Alexander Poltorak

The L-rd is thy keeper; the L‑rd is thy shade upon thy right hand Psalms CXXI, 5 In the Bible The word “mezuzah” appears for the first time in the Bible in the account of the Exodus from Egypt. Before the last plague smiting the Egyptian firstborn, the Al...

One of the main effects of a mitzvah (commandment) is to connect a Jew with his G‑d. The word mitzvah comes from the root shared by such words as tzoveth (company) and betzafto (together) denoting unity. Mitzvoth thus serve as the primary device to ...

The word mezuzah literally means “a doorpost”. The etymology of this word is not entirely clear. Traditional sources connect this word with the root “zuz” – to move. Linguists trace this word to the Akkadian “nazazu” – to stand, or “manzazu” – a doorpost....

To understand the significance of the mezuzah, we must first explore the text written in it. As we have said before, these are the two Torah portions: Shema and Vehayah. These two portions, along with a third, comprise the prayer Shema Yisrael... – “Hear,...

The fundamental importance of the mezuzah to Judaism is underscored by the story of Ruth, the grandmother of King David and archetype of all righteous proselytes. In explaining the laws of conversion to her, one of the first things her mother-in-law Naomi...

Read what our sages have to say about the mitzvah of mezuzah. Starting from the Scriptures, all the way through modern-day scholars.

Mezuzah, the trademark of a Jewish house. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Upon entering a Jewish home, a visitor is immediately faced with a small parchment scroll attached to the doorpost – a mezuzah. A Jewish house is not guarded by fearsome lions or mysteriou...

I will never forget my first mezuzah. That was many years ago, in the former Soviet Union, where my wife and I were born into assimilated non-religious families, raised as atheists and trained as physicists. Pondering the origin of the Universe, in the sc...

Alexander Poltorak discusses the mystical elements of mezuzah: meditations, astrology, its connection t o the Redemption and more.

An in-depth look at the significance of the mezuzah, its contents, history, customs, symbolism and more.