Mezuzah

1. What is a Mezuzah?

A mezuzah (Hebrew: מְזוּזָה "pole") (plural: mezuzot (מְזוּזוֹת)) is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) is written in Hebrew as specified verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11: 13-21 ). These verses are composed of Jewish prayer "Shema Yisrael", begins with the sentence: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One"

mezuzah is affixed in the doorway of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to write down the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9). Some interpret Jewish law for a mezuzah on every door in the house separate from the bathroom, and closets are too small to qualify as a bedroom; [one another] see it as just need to place one at the front door. parchment was prepared by a qualified scribe (a Sofer Stam "") that have undergone years of careful training, and the verses are written in black ink with a special quill. parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case.

Hear, O Israel: G Gdd us, Gd is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). The words we read every morning and evening. Words containing the main report about what it means to be a Jew.

Concerning these words, Gd has commanded us, "And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates" (ibid., verse 9). Therefore mezuzah: a scroll of parchment that read the verses of the Shema and affixed to the pole right of every room in the house of a Jew.

In addition to its role as a declaration and reminder of our faith, mezuzah also a symbol of Gd's watchful care. Name of Gd, Sha-dai, which appears on the back of the parchment, is the acronym for the Hebrew words meaning "to guard the doors of Israel." Placement of a mezuzah on the door of your home or office protects the inhabitants - whether they're in or out.

2. What I Need?

To properly affixed to the doorpost mezuzahs, you will need:

1) Kosher mezuzah scrolls - one for each door of the qualification in your home or office.

2) Protection of cases where the roll of parchment rolled up, inserted.

3) A tape measure and pencil to mark the place where the mezuzah was affixed to the pole.

4) Hammer and nails, or industrial-strength glue or tape, which to affix the mezuzah.

5) A prayer book or a printed card with a blessing.

3. Mezuzah Need a room?

Before you go to buy your mezuzahs, you need to find out how much home you need. Need mezuzah to a door?

mezuzah is affixed to every door in your home or office that leads into a space that is appropriate, except for bathrooms. What qualifies as a space ""? Each enclosure was at least 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft. This includes the vestibules, hall, large walk-in closets, etc.

If there are several doors leading to the room, the door of each need their own mezuzah. Doors without doors (eg, arches between rooms) also requires a mezuzah. Calculating the doors of which are eligible to determine the amount you need to get mezuzahs.

4. Obtain Kosher Mezuzahs

Now you know how many mezuzahs you need, do some research to find a place to buy your mezuzahs. Because mezuzahs to be done in accordance with the law is very precise and specifications, only experts can determine whether the mezuzah is kosher.

Some basics: mezuzah must be hand written by a competent expert on specially prepared parchment with a certain type of pen and ink mandated by tradition. All too often, printed or incorrect mezuzahs prepared - or even a mezuzah case is empty - the fraudulent sale. So be sure to buy from trusted sources mezuzahs your religion or your rabbi for help.

Mezuzah scrolls and then rolled from left to right and placed right-side up in a protective case.

5. Mark the Spot

mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of the right, in the bottom third of the door frame.

To the front door, the right pole is on the right doorpost of people who enter from the street. In an internal door, this is the pillar to the right of people who fall into that direction toward the open door. If there is no door, thinking about the importance and function: the dining room is more important in the hierarchy of the house (this is used more formally) from the kitchen, so at the entrance to dinning room and kitchen mezuzah must be on the right of people to enter the dining room.

To determine the correct height in which to affix mezuzah, use a tape measure to get the total height of the door frame. Dividing it into three, and measure the amount of the share of your doorpost. Use a pencil to mark the place, you will attach your mezuzah just above that mark (see picture).



6. Blessing

You are now ready to do the mitzvah of affixing the mezuzah. Blessing which is recited only once, before installing it mezuzahs. You will put up the first mezuzah on the door of the most important - your front door, so that's where you should stand, mezuzah and tools in hand. When you read a blessing, remember that it applies to all of you will be when affixing mezuzahs in your home.

Say the blessing:


Baruch Atah A-do-nai Elo-Melech heinu haolam asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu likboa mezuzah.



Blessed are you Gd our Gd, King of the Universe, Who has made us holy with the mitzvah and ordered us to put up a mezuzah.

