Israel Forever - Never in Israel

We occasionally need a reminder of how much easier it is for a Jew in Israel to live as a Jew.

The latest such reminder is the case of Laurie Richter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. When she moved into her rented condominium she hung a mezuzah on her front doorpost. The condo management ordered her to take it down because residents are forbidden to display any objects in common spaces.

This order, which smacks of religious discrimination, has been challenged by Richter, who is herself a lawyer, and by the congressperson in whose district she resides.

Whatever the outcome, and we certainly hope that the condo management will reverse its position, it is impossible to imagine something like this happening in the Jewish State where all public buildings have mezuzot, as do the overwhelming majority of private dwellings.

May the merit of mezuzah observance protect Israel forever!

===================================== By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions

(C) 2007 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.