The Virtues and Merits of the Mezuzah

It is told in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah, 35) about King Artabanus who sent Rabbi Judah the Prince a gift, a precious pearl of great value, and he asked him, “Send me back a good gift, equivalent in value to the gift I sent you.” Rabbi Judah the Prince sent him in return – a mezuzah. When King Artabanus saw the mezuzah that Rabbi Judah sent him, he sent him a message: “I sent you a gift that has no financial value at all, and you sent me a gift that can be purchased with just a few coins?” Rabbi Judah replied: Compared to the Torah and its commandments – your belongings and your desires are not comparable, and you sent me a gift that I must guard, whereas I sent you a gift that you can go to sleep with – and it will protect you.

And in the book ‘She’elot’ by Rav Ahai Gaon, the continuation of this story is brought, that a demon entered King Artabanus’s house and made its dwelling in the body of his only daughter. The king summoned the best doctors – and they were unable to help her. “When Artabanus took the mezuzah and placed it on the door – the demon immediately fled.”

And whoever is careful with this mitzvah will have his days and the days of his children prolonged, as it is said (Deuteronomy 11:21): “So that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied on the land.” And from this you learn the negative commandment, that if one is not careful with it, his days could be shortened, Heaven forbid.

And he who is careful with it merits also a pleasant dwelling, and he and his household are guarded from all harm, and therefore they write there “Shaddai” on the mezuzah from the outside, which is an acronym for ‘Protector of the Doors of Israel.’

And in the tractate Avodah Zarah (11) it is said: A king of flesh and blood sits inside the palace, and his servants guard him from outside, whereas the Holy One, Blessed be He, has His servants from within, and a person sleeps on his bed inside, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, guards him from outside. As it is said, “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from now and forever.”

And in any case, a person’s intention in placing it should not be for the sake of guarding or to receive reward in the World to Come, but all his intention should be to fulfill the commandment of the Blessed Creator (Yalkut Yosef, Chuppah and Kiddushin, p. 228).

And the reason they write there “Shaddai” on the mezuzah is because it is an acronym. ש‘Mor ד‘Letot י‘Israel. And it is brought in the Zohar (New Zohar, Ruth, vol. 2, p. 25:) that a doorway on which a mezuzah is affixed is not harmed and no Satan and no great harm approaches it, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, guards the entrance, even at the time when permission is given to the destroying angel to damage, He raises His eyes and sees that there is “Shaddai” on the mezuzah standing at the entrance. And it is also brought in the Zohar (Parashat Va’etchanan, vol. 7, 266:) that the name “Shaddai” on the mezuzah is effective only when the two aforementioned passages of the mezuzah are written properly according to halacha.

And in Rabbeinu Bachya (Parashat Va’etchanan) he explains that according to the simple meaning the reason they write “Shaddai” on the mezuzah is because the nations of the world think that the success of houses depends on the system of the stars, and since the name “Shaddai” is ‘to plunder’ and is the victor of the system, therefore they write “Shaddai” on the mezuzah – to hint that from Him comes the abundance and goodness that enter the houses and not from the system of the stars.

And in the writings of the Ari z”l (Shaar HaHakdamot, end of Drush Gadol regarding the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, p. 43) he wrote that the secret of the verse “And Shaddai will be in need” – the explanation is that the name “Shaddai” written on the back of the mezuzah stands there to protect against the “tsarim” and enemies who are the kelipot so that they do not suck.

And it is necessary to fix the mezuzah so that the name Shaddai on the mezuzah faces outward, meaning that the name Shaddai on the mezuzah is visible while it is fixed in place, but all this applies particularly in a clean place. However, in a place where there is concern that something filthy or unfit might touch the mezuzah, it should be covered. Some do not have the custom for the name Shaddai on the mezuzah to be exposed from the outside, but are satisfied with what is on the outside of the mezuzah—the letter Shin—and apparently the letter Shin is a symbol of that (see on this matter in the book Shaarei HaMezuzah, chapter 15, note 19).