I followed the Lectionary Readings for today and used Mark 12:28-34 as the passage on which the sermon was based. The Old Testament Reading was from Deuteronomy 6:1-9 which contains the words of the Shema - ‘Here O Israel…….’. With the children I used a powerpoint with some photographs of Jewish men wearing the Teffilin (a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Bible. The hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is worn by Jews wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers, while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead. The Torah dictates that they should be worn to serve as a "sign" and "remembrance" that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.) . I also showed them a mezuzah which is fixed to the doorframe of Jewish homes to fulfill the instruction to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house". I had been given one some years ago as a gift from someone who had visited the Holy Land. The teffilin and mezuzah are used in response to the words of the Shema which gives the instruction about the importance of remembering and obeying the Torah.
“The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. 7 Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. 8 Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.’ ( Deuteronomy 6)

I have always though the ‘mezuzah’ to be a powerful symbol to remind the people that in all their coming and going the Law of the Lord should be listened to and lived out.

The lead into this with the children was to tell them about one of my ‘pet hates’- seeing people who have written messages on their hands to help them remember something important.

When asked, at least half the congregation confessed to to sometimes writing messages on their hands!