וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת, עַל-יָדֶךָ; וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת, בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ
(8)And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes (AKJV).
וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל-מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ, וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ
(9)And you shall write them on the posts of your house, and on your gates (AKJV).
Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the importance of these commands is such that they (these words) should be bound as a sign on the hand and on the forehead (near the eyes). These words are taken literally by our Jewish brothers and sisters who actually bind, with some sort of thread, these words as well as the instructions from Numbers 15:37-41 to their heads and hands as well as their door frames and gates. The word translated 'posts of your house,' mezuzah, has become a technical term, identifying a small box containing parchment. So, through signs and symbols, literally or metaphorically, the individual, the home, and the community reflected in their being a response of love to/of God.
So, what does this mean for us today? Or more importantly, I should ask what does this important text say about who we should be as individuals as well as a faith community?
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