7. Affix a Mezuzah

mezuzah must be permanently attached to the frame of the door. Use a hammer and nails, glue, or tape durable. Position the mezuzah on the top one-third mark you made. Need to outer edge of the door frame, on the diagonal with a pointed toward the top. (See picture)

Immediately after reading the blessing, affix the mezuzah. Do not let the noise as you can then proceed to the remaining rooms in your home. Do not forget to affix a mezuzah any specifications mentioned above.

8. Regular Check-Ups

You have completed the mitzvah of affixing mezuzahs. Your house is proud to display the Jewish identity, and you have tapped this unique spiritual relationship. But you're not finished. mezuzah is a sacred object that must be maintained to preserve its sanctity.

At least two times in seven years, we lowered our mezuzahs and professional they are checked to ensure that they are still intact. examine the roll of the clerk to ensure that no mail has been cracked or removed and which are still kosher mezuzah. we make our vigilance mezuzahs their function: to bring holiness, protection and services throughout our home.
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Affixing a mezuzah

According to halakha, mezuzah should be placed on the right side door, in the upper third of the pile (ie, approximately shoulder height), [2] in about 3 inches (8 cm) from the open door [quote. needed] In general, the halakha requires mezuzot posted within 30 days after moving into a rented house or apartment. This applies to Jews who lived in the Diaspora (ie, outside the Land of Israel). For a house or apartment purchased in the Diaspora, or residence in Israel (which is owned or rented), mezuzah is affixed immediately after moving into The reason for this difference is that there is an assumption that when the Jews live in Israel, Israel will remain / her stayed constant, while the houses in the diaspora is temporary. This case can be affixed to the doorpost with nails, screws, glue, or tape. Scroll wrap in plastic wrap before placing it in this case will protect from the elements. Care must be taken not to tear or damage the parchment or the words on it, because this will cancel the mezuzah, which is considered the Torah.
Mezuzah affixed to the door frame on South Street in Philadelphia.

Where the door is wide enough, Ashkenazi Jewish and Spanish and Portuguese Jewish mezuzah tilted so that the top slants toward the room where the door is open. This was done to accommodate the variant opinions of Rashi and Rabbi medieval Rabbeinu Tam, whether it should be placed horizontally or vertically, and also to imply that God and the Torah (the mezuzah symbolizes) entered the room. Most non-Jewish Sephardim and Ashkenazi affixes mezuzah vertically. [3]

This procedure is to keep mezuzah to the place where it will taped, and then read a blessing:

. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשַׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לִקְבּוֹעַ מְזוּזָה
Baruch atta Adonai melech Eloheinu ha'olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu likboa 'mezuza.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and commanded us to put up a mezuzah.

Every Jewish person can read the blessing given him old enough to understand the importance of the mitzvah. After the blessing, mezuzah attached.

When some mezuzot embellishment, that's enough to read a blessing, before affixing the first.

Checking parchment

Orthodox Jews have a qualified clerk parchment mezuzot check for defects (such as small tears or faded lettering) at least twice every seven years. [4] [5]

Mezuzah cases
Metal mezuzah case.
Marquetry mezuzah case.

The command to put the mezuzah is much followed in the Jewish world, even by those Jews who do not obey the religion. While an important part of the mezuzah is "Klaff," or parchment, and not the case itself, designing and producing a mezuzah case has been elevated to an art form for centuries. Mezuzot produced by various types of materials, from silver and precious metals, to wood, stone, ceramic, tin, and even polymer clay. Some dealers mezuzah case will provide or offer for sale a copy of the text that has been photocopied on paper; is not a valid mezuzah, which must be written by hand into a piece of parchment by a qualified expert.


Mezuzah cases
Metal mezuzah case.
Marquetry mezuzah case.

The command to put the mezuzah is much followed in the Jewish world, even by those Jews who do not obey the religion. While an important part of the mezuzah is "Klaff," or parchment, and not the case itself, designing and producing a mezuzah case has been elevated to an art form for centuries. Mezuzot produced by various types of materials, from silver and precious metals, to wood, stone, ceramic, tin, and even polymer clay. Some dealers mezuzah case will provide or offer for sale a copy of the text that has been photocopied on paper; this is not a valid mezuzah, which must be written by hand into a piece of parchment by a qualified expert.

Additional Inscription

It is customary to write two papers in the back of the parchment:

* The Hebrew word שדי (Shaddai)
* The phrase "כוזו במוכסז כוזו"

Shaddai, one of God's biblical name, also served here as an acronym for Shomer Yisrael Daltot, "The porter of Israel." mezuzah Many cases are also marked with the Hebrew letter ש (Shin), for Shaddai.

