| AURORA — Ron Ramer was drawn to the mezuzah because the traditional Jewish door-post adornment represented two passions in his life: his faith and teaching.
Ramer, an Aurora University associate professor of education, has been hand carving the adornment for roughly 20 years, starting after a mentor, Dr. Gus Pearlman, gifted him with a hand-made mezuzah out of olive wood from Jerusalem.
A mezuzah is an encased scroll of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. It is supposed to be hung on the door jam of every door in a Jewish home, except the bathroom door; it indicates a reverent home where the family has made a serious commitment to teach their children about God.
Two decades ago Ramer, 61, started carving mezuzot (the plural name for mezuzah) as gifts for friends and family out of pineboard using only simple tools like a jackknife, files and sandpaper. Ten years ago Ramer switched to power tools and started using more exotic hardwoods like Cocobala wood in his carvings.
A year ago, at the urging of friends and with the help of his Web-savvy daughter, Ramer opened his own e-commerce site, www.mezuzot.net.
Results from the site have been disappointing, Ramer said. A Web search for "mezuzot" will yield thousands of results and Ramer's site hasn't cracked the top of those lists.
But Ramer uses the site as a virtual brochure when talking with Jewish merchants and groups.
Cheaper mezuzot, often a scroll encased in a Plexiglass box, can be bought at most Jewish stores, but that wasn't enough for Ramer. He wanted a case for the scroll that added a touch of beauty to the spiritual significance of the item.
Wood, with its natural grains and texture, was the perfect material to use.
"I knew I didn't want to create a case out of material that feels cold or distant," Ramer said. "It's a practice of many observant Jews to touch (the mezuzah) as they enter a house as a sign of respect. I want (that touch) to be warm and unique." Joy of creation Even a more expensive mezuzah made out of copper and brass doesn't have the kind of texture Ramer thinks a mezuzah should have. "They, too, are very expensive, but they don't have the feel, the touch, the substance and the warmth of wood."
What a mezuzah should look like isn't outlined by the Torah but Ramer incorporates the Hebrew letter "shin," which is W-like into nearly all of his Mezuzot. Shin is the first letter of the word Shaddai, which means almighty.
Ramer spends roughly a month, from start to finish, on any given mezuzah. Figuring out how to orient the shin in the wood usually takes the bulk of that time.
He created 15 models for his Web site but hadn't received any orders from it. But creating mezuzot isn't, and never has been, a commercial endeavor for Ramer. "I get a tremendous joy in producing these," he said. "I don't know what they are going to look like when I start so they're always a source of wonderment and awe when finished."
Outside of a shop class in New York City public schools as a teen, Ramer had never done woodcarving before making his first mezuzah 20 years ago. Now he spends hours in his garage every Sunday working with wood.
The words of Deuteronomy written by a trained scribe on the scroll explain part of Ramer's interest in the mezuzah. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says "These words which I am commanding you today must remain on your heart. Teach them to your children and speak of them when you are at home, when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up." "My fascination with it is, in part, with it standing as a reminder to teach," Ramer said. "What I want to do is create a case that is aesthetically beautiful, spiritually motivating and uplifting."
Ramer is an approved family mediator and has taught mediation since 1992. He's been on Aurora University's faculty since 1992 and previously ran a Jewish community center in Chicago and was principal of a parochial school district in Syracuse, N.Y. Ramer is also the head of the La Aurora bilingual education project at Aurora University. |
