Live By Every Word
One of my favorite passages of scripture in the Old Testament are these instructions of Moses to the children of Israel: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). The scripture help for these verses says this: “To honor the Lord’s instruction to always remember these words, many Jews place a small piece of parchment inscribed with passages from the Shema in a mezuzah—a small container attached to the right side of the doorframe of their homes. Similarly, tefillin (also called phylacteries or frontlets) are small, square leather boxes containing pieces of parchment ...