June, 2001
Deut 12:5 (NIV)
"But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go."
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* | The ש [Shin] stands high among the Sacred Letters because it represents two Names of God: ... the All-Sufficient, Unlimited One and ... Peace." (The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, Rabbi Michael L. Munk, (c)1998, p. 207.) |
* | A beautiful midrash states that Jerusalem is the mezuza on the doorpost of God's kingdom, and the three valleys form the letter shin, which is always found on a mezuza." — http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/04.Feb.1999/Tourism/Article-31.html |
* | "The following explanation is from "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols" by Ellen Frankel and Betsy Platkin Teutsch (1992. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 109-110). |
"A mezuzah consists of a case containing a piece of parchment inscribed with the two biblical passages ordaining its use [Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21], usually laid out in 22 lines, equaling the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. On the back of the parchment is the word Shaddai, a divine name meaning ALMIGHTY, but also an acronym for the Guardian of Israel’s Gates – Shomer Daltot Yisrael. Mezuzah cases are frequently ornamented with traditional symbols and usually have the letter SHIN on the front, standing for Shaddai. In Deuteronomy 6, the Israelites were commanded to affix 'these words' – the commandments and instruction of the Torah – on the door posts of their houses. The earliest evidence of the use of the mezuzah dates from the 4th century B.C.E."
