[Miss Scarlett]

Originally Posted by Lynn

I am Jewish, too, and I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts. As with anything Jewish, there is much that is subject to interpretation and debate. The mezuzzah is something that does provide protection, according to what I was taught. I was also taught that it comes from the story of Passover, when the Jews placed lamb's blood on their doorposts to signify that they were Jews so that G-d would "pass over" their homes and spare their first born sons during that plague. This was not just for identification, but also for protection, since an "all knowing" G-d would not need to be told who was Jewish and who was not. The scroll inside, if it is kosher, has been prepared according to certain rules by a scribe, and if it is ever to be discarded, it should be buried in the same way as any holy book would be. So, inasmuch as any Jewish text is holy, I think the scroll in a kosher mezuzah would be considered so. When my daughter was ill, and there was no explanation, one of the things that our rabbi suggested (and others, too) was to make sure that a mezuzah was placed on our daughter's bedroom door.

Just some other thoughts on the subject.

Great post Lynn! The act of the blood was an indicator of faith and obedience. I doubt any Jewish family that failed to put the blood on their doorpost were spared the loss of their first born.

I didn't go in depth in the Mezuzah discussion because the point I was trying to make is that it is not a "good luck charm" or anything like that. There are some churches in my area that have adopted Mazozot, tallitot, kippot, Shofarot, etc. and are using them for good luck or ornamentation. Or they're doing "cool Jewish stuff." I saw a man a few years ago walking through Pride with a Shofar hanging out of the front pocket of his pants!