Last week in our Spinoza family education program we spent the morning learning about mezuzahs (mezuzot in plural modern Hebrew). I knew it would be a waste of time looking for a story appropriate for Humanistic Jewish children, so I wrote my own. Please share it with your children, grandchildren and other suitable audiences!
THE DOORPOST OF MIRIAM'S HOUSE
Miriam lived in a little village where every home and shop had something special hanging by the door. Shops had signs describing what they sold and picture windows displaying their finest products. Houses had flowers, plants, or even small banners and flags decorating their doors. In her own neighborhood, every home had a small wooden, silver, or even golden elongated box attached to the doorposts.
One day, as Miriam walked through the village, she asked her Bubbie, "Why do people put things by their doors?"
Bubbie smiled. "Because a door is a special place. It is the first thing people notice about houses, shops, and schools. It is where we welcome visitors. And for our homes, it is where we step out into the world and where we return at the end of the day. That is why people place things near doors for others to notice—and why we Jews place something very special that we will always see."
Miriam thought about this as they walked toward the market. She noticed that some doors didn’t just have signs about what was inside; they also shared ideas and values. At the bakery, a wooden plaque read: "Baked bread is delicious love."
At the schoolhouse, a carved sign said: "Every child is a teacher, every teacher is a learner." Even the old man who sold fruit had written something above his stall: "May what I sell bring sweetness to others."
Miriam turned to her grandmother. "I see lots of different words on doorways! Does everyone pick their own?"
Bubbie shook her head. "It depends on what people want to share. Jewish people have always placed very specific words inside the little cases by our doors. We call them mezuzahs. Putting them at our doors helps us remember the kind of people we want to be when we go out—and the kind of home we want to return to. Most Jewish families put them on the front door and some even place them on the doorways of their kitchens and bedrooms and other rooms.”
She then recited for Miriam the ancient words from the Torah found inside the mezuzah:
"Shema Yisrael! Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day.
Impress them upon your children.
Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.
Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead;
And write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Miriam frowned, deep in thought.
"I like the idea of loving something with all my heart and soul and might. And I like the idea of writing it in a mezuzah to remind us of what’s most important. But these words don’t say what I believe."
She shared this with her grandmother, who nodded thoughtfully. Then Bubbie had an idea.
"Maybe," she said, "you can make a mezuzah with your own words inside! Many Jewish people will always put the traditional words in the mezuzah, but maybe your mezuzah can hold the words that matter most to you. After all, the words we place at our doors help us remember who we are when we step outside—and the kind of home we want to return to."
That evening, Miriam sat by the window, thinking carefully. "What matters most to me? What would I want to carry with me wherever I go? What would I want to remind myself of every time I come home?"
The next morning, she told her grandmother, “I have decided what I want to put in my mezuzah. It is something that I believe with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my might. It is what I want to teach my children to remember—whether they are at home or away, when they lie down and when they rise up. And I want to write it in the mezuzah on the doorpost of our house."
"And what will it say?" Bubbie asked.
Miriam held up a small scroll where she had written:
"With all my heart, I will be kind. With all my soul, I will be brave. With all my might, I will help others."
Bubbie kissed her forehead. "Then let’s make sure those words are always there to greet you."
Together, they found an unused mezuzah case, painted it with bright colors, and rolled up the little scroll inside. They placed it by the door, where Miriam would see it every time she left and every time she returned.
And just like that, Miriam’s home had a mezuzah that felt special to her—a message she would see every day on her doorpost, reminding her to carry it with her wherever she went.