Positive Commandment 15

Deuteronomy 6:9 "And you shall write them upon the door-posts of your house and upon your gates"

Armed soldiers are posted at the gates of a palace to guard the king and his family. They carefully inspect everyone who enters the royal grounds.

Our homes are also watched over and protected.

But unlike the king protected by his guards, it is the King of kings - HaShem - who watches over us!

In Egypt, at the time of the plague killing the first born, all Jewish homes had a sign on their door-post.

HaShem passed over those homes and no one inside was harmed.

The Torah commands us to affix a special sign - a Mezuzah - on the right side of every entrance into Jewish houses and on the doorpost of every room.

The Mezuzah assures us of Divine protection.

The Mezuzah itself is written on parchment upon which portions of the Torah are hand-written by a qualified scribe.

In time, the lettering may fade and, therefore, it is very important to check the Mezuzah periodically, to insure that it still contains all the letters.