Jewish blessing for the Home Wall Hanging
If you have entered a Jewish home recently, you have most likely come across a beautifully decorated plaque with verses in Hebrew or English hanging by the entrance of the house. This is the Jewish home blessing Blessings play a very important part in Jewish tradition. Blessings against the evil eye are also a very central part in Judaism. The Jewish home blessing is a very special blessing that is full of meaning. There is a thought that originally the home blessing can be traced back to the Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish mystical rabbi who said that whoever doesn’t want a plague on his house should hang the home blessing. Hebrew Version בְּזֶה הַשַּׁעַר לֹא יָבוֹא צַעַר. בְּזֹאת הַדִּירָה לֹא תָבוֹא צָרָה. בְּזֹאת הַדֶּלֶת לֺא תָבוֹא בֶּהָלָה. בְּזֹאת הַמַּחְלָקָה לֺא תָבוֹא מַחְלוֺקֶת. בְּזֶה הַמָּקוֺם תְּהִי בְרָכָה וְשָׁלוֺם. English Version Let no sadness come through this gate. Let no trouble come to this dwelling. Let no fear come through this door. Let no conflict be in this place. Let this home be filled with blessing and peace. Transliteration Bezeh hashaˁar lo yavo tzaˁar. Bezot haddirah lo tavo tzarah. Bezot haddelet lo tavo bahalah. Bezot hammaḥlaqah lo tavo maḥloqet. Bezeh hammaqom tehi b'rakhah v'shalom Though, the original wording of the blessing differs slightly from the modern day wording on the Jewish home blessing. In general the wording has a common thread such as “May this home be a place of happiness, may this home be a place for peace, may this home know no conflict etc” or this version “Let no fear come through the door of the house, let no sadness enter the house, let no conflict come into the house, let this home be filled with happiness and love. The blessing may vary from wall hanging to wall hanging. Often the artists who design the wall hangings will hand make and hand paint the blessing, using beautiful and bright colors along with stunning designs. They engrave the verses on materials such as wood, steel, ceramic, glass and even silk. It is also common to have the blessing engraved on a symbol of Judaism or Israel such as the Western Wall, a pomegranate or a tree. The Hamsa is a popular design for the home blessing as the Hamsa in itself also offers protection from the evil eye and gives us good luck.
