Mezuzah (מזוזה) — The Doorpost Scroll

Core definition

Mezuzah is the Torah mitzvah to affix a parchment bearing the two parshiyos "Shema" and "v'hayah im shamoa" on the doorposts of the house. It is a constant mitzvah (מצוה תמידית) of the Torah, for the house — "and you shall write them on your house's mezuzah" (Devarim 6:9) — placed on the right of the entrant [31669/maamar_012 :: עמוד פא]. Kabbalistically, "the mezuzah is the gematria of the Name Ado...na" (מזוזה = 65 = אדני) — "the aspect of Malchus — as it is the source to Biyah" [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 205–210].

How the Rebbeim develop it

The doorway itself is "the Malchus of Atzilus — called 'the doorway of the tent'" [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 211–212]. The mezuzah is "the power of Ado...na" — "ana emloch" (I shall rule) [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 216–218]. The mezuzos of the house are Netzach-Hod, and the mezuzah is the gematria of Adonai, "Atik of Briah — in which shines Atik of Atzilus" [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 295–300]. Strikingly, "mezuzah and Esther are one aspect; for Esther is also the gematria of the Name Ado...na in its filling" [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 302–303].

Korach's two questions open the maamar on the subject: "a tallis all of techeiles — exempt from tzitzis? A house full of books — obligated in a mezuzah or exempt?" — and the answers: "the entire Torah — 275 parshiyos — does not exempt; a mezuzah, which is two parshiyos — exempts" [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 33–37]. Like the tallis/food/garment/house schema, the mezuzah stands at the threshold where the inner is drawn into the outer: what exempts the house is not the whole Torah in its generality but the particular drawing — the two parshiyos affixed at the doorway [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 33–40].

The maamar on Chanukah contrasts mezuzah with the ner Chanukah: by the door's mezuzah are two mitzvos — mezuzah (d'oraisa, constant) on the right, and the Chanukah light (rabbinic, seasonal) on the left — differing in three things: the courtyard's mezuzah does not exempt the house's door while the courtyard's Chanukah light does; right vs. left; and mezuzah is for the house and courtyard ("before the courtyard/house begins"), while the Chanukah light's essence is to illuminate the outside [31669/maamar_012 :: עמוד פא]. Mezuzah belongs to the house itself: "the house is obligated in mezuzah," whereas the ner Chanukah does not belong specifically to the house's doorway [31659/maamar_005 :: Summary].

Key distinctions

• Mezuzah vs. the whole Torah. "The entire Torah — 275 parshiyos — does not exempt; a mezuzah, which is two parshiyos — exempts": the particular drawing at the threshold accomplishes what generality does not [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 36–37].
• Mezuzah vs. ner Chanukah. Mezuzah: d'oraisa, constant, on the right, for the house/courtyard itself; the Chanukah light: rabbinic, seasonal, on the left, to illuminate the outside [31669/maamar_012 :: עמוד פא].
• Doorway vs. mezuzah. The doorway is Malchus of Atzilus ("the doorway of the tent"); the mezuzah is the gematria of Adonai — the power of Malchus as source to Biyah [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 205–218].
• Mezuzah and Esther. One aspect — both the gematria of Adonai, the mezuzah plain and Esther in its filling [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 302–303].

Related concepts

Malchus, the Name Adonai, the doorway (pesach), Netzach and Hod, Esther, tzitzis, ner Chanukah.

Sources

• [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 33–40] — Korach's two questions; "275 parshiyos do not exempt; two parshiyos exempt."
• [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 205–218] — Mezuzah as gematria of Adonai, the aspect of Malchus, source to Biyah; the doorway as Malchus of Atzilus.
• [60800/maamar_021 :: עב׳ 295–303] — The mezuzos as Netzach-Hod; Atik of Briah; mezuzah and Esther as one aspect.
• [31669/maamar_012 :: עמוד פא] — Two mitzvos by the door's mezuzah; the three differences from the Chanukah light; mezuzah for the house.
• [31659/maamar_005 :: Summary] — Mezuzah on the right; the house obligated in mezuzah.