Here are posts to the hj list on the topic of Muzuzahs. Posts included here by: Eric Shapiro Susan Averbach Harold Black (2) Adam Chalom Richard Sherman Eugene Richard Green Al Tauber Charlie Brenner Michael Jerris Dennis Geller Miriam Jerris James Harley Jr. Judith Seid Larry Stillman ....................................................................... Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 14:43:36 -0500 From: Shapiro963@aol.com To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? I have a question -what does hj have to say about the use of mezuzahs? I think that's the word for the small rectangular object that is either put near the front door on either side of it, but probably not on the door itself (I think), on the outside of a home or apartment. A sheet of paper containing Hebrew writing is rolled up and kept inside this object, and prayers are said during its installation. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on the content of those prayers and on the content of the paper with Hebrew writing? To me, the use of mezuzahs seems to be incompatible with hj, as its use is traditionally defined. As I understand it, the whole tradition is connected to Passover, from Jews putting a sign on their door so their house would not be touched when the time came to take the firstborn son of every family in Egypt. In other words, this symbol memorializes premediated murder and infanticide or the killing of innocent children, and that the message is that this is an acceptable choice when the alternative is slavery. But should I use it anyway, because in practice today all it does is that it tells everybody that I'm Jewish and by extension that I'm proud of that identity, which to me is more than reason enough for using it? Shall I redefine this tradition in my terms and set aside the religious mumbo jumbo that's usually associated with it? But then what about the writing put inside it? It should be in English and have humanistic or hj content that I can agree with. Or shall I simply throw the writing out and just use the rest of it? ........................................................................ From saverbach@ortho1.ucsf.eduFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 95 13:42:31 WST From: "Averbach, Susan" To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? I went onto the Net and found the following definition: mezuzah -- a small, oblong container set to the right of a Jew's front door-jamb, in which there is a tiny scroll with the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9; 11:12-21) written on it. I would love to see a humanist mezuzah! Let's make one. We could buy a regular mezuzah, take out the Shema and put in our own humanist Shema! or make our own mezuzahs(ot?). Or both! Is someone already doing this? Susan Averbach Society for Humanistic Judaism Northern California ........................................................................ From hb0001@epfl2.epflbalto.orgFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 15:41:06 -0500 From: HAROLD BLACK To: hj@teleport.com Subject: mezuzahs Eric Shapiro asked what to do about mezuzahs. Like everything else or most everything else we have no written rules in HJ, so I can only tell you what I do. Quite often I am able to buy no-kosher mezuzahs. Those are the ones with the prayer missing. They are cheaper. I won't live in a house without a mezuzah because I want everybody to know I am Jewish and proud of it. On the other hand I will not judge any Jew who decides not to have one. So my advice to you is do what's comfortable to you. If you want to throw the prayer out, that's fine too. But why pay for a prayer you're not going to use. Harold Black, Machar, Washington, D.C. ........................................................................ From adam.chalom@yale.eduFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 17:01:28 -0500 (EST) From: Adam Chalom To: Shapiro963@aol.com Cc: hj@teleport.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? Quick note: The Hebrew in the Mezuzzah (I'm pretty sure) is the Shema in Hebrew because in the Torah it says "and you shall bind these words to the doorposts of our houses [mezuzzah] and on your forheads [tefillin]. . ." When observant Jews enter a house with a mezuzzah, they kiss it, I suppose) as a reminder of their love for the God that gave them the Torah, the Chosen People status, etc. and to remind them of their faith. I think that the traditional mezuzzah is not compatible (ie with the traditional Shema in Hebrew inside). However, if one wanted to replace the traditional Shema with a humanistic shema or a writing of your choice that holds great meaning of which you want yourself reminded on entering your house, that may work. However, the very idea of kissing writing or treating it as holy (whether the Torah or a MEzuzzah) I personally don't and won't do, so I would probably not kiss a mezuzzah, even if I was told that the words inside were "kosher" for Humanistic Jews. If I'm allowed to disagree with a piece of writing, I don't want to kiss it reverently on entering my house. ........................................................................ Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 14:15:17 -0800 (PST) From: Richard Sherman To: Shapiro963@aol.com Cc: hj@teleport.