Question for someone who's jewish?

Hi Amy--

I believe you are looking for a Mezuzah

"The Mezuzah signifies the sanctity and blessing of the home. It is a portion of Holy Torah (The Old Testament) inscribed in the same manner and script as a Torah. It is an "original" sanctified document in accord with laws and precepts that dare not be compromised.

On this sacred scroll of parchment are inscribed two passages from the book of Deuteronomy. It is customary upon entering or leaving a residence to touch the mezuzah.

This reverence acknowledges the belief in the declaration of faith which expresses the unity of God, the duty of loving and serving Him with our whole being and our obligation to observe the Mitzvoth (Deeds) in and out of the home. Because it presents basic principles of faith the Mezuzah is our responsibility to visitors as well as to us. The Mezuzah fulfills the saying of the Psalmist, "God will guard your going and coming from now and for all time."

You can google it, but I found some nice ones at http://www.holylandmarket.com/dept.asp?id=27

If you are anywhere within driving distance of Northeast Philly--the Jerusalem shop on Castor Avenue will have some beautiful ones-----Just don't go there past noon on Friday.  LOL

 And everytime I've seen one on a door, they are not straight up and down or sideways ... they were all hung slanted ...  like this / 

I don't know why. And hung on the right hand side.

They are on a slant so the top faces the inside of the door.

If you can't find one, I will happily get it for you. They also have them for cars, necklaces (I wear one all the time), keychains, you name.

I am a Reform Jew also and have them posted on all the doors on my house. I couldn't decide on just one for the outside door. They are too beautiful!!

May I mention that the prayer inside also says that you should" put them on the doorpost of your house and upon your gates, teach them faithfully to your children, ......" The prayer is telling you to practice the laws of Judaism and to pass it on to generation to generation. (L'dor v'dor)

Living in Israel..it's easy to find the mezuzah "case" but the parchment usually needs to be bought separately. Please make sure the parchment is inside. That is the part that makes it "kosher" and is what makes it a mezuzah.

The blessing for putting the mezuzah on the door post is: Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-olam asher kiddishanu b'mitzvotav vetzivanu likboa mezuzah.

Usually the doorpost is prepared for either hammering it on or using some other adhesive. Then the blessing is said as you put it on the doorpost.

As for putting it on an angle..it all depends. There is controversy on this issue. Ashkenazi Jews usually put it on an angle facing into the house/room. Sephardic Jews usually put it straight/vertical. If there isn't a lot of room on the doorpost, you might have to put it vertically. And that's okay!

Traditionally, the family or friends gather around when putting it up and saying the blessing and it's a kind of "ceremony".

Lovely gift. One of my favorites...

"I'll probably check out the Narberth store since I can hit Trader Joes while I'm near there. Is the main street there rte 30"

AMY, Sorry!! Didnt see this til now!

No, Dear.Rte 30 is Lancaster Ave.

TJs is off of Montgomery Ave.

And Haverford Ave, (Narb's main Street) is off Montgomery Ave too.

Narberth is further east (closer to Philly) down Montgomery than Ardmore(TJs).

Rav Deb--There is Kosher and then there is KOSHER.  When my young niece fell ill with Ocular melanoma all the mezuzahs were replaced.  My sisters house is very orthodox but no matter--The Rabbi examined or had examined all the existing mezuzahs and found them flawed---they all were replaced in both our houses because of the scrolls. 

Saluki..absolutely. If the words on the parchment are not right or something is not right with it, you must replace it. This is for sure. I would only buy one from a reputable person who I know has kosher parchments.

And there is some superstition about the mezuzah and replacing them when somebody is ill in the house. They also change their names (first names) if they are very sick.

I say "they" because there are those who follow this tradition and those who don't.

it is called a mezzuza and it is actually only a case for a prayer that is put inside.  it is mounted to the right side of the door and slanted into the room.  a special prayer is said.

type in judaica and hit enter.  numerous websites will come up.  you can browse them until you find a mezuzza that you like and that is in your price range.  one good site is "the source for everything jewish".

In big cities, in apartment buildings, the mezuzza is always left behind."Goyem" live with left-behind mezuzzet.Jews dont have to bring their own.

The reason?

When the buildings paint the hallways, the painters paint right over the mezzuzet.

So you have these lumps, under millions of layers of paint.The lumps are all slanted to the right.

Impossible to remove them-you'd have to chisel them and all that paint off , then repaint doorway, building up the paint where the "hole" is..

Maybe better system in newer buildings.

But I have only (including now) lived in pre-war bldgs.

A house, of course, is different.

Celia, yes.We lived in that area too, and my kids had that ride.Nostalgic, huh?

My name IS Devora and I'm called both Debbie and Devora here in Israel. It's a popular name here for women my age and older (I'm in my fifties) but it's an "old" name if you know what I mean. The Hebrew names given today are much more modern. However, my daughter's name, Yael, and mine (Devora) are together in the Tanach (Bible). :-)

I have a problem with my name Debbie when it's written in Hebrew script (as opposed to being printed). It's a funny kind of problem. First of all, there are other Israelis who use the nickname Debbie but it's not that popular. But the funny thing is that the letter that is like "D" in Hebrew, when written in the script can look just like a different letter that has a "tz" sound to it. If they write the letter a bit wrong (the tail of it) it will look like that "tz" and my name turns into Tzvi which is a guy's name. I've been called on the phone Tzvi and yesterday I went to pick up something that had been repaired and the guy looked at me and said, "Tzvi?". When my daughter and I had a magazine subscription together when she was a little girl, it was addressed to Tzvi and Yael.

Celia..I didn't know about the paint making the mezuzah non-kosher. That could be. It also could depend on the rabbi who said it. So much depends on who you talk to!

Joan..that's funny about the buildings in the big cities. I never knew that. I always lived in a private home and still do. Here in Israel they don't take the mezuzot off the doorposts. No need to, in most cases..except when the settlers left Gaza and the West Bank.