What Is a Christian Mezuzah?

In the Judaism, the mezuzah is a ubiquitous symbol. Even in secular households, it's common to see the decorative case affixed upon doorways. Inside the case is a piece of parchment paper with a sacred Jewish prayer. "And thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy house and upon thy gates," the Bible commands. "The mezuzah is a small, decorated case containing the Shema, the scriptural passage you are undoubtedly familiar with from Deuteronomy 6 that begins, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one,’ the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews’ Founder and President, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, explained. "This passage is written on parchment by a religious scribe and placed in the mezuzah, which is then affixed on the right-hand side of the doorways of Jewish homes, as well as schools, offices, and other institutions." "The mezuzah is our way of obeying the command later in the same passage from Deuteronomy to write the words of God 'upon the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.' It serves to remind us of God’s commandments and our dependence on His protection. We believe that the mezuzah brings blessings to a home, and is a visible reminder that God dwells there," he added. However, recently, some Christians have taken on this sacred tradition as well. Instead of the Shemah, though, the mezuzah contains excerpts from either the Old or New Testament. A popular selection, for example, is from the Gospel of John about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Missouri notes, "[One touches it] on the way into and the way out of the house as a reminder of the oneness of God, and the call to faithfulness that flows from that understanding." It is unclear how this trend began. However, in 2014 the Jewish financial adviser Harry Zabarsky began marketing the "Christooza." Adopting the mezuzah is the latest symbol some Christians adopted and brought into their own faith. It, perhaps, can be a sign of the growing bond between the two religions. The website Religion and Politics describes a "growing number of American Christians drawn to Jewish learning and to an array of Judaism’s rituals and products. They practice Israeli dancing, wear jewelry with the Star of David, or decorate with objects bearing Hebrew script." This growing phenomenon demonstrates that some Christians want not only to stand shoulder to shoulder with their Jewish brothers and sisters, but also to learn more about the roots of Christianity which lie in Jewish texts. It is building upon those shared values, after all, that is the foundation of the bridge between these two major monotheistic religions.