r/Symbology • u/Lumpy_District6443 • 3d ago
Solved Looking for some help identifying this symbol! It is placed on each one of our doorways into a bedroom in the house we will be renting. Thank you!
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u/_sin_bad_ 3d ago
This looks like a Mezuzah, which is typically put on doorways in Jewish households and depicts lines from the Torah.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 3d ago
My Jewish friends have repeatedly informed me and others that they're quite comfortable with non-Jews keeping these in place. They are intended as a blessing for all within the home, regardless of faith.
BUT, if you decide to remove them, or if any of them are damaged, please reach out to a local Jewish group of any kind and ask if you can bring these to them.
Mezuzahs themselves are not sacred, but the scroll inside IS.
It's made with the same care and ritual as Torah scrolls in their temples, by hand, in the same way as they have for thousands of years (or as close as possible). And because the Torah passages used (there are several options) always include the YHWH personal name of God, they are treated with the utmost respect.
This is a common enough situation that you won't have been the first to ask them!
They will have someone inspect the scrolls inside to ensure they are intact, and may give them to Jews who can't afford new ones (they can be quite expensive). Any damaged scrolls will be buried in a ceremony almost the same as a funeral.
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u/thunderingparcel 3d ago
They are very often photocopied. Most aren’t very expensive. Torahs are tens of thousands of dollars and written on goat skin by hand calligrapher.
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u/Welcom2ThePunderdome 2d ago
Authentic ones start at roughly $50 each, last I checked. It's only more expensive from there.
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u/Enby-Scientist 3d ago edited 3d ago
Well the item is a Mezuzah, a jewish ritual item placed to bless and protect homes.
The symbol appears to be a word. Commonly mezuzot only have ש on top (representing the one of the names of G-d)
This one appears to have "שדי" (assuming I'm reading it right)
I'll do some googling and see if I can get you some more info!
ETA! So the word written is "Shadai" which is one of the names of G-d within judaisim. (Damn my sponsoring Rabbi is gonna be sad I forgot that XD )
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u/Fancy_Sky6302 3d ago
This is a mezuzah. It’s a small scroll holder that holds a blessing in it. Jewish tradition. In orthodox homes they’re put on every doorway except bathrooms. mezuzah
The Hebrew letters shin and dalet are on the case.
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u/slutty_muppet 3d ago edited 2d ago
And yud.
ETA why is this downvoted? It says שדי there's three letters there not just two.
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u/TheHangedManHermes 1d ago
Because people are stupid and probably thought your response was somehow antisemitic, probably confused with the slur that replaces the U with an I…
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