A Mezuzah for the White House?
Posted by Aimee Golant Blog at 9/12/2011 3:05 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: mezuzah for the white house Mezuzah Aimee Golant
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: mezuzah for the white house Mezuzah Aimee Golant
To my knowledge, there has never been a mezuzah affixed to any doorpost of the White House. Mixing "church and state" is not something I usually advocate, but we do celebrate Christmas, Easter and Hanukkah at the White House. We always say God Bless America. Since the mezuzah is meant as blessing on the home and a reminder to uphold the teaching, I thought it would be wonderful if one was there. Plus, teaching a wider audience (in addition to the Jewish Community) about the mezuzah is a dream of mine, so I am hoping a mezuzah on the White House would be a catalyst for me to do that.
The Obamas's story is particularly inspiring to me because they embody the America I believe in. As a granddaughter of Holocaust Survivors, I believe that what makes America great is our ability to work together, over come hardship, and pool our intellectual resources from diverse backgrounds.
So proud that the American people voted them into office, and so happy to be alive at a time when they are our "first family" I knew I wanted to give them a gift of one of my mezuzot, and I hoped that they just might be the right administration to affix it to the White House.
So, last summer I sent President and Mrs. Obama a Paper Clip "Hope" Mezuzah along with a copy of the documentary Paper Clips. I chose that one because I felt the story behind the piece encompasses the love of diversity that America represents. I also sent them the background story of when my mother-in-law and I visited the Whitwell Middle School Holocaust Memorial, where I spoke at the dedication of their new school to over 1200 guests, and taught the 7th and 8th graders about the mezuzah, while affixing it to their new Holocaust Library.
So, last summer I sent President and Mrs. Obama a Paper Clip "Hope" Mezuzah along with a copy of the documentary Paper Clips. I chose that one because I felt the story behind the piece encompasses the love of diversity that America represents. I also sent them the background story of when my mother-in-law and I visited the Whitwell Middle School Holocaust Memorial, where I spoke at the dedication of their new school to over 1200 guests, and taught the 7th and 8th graders about the mezuzah, while affixing it to their new Holocaust Library.
I received a thank you note from them, but I guess they didn't want to affix it to one of the interior doors of the White House. Darn!
So, if you don't succeed, try, try again! Watching the Republicans in congress deliberately try to hurt this administration has been heart wrenching. Out of support and love, I have sent them another one-- A Door to the Soul Mezuzah-- inspired by the Hawaiian Islands and originally commissioned by a client rich not only in income but also in tzedakah (giving - for justice.)
So what do you think? A Mezuzah on the White House-- a good idea? Most interestingly, let's see what they say....
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