mezuzahs

I like mezuzahs.

First of all, there's the word itself.

Anything with two z's is fun to say (!)

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I had never seen a mezuzah before I met my partner.

At first I thought it was just some funky decorative thing she had on all of the doors. 

Then I began to wonder why they were all crooked, but not randomly crooked -

they all lean in the same direction. 

Some quick internet research says that the crooked slant is because

different groups of Jewish people couldn't agree on which way it should be hung. 

Some thought vertical, some thought horizontal... 

So they compromised and it's in the middle, with the top pointing in towards the house. 

Mezuzah means 'doorpost'

and putting one on your door is supposedly a mitzvah (i.e. good religious deed).

The scroll inside has a Hebrew prayer called the Shema on it.

For the Shema prayer scroll to be the real deal it needs to be hand-written

by a specially trained scribe with a special quill with special ink on parchment.

That's a whole lot of special.

Some people have a ritual in which they touch the mezuzah

and then kiss their fingers as they leave or enter their home.

Many mezuzahs often have specific symbols on them.

There's the shin and the chamsa, both visible on this one above.

The shin is the top symbol + may have multiple meanings from what I've gathered.

The shin resembles the two lower ventricles of the heart,

and the Jewish people are to love God with all of their heart. 

The lines of the shin also resemble the 3 valleys in Jerusalem.

The chamsa (or hamsa) is the upside-down hand, 'The hand of Miriam' or Moses' sister.

It's a sign of protection against evil (note the evil eye in the center of the hand). 

Other religions and cultures use a similar hand symbol, as well.

In the end, I interpret the mezuzah in my own way...

very liberally and simply, to mean that the home is blessed.   

I like the idea of blessing each space, so we have some on our interior doors, as well.

Now I'm thinking about an art project:
I think it would be fun to write one's own doorpost blessing
(whether religious, spiritual, or not!)
and then encapsulate whatever that may be
into a beautiful object that you'll see as you come and go each day.