"כוזו במוכסז כוזו" is a cipher - a shift in one letter - from the third, fourth and fifth words of the Shema, "Adonai, Eloheinu, Adonai," "Lord, our God, the Lord", but written on the back of the mezuzah it, otherwise the words that fit on the front [6] this paper., derived from the 11th century and found among the Sages of Germany.

According to the Sephardic custom (minhag), the phrase כוזו "במוכסז כוזו" is prohibited, and only the Hebrew word שדי (Shaddai) will be written on the back of the mezuzah. This practice is supported by the Shulchan Aruch and the writings of the Rambam. Ashkenazi habit of writing the second phrase, however, supported in the writings of Remo.

References

1. ^ Dovid Zaklikowski. "Which Rooms Require a Mezuzah?". http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=225406.
2. ^ Beit Yosef YD 289; and see Nekudot Hakesef ad loc
3. ^ "Mezuzah - Which Way Is Up??". http://ohr.edu/ask/ask059.htm.
4. ^ Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 11a
5. ^ Shulchan Aruch (291:1)
6. ^ Alexander Poltorak The Mysterious Name

The Privilege To Eat Kosher Meat

Parsha Points- Parsha Re’eh 5770

In Parsha Re’eh, Devarim 12:20-21, B’nai Yisrael are given permission to eat unconsecrated meat-animals that are slaughtered for their meat even if they are not being brought as Korbanot (offerings): “When God will enlarge your border, as He has promised you, and you shall say, ‘I would eat meat,’ for you have a desire to eat meat, to your heart’s entire desire may you eat meat. If the place that God will choose to place His name will be far from you, you may kill from your herd and from your flock, which God has given you, in the way I have commanded you and you shall eat in your cities according to your heart’s entire desire.”

Rashi points out that when B’nai Yisrael were in the desert, the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was with them all of the time so they were able to bring Shlamim offerings every day if they wanted to. Now some people will live too far from the Mishkan and eventually too far from the Bet HaMikdash (Temple).

Ramban adds that once B’nai Yisrael are spread out throughout the Land of Israel then they can all eat meat, as long as it is slaughtered correctly, without any connection to a Korban.

Rashi continues that although we don’t see the laws of Shechita (ritual slaughter) in the Torah, we learn in Masechet Chulin 28a that the fact that the Torah says “commanded you” refers to the oral laws of Shechita which were passed down to Moshe on Mt. Sinai.

These laws of Shechita have been passed down in an unbroken chain from Mt. Sinai until today. The laws are defined in the Talmud, Masechet Chulin and in the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 1-28.

Slaughtering the animal becomes a more elevated procedure as the Shochet (Ritual Slaughterer) recites the following blessing before slaughtering the animal: “Blessed are you…Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning Shechita.”

Nehama Leibowitz points out that “Rav Kook regarded all of the Biblical dietary laws- ritual slaughter, covering the blood etc. as designed to arouse man to the injustice committed against the animal kingdom, even to the extent of making him ashamed of his actions.”

In the words of Rav Kook: “The Divine instructions regulating the consumption of meat lead gradually to the desired spiritual goal. Only limited species of animals are permitted, those suited to man’s dietary requirements. Man must cover the blood, hide your shame! These actions will bear fruit and ultimately educate mankind…The very nature of the principles of ritual slaughter with their specific rules and regulations designed to reduce pain, create the atmosphere that you are not dealing with a helpless unprotected object …but with a living being.”

We see from here that although B’nai Yisrael are permitted to slaughter animals and eat meat, it must be done in an ethical and moral way.


Shabbat Shalom from Yerushalayim!

The System

The common conception of how the system works is faulty.

They see a career as "making a living". A career doesn't make anything.

What you receive is generated above, in a spiritual realm. Your business is to set up a channel to allow that spiritual reservoir to flow into the material world.

Attitude

Shalom,
The reason you have a business is to reconnect all these fragments back to their Creator. And the gauge of your success is your attitude.

If you see yourself as a victim of circumstance, of competitors, markets and trends, that your bread is in the hands of flesh and blood…

…then your world is still something separate from your Davar.

But if you have the confidence that He is always with you in whatever you do and the only one who has the power to change your destiny is you yourself through your own acts of goodness…

…then your earth is tied to the heavens, and since in the heavens nothing is lacking, so too it shall be in your world.

