A Question For The Jewish Members...

[PanterA]

Recently I have been delivering packages in a Jewish populated area of Queens. I've notice a few things that I want to ask the Jewish members.

1) Why all the front door decorations?

2) This is mainly the reason I started this thread. In every Jewish home there is this thing that is screwed in, in-between the screen door and the front door. It's maybe 3-4 inches and it's always on a slant. like this . The top is always tilted towards the inside of the house and the bottom is tilted to the outside. I'm guessing it's religious paraphernalia meaning to bless the house, or bless the people walking through the doorway, but I want to know what it's called. I've mistaken a few of them for the doorbell and touched it. Is that like sacrilegious or something?

I'm just curious cause I see them on every house in every doorway.

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[StupidGirlllll]

I am not Jewish but I do know the answer & if it is wrong I am sure I will be corrected. I believe it blesses the house. You are suppose to touch it be4 U enter the house..

http://www.photobucket.com/albums/1003/mikeyboy/3646846f.jpg

[Teenweek]

Can someone tell me what the point of the dreidel is? It spins, it falls down. You spin it again and it falls down again.

The Dreidel Song (http://www.planearium2.de/downloads/songsus/o-s-315broflovskis.mp3)

[Swan1]

Speaking on behalf of my people:

On the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes (and many not-so-traditional homes!), you will find a small case like the one pictured at left. This case is commonly known as a mezuzah (Heb.: doorpost), because it is placed upon the doorposts of the house. The mezuzah is not, as some suppose, a good-luck charm, nor does it have any connection with the lamb's blood placed on the doorposts in Egypt. Rather, it is a constant reminder of G-d's presence and G-d's mitzvot.

The mitzvah to place mezuzot on the doorposts of our houses is derived from Deut. 6:4-9, a passage commonly known as the Shema (Hear, from the first word of the passage). In that passage, G-d commands us to keep His words constantly in our minds and in our hearts, by (among other things) writing them on the doorposts of our house. The words of the Shema are written on a tiny scroll of parchment, along with the words of a companion passage, Deut. 11:13-21. On the back of the scroll, a name of G-d is written. The scroll is then rolled up placed in the case, so that the first letter of the Name (the letter Shin) is visible (or, more commonly, the letter Shin is written on the outside of the case).

The scroll must be handwritten in a special style of writing and must be placed in the case to fulfill the mitzvah. It is commonplace for gift shops to sell cases without scrolls, or with mechanically printed scrolls, because a proper scroll costs more than even an elaborately decorated case ($30-$50 for a valid scroll is quite reasonable). According to traditional authorities, mechanically printed scrolls do not fulfill the mitzvah of the mezuzah, nor does an empty case.

The case and scroll are then nailed or affixed to the right side doorpost on an angle, with a small ceremony called Chanukkat Ha-Bayit (dedication of the house - yes, this is the same word as Chanukkah, the holiday celebrating the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean revolt against Greece). A brief blessing is recited. See the text of the blessing at Affixing the Mezuzah.

Why is the mezuzah affixed at an angle? The rabbis could not decide whether it should be placed horizontally or vertically, so they compromised!

Every time you pass through a door with a mezuzah on it, you touch the mezuzah and then kiss the fingers that touched it, expressing love and respect for G-d and his mitzvot and reminding yourself of the mitzvot contained within them.

It is proper to remove a mezuzah when you move, and in fact, it is usually recommended. If you leave it in place, the subsequent owner may treat it with disrespect, and this is a grave sin. I have seen many mezuzot in apartment complexes that have been painted over by subsequent owners, and it breaks my heart every time I see that sort of disrespect to an object of religious significance.



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[IrishAlkey]

I never thought I'd say this but...

I just learned something reading rf.net today.

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[furie]

Thank you swan! I've wanted to know the answer to this for the past 25 years.
I grew up in Bethpage, LI and the guy who owned the house before us was Jewish. There was a mezuzah nailed to the door in our den. Our den used to be the garage when we first moved in, so this was the initial entrance to the house. My father left it there though. When he put the wallpaper up, he unscrewed it, and screwed it back in when he was finished.

Now, we're Irish. So I never knew what it was about. neither did my father. He knew it was of Jewish religious importance, but the function or meaning, he didn't know. He would just say "Israel (the old owner) put it there for a reason, so I guess it has a purpose.

It's still there, even though my parents sold the house. The new owners are Jewish, and they kept it last time I was there.



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[DarkHippie]

If you're curious, the translation of the "Shema" is:

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"

This one line sums up Judaism better then anything. during the Holocaust, Concentraion camp victims would go to their gas chambered death singing this, even in death affirming their faith.

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<marquee>"Last night I went running through the screen door of discression, for I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see. You were a-wandering out on the hills of Iowa and you were not thinking of me." Dar Williams "Traveling III (Iowa)"</marquee>

[SatCam]

I just learned something reading rf.net today.

