Jews have been hanging mezuzot on their doorposts since the commandment was first given at Mount Sinai but the Biblical commandment has taken on a new look due to the recent horrifying wave of Jew hatred sweeping the globe. A new company called Camozuzah is marketing plastic boxes that cover the traditional parchment case. A simulated LED light gives the impression that the box contains a security system mounted on the doorjam.
The website describes the product:
Safe and Discreet Mezuzah Case
- Are your Baalei-Batim [homeowners] afraid to put a visible mezuzah on their front door?
- Offer spiritual protection for their home without attracting attention
- Rectangular case camouflages the diagonal mezuzah inside
- Strong, durable and waterproof
- Simulated LED
- Discreet SHIN [Hebrew letter ש] logo to identify as a mezuzah case
- Wide, holds up to a 12cm mezuzah (5×3.2×0.75)
- -Narrow, holds up to a 10 cm mezuzah (4.75×1.4×0.75)
- All versions come with nails and strong sticky pads for easy adhesion to most surfaces
- Approved by senior Chabad Dayanim and Shluchim [rabbis]
The Camozuzah is sold for about $12.
It should be emphasized that concealing the mezuzah is acceptable by halacha (Torah law). The mitzvah (commandment) is performed by hanging a parchment hand-inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. The cylinder containing it is ancillary, protecting the parchment, and may be made of any material.
The klaf (parchment) is prepared by a qualified scribe (“sofer stam“) and the verses are written in black indelible ink with a special quill pen. The klaf is then rolled up and placed inside the case.
According to halakha, the mezuzah should be placed at an angle on the right side of the door or doorpost, in the upper third of the doorpost (i.e., approximately shoulder height), within approximately 3 inches (8 cm) of the doorway opening.
Whenever passing through the doorway, many people touch a finger to the mezuzah as a way of showing respect to God. Many people also kiss their finger after touching it to the mezuzah.
Hiding the mezuzah was a common practice among anusim, Jews who hid their identity as a result of the Catholic Inquisition in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century.
Jewish sources associate the mezuzah with the Jews painting the doorposts of their homes in Egypt with lamb’s blood as an open declaration to the Egyptians that God was their true master and about to redeem them. The Zohar, states that if a Jew affixes a mezuzah to his or her door, the Almighty denies harmful and destroying agents (mazikin) any access to the home, even at a time when the Destroying Angel is let loose.