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? Shalom Eric and HJ, We keep a mezzuzah on our doorpost solely and proudly as our connection to Am Yisrael, both past and present. The mezzuzah contains nothing written inside, but serves as both art and identification with our Jewish history. I purchased a mezzuzah in Jerusalem when I was last there in '92 and was amused to find that the mezzuzah and the scroll were sold separately. To boot, they asked an outrageous price for the scroll--to kosherize it much the same as one would do to a piece of meat. I was delighted to walk out with my bare bones 'bargain'. L'hitraot, Richard Sherman Port Hueneme, California ........................................................................ From eugene@novell.comFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 18:55 EST From: eugene@novell.com To: owner-hj@teleport.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? I do not see necessarily a one single version of the humanistic Shema. I think it would go against the spirit of at least this group, if not "humanistic judaism". Instead I would like to see different versions of it that would be kept on the www site. Since this will require some thinking on the authors part, thats is exactly what I am going to do, but I do not promise that I will make the results public. I do look forward to seeing versions from other people. eugene ........................................................................ From Richard.Green@Ebay.Sun.COMFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 16:29:41 -0800 From: Richard Green To: adam.chalom@yale.edu Cc: hj@teleport.com Subject: Mezuzah I don't have any problem with the Shema scroll inside a Mezuzah. For me, the Shema represents an affirmation of rationality: one, unifying God of order instead of many contending gods of raw nature. ........................................................................ From atauber@teleport.comFri Dec 1 20:08:02 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 18:49:33 -0800 (PST) From: Al Tauber To: "Averbach, Susan" Cc: hj@teleport.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? On Tue, 31 Oct 1995, Averbach, Susan wrote: > > I went onto the Net and found the following definition: > > mezuzah -- a small, oblong container set to the right of > a Jew's front door-jamb, in which there is a tiny scroll > with the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9; 11:12-21) written on it. > > I would love to see a humanist mezuzah! Let's make one. We could buy a > regular mezuzah, take out the Shema and put in our own humanist Shema! > or make our own mezuzahs(ot?). Or both! Is someone already doing this? > > Susan Averbach > Society for Humanistic Judaism > Northern California > I like that. One of the hj communities could take on the manufacture of it and sell it as a fund raiser to the other communities who then could resell it as their fund raiser. We could change the container to have some Humanistic symbology as well as Jewish symbology. A double statement. I am proud that I am a Jew. I am proud that I am a Humanistic Jew. Al Tauber atauber@teleport.COM Public Access User --- Not affiliated with Teleport Public Access UNIX and Internet at (503) 220-1016 (2400-14400, N81) ........................................................................ Date: Tue, 31 Oct 95 23:10:54 EST From: Charlie Brenner To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Toleration and Alienation Dear readers, I have been subscribing to this list for several weeks and, for the most part, have kept my thoughts to myself. I'll take this occasion to make some observations. As a member of an HJ congregation for two years and as a reader of this list, I feel that people who identify as HJs are rather alienated. This is not particularly new--as a person whose politics and profession are outside the mainstream (left and biological researcher), I certainly am no stranger to alienation. But I do not wish to become _more_ alienated from my fellow people and from my history. I don't seek to be so politically and intellectually "pure" that I would cleanse my life of certain Jewish observations that fail ever more rigorous litmus tests that we can all construct. I feel no need to purge my Mezzuzah of the Shema. I find HJ observations that are purged of tradition to be sterile. Judaism has thrived for thousands of years with traditions of dissent and debate. I for one feel more at home in a synagogue in which there are some readings that I do not share or do not fully understand than in a service that caters to the lowest common denominator of nonobservance. I laud attempts at developing a new litergy. Such attempts must include an understanding of the old litergies and should not become politically correct bedtime stories. Humanistic Jews, people on the list keep on saying, are the majority. Many Jews are unafilliated and still others, we have been told, are hypocritical because they are not believers but they mouth the words. Some people on the list have acknowledged God as a human construct that gives people comfort or guides ethical behavior for people that are unenlightened by science and humanistic values. Can we have some respect for others here? Can we avoid making Humanism into another Doctrine in which we know all of the answers that others are too stupid to accept. Can we have some respect for our parents and grandparents, for people who have suffered great losses and are trying to cope with them? There are a lot of people and a lot of things happen to them--perhaps there is room for prayer among intelligent people sometimes? Had I used the word "reflection" rather than "prayer," how many more people would agree? Is there a thought police in the HJ movement or just disdain for certain aspects of Jewish practices? That being said, I have found certain aspects of the debate on anti-Semitism highly ironic. Without religious toleration of ourselves as Jews, we can not promote freedom from anti-Semitism. Yours, Charlie Brenner Rosenstiel Center, rm 650 phone (617) 736-4908 Brandeis University fax (617) 736-2405 Waltham, MA 02254-9110 brenner@auriga.rose.brandeis.edu ........................................................................ From jerr0005@tc.umn.eduFri Dec 1 20:08:03 1995 Date: Tue, 31 Oct 95 23:24:08 -0600 From: michael jerris To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Cultural heritage and secular humanistic jewdaism >Quoting From: Charlie Brenner >Rosenstiel Center, rm 650 phone (617) 736-4908 >Brandeis University fax (617) 736-2405 >Waltham, MA 02254-9110 brenner@auriga.rose.brandeis.edu >http://www.rose.brandeis.edu/users/brenner > I don't seek to be so politically and intellectually "pure" >that I would cleanse my life of certain Jewish observations that fail >ever more rigorous litmus tests that we can all construct. As I understand, and belive, HJ is a celebration of the cultural aspects of judasim without emphasis or over emphasis on a greater diety which may or may not exist (who are we to say one does not exist). This does not mean to completely abandon any tradition or heritage which involves 'god', it simply means for us to celebrate those aspects of our heritage and tradition that we respect in order to preserve our heritage, while not conflicting with our views on the existance or non existance of a god. We must not strip our culture of everything it holds dear, but rather enhance our bonds to 6000 years of our ancestry and history, which is at risk of slipping away, because the bond that has held it together so strongly for all these years is now in question. This movement is truly about preserving those bonds, not about losening bonds with god. This point is often overlooked by many in the movement. For secular humanistic judasim to survive in any organized means, we must solidify our bonds to our history and stop trying to dilute our history. Just removing referances to a higher power from our practices removes one of the most cohesive bonds of our ancestors. We must aknowlege, regardless of our own personal belifes, that our culture was one who's history is intertwined with the concept of god. We must FOCUS on the traditions of our ancestors based on their history, and not thier god. While we no longer preform sacrafice as a ritual, we also don't strip stories of it from our texts, for the same reasons we must not strip the entire idea of 'god' from our traditions. >I for one feel more at home in a synagogue in which there are some >readings that I do not share or do not fully understand than in a >service that caters to the lowest common denominator of nonobservance. >I laud attempts at developing a new litergy. Such attempts must >include an understanding of the old litergies and should not become >politically correct bedtime stories. This is indeed one of the current problems with the movement. We must find a way to make secular humanistic jews cofortable in being surounded by there culture while not hammering the idea of god into their heads, and while not diluting our rich culture. This is indeed a dificult balance to make. However I think a new text, if written correctly, could find the delicate balance of secular humanism and our rich jewish heritage. Religions throughout history have written texts to help bind together their culture with cohesive ideas. If we can find that delicate balance between secular humanism and our theistic history. A litergy, if not written to the lowest common denominator of nonobervance, but rather to the preservation of our cultural roots may be a welcome addition to a movement with a weakness in finding the balance of preservation of culture vs. a distancing from theism in our day to day activities. Michael Jerris jerr0005@tc.umn.edu ........................................................................ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 15:27:58 -0500 From: HAROLD BLACK To: hj@teleport.com Subject: mezuzah Les kaufman answered me by saying that the Mezuzah should be a method of preserving our faith. If he means by that that I should go back to my orthodox roots, all I can say is I can't. There is no sense in trying to make me feel guilty, because I have no guilt. If he wants to keep me withing the Jewish group he will have to accept me as I am. Just as I accept him as he is. Let'as all be part of the tribe even if we do it differently. Harold Black ........................................................................ From DENNIS@epub.ziff.comFri Dec 1 20:08:03 1995 Date: Wed, 01 Nov 1995 16:02:29 -0500 (EST) From: DENNIS GELLER To: hj@teleport.com Subject: mezuzah HAROLD BLACK wrote "Les kaufman answered me by saying that the Mezuzah should be a method of preserving our faith. If he means by that that I should go back to my orthodox roots, all I can say is I can't. There is no sense in trying to make me feel guilty, because I have no guilt. If he wants to keep me withing the Jewish group he will have to accept me as I am. Just as I accept him as he is. Let'as all be part of the tribe even if we do it differently. " I didn't see Les' response, but I guarantee that Harold's response shows that it was misunderstood. The last thing I'd expect from les is being dogmatic and proscriptive (that's why Boston U makes him to research instead of letting him teach ) ........................................................................ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 19:49:48 -0500 From: Msjerris@aol.com To: atauber@teleport.com Cc: hj@teleport.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? I realize my answer to Susan never made it to the entire mailing list (most because I only sent it to her). Judith Seid from Ann Arbor has commissioned two mezzuzot. They are also available from the Society for Humanistic Judaism (check publications catalogue) I thought I might see something from Judith on the list in response. She's written a very nice "blessing" for the putting the mezzuza on the doorpost ceremony. Miriam ........................................................................ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 23:24:20 -0500 (EST) From: "James Harley Jr." To: HJ Host Cc: Roger Eden , Shapiro963@aol.com Subject: Re: Mezuzahs compatible with hj? May I recommend the journal of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, specifically "Guide to Humanistic Judaism" issue, Volume XXI, Number III-IV. Mezuzas, et. al. are mentioned under "Symbols" are discussed specifically. Let me quite a couple of sentences... "What is the proper use of such symbols by Humanistic Jews? It is important to bear in mind that every symbol stands for something -- and idea, belief, value, or commitment that is being affirmed and communicated by its use. Only when the user sincerely accepts the meaning underlying the symbol is its user proper and significant." It goes on to say: "It hardly needs to be noted that the use of the mezuza as an amulet to keep evil spirits from invading one's home or person is contrary to humanistic belief. However, it is not unusual to wear a mezuza or to mount one by the entrance to a home simply to signify the Jewish identity of the wearer or occupants." But wait, there's more: "To wear a kippa or yarmulke, a headcovering signifying awe before God, clearly would not be appropriate in a Humanistic gathering. However, it may not compromise one's convictions to don a skullcap when entering a synagogue, any more that it is wrong to remove one's hat when entering a church. As a guest in another person's home, it is common courtesy to follow such customs. To do so does not misrepresent one's beliefs, as reciting prayers does." Personally, I find mezuzas OK, but say NO to yarmulke. The latter is why I am no longer invited to my sister's house for Passover. (My problem!) Jim Harley (above the 45th parallel) ........................................................................ From JudithSeid@aol.comFri Dec 1 20:08:03 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 09:15:58 -0500 From: JudithSeid@aol.com To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Secular HuManistic mezuzahs available Kopinvant Press produces two Secular Humanistic mezuzahs, one of ceramic in either Mediterranean or royal blue, and one beaten copper. The copper mezuzah is quite thin. The ceramic mezuzah is of a more traditional shape, but it is solid. On the front of the mezuzahs is the Hebrew word "ami" which means "my people." Putting the mezuzah up is a statement that the home is a Jewish home, but it doesn't require us to use religious forms for doing it. The mezuzah comes with the "ashrei" (since we don't do "brachot") for hanging it. If you'd like info and prices, please reply by e-mail or consult your publication list from SHJ. ........................................................................ Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 16:14:24 +1100 From: Victorian Association of Community Information Centres To: hj@teleport.com Subject: Mezuzot et al. While I don't feel too inspired at the moment (spring hay fever in the Southern Hemisphere), I'd just want to say that the current round of debate about mezuzot has really hit the nail on the head (?) : of all the symbols we can attach too, it's the one that seems to have got everyone's juices going. Why? Is it something to do with 'posting' a mezuzah on your home, the most personal of spaces? It really is the _one_ sign of affiliation that can be expressed very personally and publically. I have a battered old one on my apartment door, and a picture of a Mesopotamian clay foundation 'nail' (the same as a mezuzah) on my office door. There is something about having personal symbols, isn't there? We have just been through the end of year football finals, and many people go around wearing scarves of their teams (I call them tallitot). Roger from the UK will understand the depth of such local sports religion. If I am not wrong, Judth Seid, who mentions the HL mezuzot has written some very good rituals, including for the hanging of the mezuzah. The Museum of Biblical Arceology opposite the Israel Museum in Jerusalem sells very unkosher mezuzot inscribed with the Sumerian 'DINGIR-MU' (ie 'my god'), for those of you who really want to get back to real roots. Regards Larry Stillman vacic@vicnet.net.au Melbourne, Australia