Baruch HaShem

Father in my soul

And when o'er storm and jar I climb,
Beyond life's atmosphere,
I shall behold the lord of time
And space—of world and year.
O vain, far quest! not thus my heart
Shall ever find its goal!
I turn me home—and there thou art,
My Father, in my soul.

Pruned to Yield Fruit

It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life.

Though every budding twig be lopped,
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf,
Be lost a space.

O thou whose life of joy seems reft,
Of beauty shorn;
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,

Rejoice, tho' each desire, each dream,
Each hope of thine
Shall fall and fade; it is the hand
Of Love Divine

That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That thou, whose life has borne some fruit
May'st now bear much.

Our Giving

Give as ’twas given to you in your need,
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed
Unto your mission be true.

Self-sacrifice is the true measure of our giving.

Shalom

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Baruch HaShem

Love Worth Finding

Marriage counselors agree: Most, if not all, marriage problems are rooted in poor communication. We often act in our marriages as though we are soloists, singing alone and beholden to nobody. But marriage is a duet, not a solo. And the Song of Solomon shows us a real life marriage filled with the music of intimate, personal, and open communication.

DISCUSSION

Here's the stark truth about communication in marriage: You will communicate, or your marriage will disintegrate. And marriages today that are on the rocks are there because of poor communication.

Experts say there are five levels of communication:

Frivolous Level. This is the communication we experience daily in our casual relationships. The weather, the latest scores, clothes, and the like - we do this often and think about it rarely. It's communication on "automatic pilot."

Factual Level. This is a little more content oriented than frivolous communication. Factual communication digs a little deeper into the knowledge of various subjects. There's still no real personal involvement.

Fellowship Level. Now, we're beginning to get a little personal. We share ideas, judgments, and philosophies. We begin to risk rejection for our beliefs.

Feeling Level. In this kind of communication, we go a step deeper. We not only share ideas and core beliefs but we share our feelings about those beliefs. We let others know how important they are to us. This is much riskier, and it's about as deep as most people ever get with each other.

Freedom Level. This is the deepest level of communication. We are completely open with our mate. We share our deepest dreams, fears, ideas, and feelings - without fear of rejection. The word "intimacy" comes from the Latin intimuce. It means "innermost." And truly intimate communication encompasses all those dreams, beliefs, and feelings you wouldn't share with anybody else. Freedom level communication is the secret of lasting love.

When the Bible speaks of a husband and wife coming together in the act of marriage, it says, "So and so knew his wife." To be completely known and still be loved is the supreme goal of marriage. That's true intimacy. Every marriage needs it to survive.

THE DIFFICULTY WITH DIFFERENCES

Intimate communication won't happen without some adjustments - especially on the part of men. In most troubled marriages, the men won't talk. One woman told me that the only time her husband speaks is when he wants food or sex. That's wrong. Men need to talk, whether they want to or not.

Husbandly silence is the culprit in most family communication problems. The wife, who craves communication, pushes her husband into a corner just to get him talking. She pushes and pushes, and Pow! He explodes. Ironically, this is often better to the wife than silence. At least she has his full attention. I'm not saying she intends to pick a fight. But deep down within her there is something that prefers argument to silence. She wants communication. That's understandable. That's how God made her.

Have you noticed how many books there are on marriage? On intimacy? On communication? Here's the problem: The people who need them don't read them! Women read them, but men - who truly need to adjust to their wives' communication needs - don't.

This too is understandable. There are natural barriers to men communicating with the intimacy their wives desire. And wives need to take that into account and make some adjustments.

Consider the articles found in women's magazines: "Five Ways to Develop Closeness in Your Marriage" and "How to Have Harmony in the Home" and "Achieving Intimacy With Your Lover." Now what do men read about in their magazines? "How to Remodel Your Garage" and "How to Double Your Gas Mileage" and "How to Make It Big in the Stock Market."

Yes, there are differences between men and women that affect marital communication. Some of these stem from the fact that we are raised differently. Boys are taught not to cry, not to show emotion. Part of the macho self reliance myth is silence, which supposedly communicates complete self-control.

These differences between men and women should give us all a healthy amount of understanding toward the struggles of our spouses. But they shouldn't stop us from trying, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to imitate the intimacy between Solomon and his spouse. We'll never arrive at perfection. But the closer we get, the happier our homes will be.