expression of respect for it. A
    palace with guards is [much more impressive] than a palace without
    guards. (Rambam, Hilkhot Beit Ha-Bechira 8:1)

(Translated by David Strauss)

_______________________

[1] The gemara there states as follows: "R. Chiya bar Abba and R.
Yose disagree. One says: It is for the sin of neglect of mezuza [that a
person's children die]; while the other says: It is for the sin of the
neglect of Torah... It is well according to the one who says: It is for
the sin of the neglect of mezuza, for it is written: 'And you shall write
them upon the doorposts of your house,' which is followed by: 'that your
days may be multiplied, and the days of your children'" (Shabbat 32b).

[2] The Rambam is referring here to the ancient practice of inserting
all kinds of additions into the mezuza. Rabbeinu Eliezer of Metz writes
as follows: "It is common practice to add seals and the names of the
angels at the end of the Bible verses contained in the mezuza for the
sake of the increased security of the home. This is not indispensible,
nor even a mitzva, but simply serves as additional protection" (Yere'im
400). He then spells out in great detail the names of the angels and
where precisely they were inserted in the mezuza.

[3] According to the Ramach's understanding of the Rambam, it may be
suggested that this does not mean that a mezuza protects a person, but
rather that a person should be reminded of the principles of his faith
whenever he goes in or out of his house.

[4] See Kolbo: "The reason that we write this name more than the others
is that it is an abbreviation for Shomer Dirat Yisrael, "Who guards the
dwelling of Israel" (Kolbo, Mezuza 90).

[5] Establishing this night as a night of watching has halakhic
ramifications in a number of contexts. This is true regarding the
recitation of Shema before going to sleep and regarding the Me-Ein
Sheva blessing on the night of the Seder when it falls out on Friday
night. Many halakhic authorities rule that one should not say the Me-Ein
Sheva blessing on the night of the Seder, since it is a night of watching
that does not require protection.