By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — One of the fascinating aspects of the coronavirus and its impact upon our society is the impact it is having on the religious lives of people across the world. In Israel, the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi asked Jews to stop kissing mezuzahs because of the coronavirus, while a major European rabbinical group published its own directives how to contain the spread of the illness. For those who are unfamiliar with what a mezuzah is, a mezuzah is a small parchment that contains some of the most sacred Jewish prayers, most notably, the Shema. Some Jews are instructed not to touch the mezuzah, or a Torah scroll with their hands.[1]
One of my Orthodox colleagues and friends in Israel related how someone asked him to lend a Torah scroll to his son having a Bar Mitzvah. Given the circumstances, the Bar Mitzvah could not take place at the synagogue. He told him that he would make up the missing Torah portions and his son would read and celebrate with him—but not at this time. Furthermore, he told him that he should not even practice from reading the Torah at this time. In the absence of a Torah scroll, it is enough for a person to read the Torah portion in a printed Pentateuch, a view that many medieval scholars sanctioned.
These kinds of responses are what a responsible rabbinical leader should promote. However, some Chabad and Aish HaTora rabbis urge their followers to have their mezuzahs checked to see if they are kosher or not. They argue not having a “kosher” mezuzah makes one physically vulnerable to all sorts of possible maladies, such as the coronavirus. [2] Several of their website articles surveyed neglected to mention that nobody should even touch their mezuzahs or a Torah scroll at this time—especially considering how kissing the mezuzah on the door is a likely way of spreading the coronavirus.
Despite the good work Chabad and Aish do, they are not the only groups of haredi Jews who believe in the inherent efficacy of the mezuzah in preventing tragedy, but they are probably the most vocal concerning the protective power of the mezuzah. And for some, the creation of talismans such as the Kabbalah Center’s famous “red string” has proven to be a lucrative business. Their “Kabbalah” bracelet is made out of braided red string to protect wearers from “the unfriendly stare and unkind glances.” At the Kabbalah Centre–where the red string sells for a paltry $26![3]
It is hard to imagine how such retrograde beliefs still remain embedded in the human psyche, but buried inside each and every one of us is a primitive just screaming to come out!
In Judaism, there is something seriously wrong when the mezuzah is transformed into an amulet or talisman intended to ward off the effects of the “Evil Eye.” The mezuzah is not an amulet designed to protect us from evil. Moses Maimonides, Judaism’s greatest medieval philosopher grappled with people in his time who believed the mezuzah had curative properties. Maimonides warn us not to debase these religious traditions into a superstitious practice:
Anyone who whispers an incantation over a wound and reads a verse from the Torah, or one who recites a biblical verse over a child so he won’t be frightened, or one who places a Torah scroll or tefillin (phylacteries) over an infant to enable him to sleep, are not only included in the category of sorcerers and charmers, but such persons are also included among those who reject the Torah. By doing so, they use the words of the Torah as a physical cure, whereas they are exclusively a cure for the soul, as it is written, ‘they will be life to your soul.’ On the other hand, one who is enjoying good health is permitted to recite biblical verses, or a psalm, that he may be shielded and saved from affliction and damage by virtue of the reading.”[4]
One of Carl Sagan’s most memorable books was The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. In his book, Sagan talks about how we tend to fill our world with demons and other imaginary monsters. When we don’t understand something, as children, we fill our darkened bedrooms with all sorts of imaginary creatures that are hellbent upon harming us. Despite the centuries of our species’ scientific evolution, on some primitive level we still hold on to archaic superstitions that should have been discarded millennia ago. Sagan encouraged each of us to develop our own “baloney-detection kits.”
That’s a great idea—especially today.
Had Maimonides read Sagan’s work, he would have found a kindred spirit across the centuries of time.
Not all the ancients were “primitive” or “backward” Hippocrates and Galen argued the poor quality of air contributed much toward the spread of contagion. They stated that there is nothing “sacred” (ἱερῆς = hierēs) about a disease; all diseases originate with a natural cause; the fact that men believe disease has a “divine” origin, is due to the inexperience of the physician who fails to understand the etiology of the disease.
Conclusion:
In short, it is this writer’s recommendation that no responsible Jewish person should have one’s mezuzahs or Torah scroll inspected at this time —and if anyone wishes to have them inspected, it should be done while wearing protective plastic gloves.
Some rabbis would be wise to start accepting a more scientific view of the world as to how diseases spread. Knowledge of science, as Sagan stated, is a candle intended to dispel the darkness of human ignorance. Religion is ill-served when we hold on the ashes of the past and not its embers.
NOTES
[1] https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Chief-Rabbi-of-Israel-Due-to-Coronavirus-stop-kissing-the-mezuzah-619753
[2] When Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was alive leading the Lubavitcher Hassidic movement, he created a storm of controversy over a terrible terrorist attack in the northern border town own of Ma’alot on May 15, 1974. Tens of Jewish children were cruelly murdered in their school. At the time, the Schneerson advised that the school check its mezuzot, and a number were found not to be Kosher. The number of mezuzot that were found to be pasul [invalidated] was the same as the number of children who were murdered. See Beis Moshiach Issue 788, “Moshiach and Ge’ula,” pp. 41-42.
[3] https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/2005/06/kabbalah-faqs.aspx
[4] MT Hilkhot Avodat Kochavim 11:12. Cf. Maimonides was opposed to the use of amulets. Cf. Guide 1:61.
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Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com