Hanging mezuzot (plural) on your doorposts fulfills one of the 613 mitzvot, or sacred obligations, prescribed in the Torah and continues a tradition handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

Inside the case is s a rolled-up scroll. 

Written on the scroll is the central prayer in Judaism, the Shema (the divine is one) and two verses from Deuteronomy, including the  instruction “You shall love G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. And you shall teach these words to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you go on the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm and they shall be an ornament between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The text also gives the promise of abundance and health. Read Full Traditional Translation

The tradition tells us to touch our fingers to the mezuzah and kiss them every time we leave our home and again when we return. This is a way to take the name of G-d directly into our mouths.

The mezuzah gives us a simple practice that can make us slow down a bit and remember the goodness of the earth and its people.

My hope is that by hanging a natural handmade object on your door, made by the person who gathered the branch and thanked the tree, and who loved making it, you will feel a little more connected to nature, to history, to yourself and to me.

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