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My wife and I went to Israel a couple of times. I bought a mezuzah from there and now we have one. During the totalitarian times it was more difficult to go to Israel than it is now. My wife and I went there twice after 1989. [23] We applied for passports and visited our elder son Nissim.
I have a special attitude towards mezuzot. It is nice to be a pious person but every pious person should observe God's laws. There is a poem by Nikola Vaptsarov [24], which I always give as an example about religiousness: 'He slew his father with the ax/ He washed himself, went to church and felt better'. Can such a man be considered a good man – a pious man, but a murderer? He believes in God, goes to church, but he is a murderer. As for mezuzot – we might kiss them on entering and leaving our flats and yet we might not be good people. That's why it is more important to me to be a good person and to do good than to kiss the mezuzah regularly. That is why I do not kiss it.
I have a special attitude towards mezuzot. It is nice to be a pious person but every pious person should observe God's laws. There is a poem by Nikola Vaptsarov [24], which I always give as an example about religiousness: 'He slew his father with the ax/ He washed himself, went to church and felt better'. Can such a man be considered a good man – a pious man, but a murderer? He believes in God, goes to church, but he is a murderer. As for mezuzot – we might kiss them on entering and leaving our flats and yet we might not be good people. That's why it is more important to me to be a good person and to do good than to kiss the mezuzah regularly. That is why I do not kiss it.
Period
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Aron Nissim Alkalai