c. 2003 Religion News Service

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. _ With the care of a jeweler, Rabbi Yossi Hirsch began inspecting the tiny mezuzah parchment, searching for errors in minuscule Hebrew letters that were supposed to spell Judaism’s most important prayer.

An error, however small, would mean the mezuzah _ the term for an encased parchment that Jews place on door frames as per biblical command _ lacked the correct Hebrew message and the Jewish family in Iselin, N.J., that had posted it for several years should replace it.

Quickly, the rabbi detected several errors.

“This is why we go around checking the mezuzahs,” said Hirsch, of the Lubavitcher Chabad Chai Center in East Brunswick. He pointed to faded ink on the parchment that over the years had changed the letters and, he says, negated the mezuzah’s religious value.

Orthodox Lubavitch rabbis are replacing and installing mezuzahs more often than ever these days in central New Jersey. The rabbis have always urged Jews to post proper mezuzahs, but they say more people have let the rabbis check and install them in the last two years. The rabbis surmise it’s because of increased concern for security since Sept. 11.

Judaism teaches that God rewards Jews with physical security for the placement of proper mezuzahs. Rabbis frequently tell Jews encountering problems in life to “check your mezuzahs” and replace parchments that have faded or have errors in their two paragraphs of letters.

Early autumn, with the Jewish High Holidays and recent returns of students to college, is usually a high time for mezuzah sales, as many Jewish families prepare their homes for the following year and parents ensure their children have proper mezuzahs in dormitories.

But since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Hirsch and a small group of Lubavitch rabbis in central New Jersey have been busier than ever with mezuzahs, replacing or installing more than twice as many as in two-year time periods prior to Sept. 11, Hirsch said.

Before Sept. 11, the rabbis, based in East Brunswick, would usually replace or install 100 to 150 mezuzahs in the area annually, he said. In the year after the attacks, they replaced or installed about 250; in the last year, about 400.

“Sept. 11 made people focus on what is important in life,” Hirsch said. “The mezuzah is a reflection of that commitment.”

The increased scrutiny and use of mezuzahs owes largely to Hirsch’s twist on efforts by the Brooklyn-based Lubavitcher movement to increase religious observance among non-Orthodox Jews. Other rabbis in New Jersey say mezuzah sales have been normal.

“Whoever I meet,” Hirsch said, “one of the questions I ask is, `Do you have a mezuzah on your house doors? Do you have a mezuzah on your office doors?’ Or if I walk into someone’s home, one question is, `When was your mezuzah checked last?”’

Observant Jews have posted mezuzahs in their homes for more than 3,000 years. The reason comes from a biblical passage, in Deuteronomy, which says that, after the prophet Moses descended from Mount Sinai and told ancient Israelites that “the Lord is our God, the Lord alone,” he told them God wants them to keep that message in their hearts, recite it to their children, and “write (it) on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The message forms the essence of the “Shema,” the prayer on the mezuzah, in which Jews proclaim faith and love for God.

Technically, Jews are supposed to post mezuzahs with God’s commandment in mind, not for subsequent good luck. The Jewish sage Maimonides warned, in the Middle Ages, against using mezuzahs as amulets.

Bonny Berger of East Brunswick hopes that by following Hirsch’s advice and the biblical commandment she will help her family rebound from a difficult two years in which she was laid off twice and a close relative was diagnosed with a serious disease. Last month, Hirsch showed her the family’s mezuzahs needed replacement.

“We’ve been going through some rough times,” Berger said. “The rabbi said, `Let’s check your mezuzahs, because if their words have been cracked, or the parchment is ripped, then it’s not protecting your home.’ … I didn’t know it had to be checked every few years. I hope that will solve our issues.”

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Lubavitcher rabbis also have replaced or installed mezuzahs at law offices, technology companies and food stores in the area. Several Shop-Rites with kosher food sections in central and southern New Jersey also have put mezuzahs up in recent weeks, at the Lubavitchers’ suggestion.

“In today’s day and age, when we have so many things going on, unfortunately, and so many things are unpredictable, we’re looking for ways to be on the safe side, so to speak,” said Rabbi Moishe Chomsky, who coordinates kosher sections for those Shop-Rites.

“It’s something that has a deep-rooted origin, and it’s not offensive to anyone, so we figured, if you could do something like that, then why not?” he asked. “We’re not going to say it’s a cure for anything ever to happen, but we’re looking for ways that might be some kind of assistance.”

Among the Jews posting mezuzahs are those who are skeptical of their value.

For example, Howard Gold of South Amboy Plumbing Supply _ who had Hirsch install a mezuzah at his office last month _ said he does not know if having mezuzahs helps him or if not having them hurts him. But when it comes to such things, he said, “if there’s no harm in the affirmative, and there’s potential harm in the negative, why not select the affirmative?”

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Usually a few inches long, mezuzahs are supposed to be secured on the right door frame, tilting toward the room. A parchment scroll with the “Shema” costs $25 or more, and a case can run from $1 to hundreds of dollars, depending on whether it’s simple or elaborate. A paper scroll, often given with gift cases, is not considered valid.

The increased replacements and installations of mezuzahs _ Hebrew for “doorposts” _ led Hirsch’s Chabad center to hire a rabbinical student a year ago to help keep up with installations.

“It’s a great thing to be overwhelmed with mezuzahs,” Hirsch said. “It’s not like being overwhelmed with bills. … To me, a mezuzah means God is in a person’s life in a direct way. Doing the service of putting up the mezuzah on the door can affect the spiritual and physical of the mundane world.”

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