Wow Alkey, you read these posts?

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[color=White]

[high fly]

I was in the third grade when I met my first Jew.
Great guy, great friend.
Right after I got my first Monopoly game, he came over and cleaned us all out- beat my whole family in about 45 minutes.
No shit.

" and they ask me why I drink"

[DarkHippie]

I was in the third grade when I met my first Jew.
Great guy, great friend.
Right after I got my first Monopoly game, he came over and cleaned us all out- beat my whole family in about 45 minutes.
No shit.

You're lucky you weren't playing for "a pound of flesh" ;)

<IMG SRC=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/darkhippie2.gif>
<marquee>"Last night I went running through the screen door of discression, for I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see. You were a-wandering out on the hills of Iowa and you were not thinking of me." Dar Williams "Traveling III (Iowa)"</marquee>

[Death Metal Moe]

But what if I just ate a pound of bacon, then walked into someone's house and touched that thing with my greasy fingers?

Is THAT blasphemy yet?

G-d would never forgive me for that little joke.

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<A HREF="http://www.unhallowed.com">www.unhallowed.com</A>
WITH A BODY OF STONE, AND A MIND LIKE... GENIUSNESS!

[Bill From Yorktown]

I'm not Jewish, but even I know that thing is called a mezuzzah (sp?) - I think it has something to do with luck to the family.


- edit
ok I read the rest of the posts now - and I fell into the "it's for luck" trap.
Sorry
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This message was edited by Bill From Yorktown on 12-2-03 @ 7:39 PM

[Arienette]

and I fell into the "it's for luck" trap.
i'm jewish, and i know the whole tradition. but, when i was much younger, i began kissing the mezuzah each time i came in and out of the front door, somewhat for luck. now, it's just a habit. i do it each and every time

at school, there's one on each doorway. you go through a lot of doorways in one day. i don't kiss those... you can't do 'em all.

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[DarkHippie]

Ari, i kiss them for luck too, i don't know how or why it got started. i think its just a tradition that really has nothing to do with what's inside the mezzuzah.

<IMG SRC=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/darkhippie2.gif>
<marquee>"Last night I went running through the screen door of discression, for I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see. You were a-wandering out on the hills of Iowa and you were not thinking of me." Dar Williams "Traveling III (Iowa)"</marquee>

[DESERTEAGLE.50]

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FINGA FONGA FINGA FONGA MOTHER FAH
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This message was edited by JustJon on 12-3-03 @ 11:21 AM

[ADF]

mezizzah fo shizza my nizza

<center><img src = "http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/cheese.gif"><br>The boy with the thorn in his side.</center>

[Recyclerz]

mezizzah fo shizza my nizza



ADF frontin'/shillin' for the new movie

Shabbat Shalom, Motherfuckers (www.hebrewhammer.com)




[b]Sig-less in Gaza[b]

[SuperClerk]

What the world needs now
Is......Horde King!

[Mothball]

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[JustJon]

And you do kiss it as sort of a blessing, not really a luck thing.

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[DJEvelEd]

It's a chachki. Some of them have a thick creamy center. You have to bite them to find out.

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May 1000 Kamel Kocks With Krusty Kankers Konstantly Karess Your Kooze Kovered Kunt Korroding It With Kreamed Kum - (Old Arabic Blessing)

[zoom2457]

Can someone tell me what the point of the dreidel is? It spins, it falls down. You spin it again and it falls down again.


The dreidel is used to play the dreidel game. You can play with candy. Everyone puts some candy in the pot. The dreidel has different symbols on it. Someone spins the dreidel, it falls down. You look at the picture, and depending on which symbol you get, you can win the candy. I kinda forget what exactly each symbols means, but I think its you win the pot or miss a turn or add more candy to the pot, etc...

And, I learned all this from a nun at a catholic college. So I might be completely wrong. :confuse:

"Excuse me, excuse me I believe you have my stapler"

[JustJon]

I kinda forget what exactly each symbols means, but I think its you win the pot or miss a turn or add more candy to the pot, etc...

"A great miracle happened there"
The four symbols are:
Gimel - take all
Hay - take half
Nun - take nothing
Shin - put into the pot

dreidel is a basic gambling game for children.



<img src="http://www.chaoticconcepts.com/bans/rfjustjon10.gif"><BR><A href="http://www.chaoticconcepts.com">Chaotic Concepts</a>

[Jennitalia]

you jews sure know how to have fun.

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[A.J.]

dreidel is a basic gambling game for children.


"In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose. In the end, we get it all."

http://www.n-tv.de/images/200211/3077260_Casino.jpg

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[JustJon]

you jews sure know how to have fun.

I don't see your religion advocating gambling.

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[A.J.]

I don't see your religion advocating gambling.

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