Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mezuzahs, Enjoy Them by the Bag Full

Several months ago I took a Shabbos walk through my neighborhood. It was fall and the leaves on the trees were turning and the mountains were ablaze in a cornucopia of color. As I walked along the quiet streets of Salem, Oregon, my mind drifted back to thoughts of my friends at Chabad of Delaware. For you see this was the one year anniversary of my move from Delaware to Oregon.

I found myself reflecting on how these wonderful people had helped me begin a journey of self-discovery and Jewish learning that was unparalleled with anything I had experienced in my first 45 years of life. As I strolled along at a leisurely pace I inventoried the many adventures and discoveries I had made along my three-year trek.
I smiled at the thought of saying the Kiddush on wine the first time on Shabbat. I remembered how frightened I was to start the blessing. I was sure I would forget everything I had practiced all week long. But I soon found I had nothing to fear. I thought about building my first sukka and how proud I was to eat my first meal in it. Though in reality it had only been a few years, I could hardly remember a time when I didn’t pray the three daily services. A contented smile slowly appeared on my face as I remembered walking into my home one Friday afternoon seeing my wife standing in the dining room next to the Shabbat candles, two challas and silver Kiddush cup. I remember thinking that this was a sight unseen in a Hyatt or Lobenstein household for at least 40 or 50 years.
However, of all the steps I’ve taken along this journey, the most significant may have been the easiest to overlook.

Two years ago on Simchat Torah, Rabbi Chuni Vogel (of Chabad of Delaware) had suggested that I make a mitzva pledge to put mezuzot on the door posts of my home. Back then I was a little shy about my Jewish observance and I was reluctant to put one by my front door. But these Chabad Rabbis are nothing if they are not persuasive and several weeks later I put a mezuzah on the door post of my front door.

When it came time to move to Oregon, Rabbi Vogel gave me a huge hug goodbye, the telephone number of Rabbi Moshe and Devora Wilhelm of Chabad of Oregon and a bag full of mezuzot. He smiled and told me to feel free to put these on the door posts of the rooms of my new home.

When Linda and I moved into our new home the first thing we did was put the mezuzot up throughout the house. Other than the bathrooms, every door post sports a hand-written parchment encased in a simple acrylic mezuzah cover. I even put one on the private entrance to my office at work. So why of all the wondrous events over the last few years is this one of the most significant?

Upon reflection, I see the mezuzah and the doorposts within our home as spiritual portals, ones we enter and exit dozens of times each day. And each passage through presents another opportunity to pause, reconnect and reconsider our spiritual role and responsibility in G-d’s world. I have found that no matter how stressed or preoccupied I am as I step through the entrances to the rooms in my home and touch each mezuzah, time appears to stand still. For one brief moment I step out of the secular intensity of my life and bask in the spiritual illumination of G-d’s love and reassurance.
Suddenly my problem at work doesn’t seem so earth-shattering, the disagreement I just had with my next-door neighbor seems silly and I can’t even remember why I was so frustrated with missing that last putt on the golf course.

The simple act of walking through the door to my bedroom and gently touching the mezuzah transforms my state of mind, calms me down and rejuvenates me. I feel connected to my people, my heritage and my G-d. How can something so simple have such an enormous impact?

But then, why ponder the mystery. It is not for me or anyone else to determine why G-d commanded us to put mezuzot on the door posts of our homes. It’s a mitzva so we do it. But it is clear to me that this simple mitzva has enhanced my life beyond comprehension.
But don’t take my word for it. If you haven’t done so already, call your
local Chabad-Lubavitch Center and ask about getting a mezuzah for your
home. Put one up and see how it makes you feel. I guarantee that you
won’t be satisfied with just one. Within a month you’ll be calling back
and asking for a whole bag full!

No comments: