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Where does the concept of kissing a mezuzah upon entering and leaving a room come from?
I always assumed it was a mitzvah. My husband recently told me it is not. It’s a mitzvah to put a mezuzah on a door way. By kissing it every time we pass by, we are showing love for the mitzvah of affixing mezuzahs on door posts. There is no halachic basis for kissing, or even acknowledging a mezuzah.
Was kissing mezuzahs something that was always done? Or is more of a newer – I guess I’ll call it – “chumrah” – for lack of better words?
The story goes that when he was finally captured by his uncle’s soldiers, Unkoles kissed the mezuza on his way out, and despite the Caesar’s warning not to talk to him so as not to get influenced, they were curious, asked why, and ended up releasing him and joining him. So kissing mezuza had been around a long time.
Some attribute it the ARIZAL. It is brought in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Hilchos Mezuzah (11:24).
I’ve seen the minhag brought down by the Chidah on Shulchan Oruch.
WTP: The gemora in Avoda Zarah Daf Yud Alef Amud Alef only states that Onkelos touched the mezuzah; it doesn’t say he kissed it.
It seems that until the Arizal it was customary to touch the mezuzah (or its case). The Arizal also kissed his fingers after touching the mezuzah. I do not know if there is any kabbalistic reasons or simply he felt that there was a certain level of kedushah that was now on his fingers.
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