Meditations

Open line on April 15, 2023 hour 2

Tricia McMillan:

Rhonda in Tennessee listens in from WMBW, can a non-Jewish christian place a mezuzah on their doorpost? Just returned from Israel and purchase these for my friends?

Tricia McMillan:

Do explain what a mezuzah is.

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

It’s in Deuteronomy 6, bind these words, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. All those words are to be bound on the doorpost of your house, that’s what it says.

Tricia McMillan:

So it is a little wooden, rectangular piece of wood,

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

Sometimes metal … or sometimes gold, you just never know ..

Tricia McMillan:

So is it an empty box, verses are inside?

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

First of all, let me say, that I don’t believe Moses intended for that to be taken literally, it meant, take these words with you when you go in and out of your house, bind them on your arm and on your hand and on your head, and on your heart …

Tricia McMillan:

But ..not tattooing them necessarily …

Dr Michael Rydenlnik:

Metaphorically, keep them in your head and in your heart and your actions and your arm and your hand. But, what happen is the Rabbi took all these commandments literally and so they started the tradition of praying every morning where you put a box on you head and you bind one on your arm, and your hand and it’s got the words of Deuteronomy 6 inside the boxes and you bind them on yourself. Also, they took the word Mezuzah, in Hebrew, it’s doorpost, they made little boxes, they put these scriptures inside the boxes, they bind them on the doorpost of their houses. I have on every door of my house,

Tricia McMillan:

Outside doors?

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

Outside and inside …

Tricia McMillan:

So just door jams in between rooms …

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

I don’t do it because I am commanded to do it. It’s a great reminder, everywhere I go, to take God’s word with me and seek to obey it and I think I am the only faculty member in Moody Bible Institute with Mezuzah on his office door post and I put scripture in it, very, very small, in Hebrew, from Deuteronomy 6 right in there. It’s in the box and then put on the doorpost. I think it’s perfectly fine, as long as you are not thinking I must do this to get, you know, to please God.

Tricia McMillan:

So she can give these to her friends and not worry about doing anything wrong.