It is made of Bronze, weighs 40 kilograms and is 1.4 meters tall – meet the largest mezuzah in the world, which was placed on Monday at the entrance to the emergency Room at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot.
The parchment rolled inside the mezuzah, which is inscribed with Shma Yisrael and additional Torah portions, is 60 centimeters long when spread out.
The oversized mezuzah was donated by Israeli-French businessman Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, who had an official request with the Guinness Book of World Records to record it as the largest mezuzah in the world.
Flatto-Sharon, along with hospital director Prof. Yaacov Yahav, affixed the mezuzah at the entrance to the Emergency Room, saying that "from now on, we can kiss the mezuzah every morning for good health.
"I hope it brings good luck and health to those who visit the hospital," Flatto-Sharon said, adding "for me it’s a big challenge to put one of the most well-known Jewish symbols in the Guinness Book of World Records and leave behind a mark, as a Zionist Jew."
According to Jewish tradition, the mezuzah is affixed on the right side of the doorframe of every room in the house (except washrooms), as is stipulated in Deuteronomy, 6:9. "And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."