On Nov. 21, a Brandeis University student found their mezuzah and name label removed from their residence’s door, their room label ripped to pieces by the men’s bathroom down the hall and their mezuzah case in the bathroom’s garbage can, according to a Dec. 2 correspondence with a friend of the student. In the same statement, they said that this instance follows the culprit stealing the same student’s Israeli flag on Nov. 10, though at the time, the student’s mezuzah and name label were left untouched.

The affected student declined The Justice’s request for comment. 

A mezuzah is a small decorative container that holds a piece of parchment and is typically hung on doorposts. The scroll of paper, traditionally created with kosher parchment and ink, contains a handwritten prayer from the book of Deuteronomy, the Shema. In the Shema, which is a central part of Jewish services, God commands people to “keep His words constantly in mind and heart” by writing them on the doorposts of their homes. Thus, it is tradition to roll a piece of parchment inside the container and place it on the right side of the doorpost at an angle. In some cases, the parchment is placed in a way that it would leave the first Hebrew character of God’s name visible. However, the Jewish Virtual Library states that it is more common for the mezuzah container to show the Hebrew character instead.  

This tradition spans back thousands of years to the biblical period, with the Hebrew name “mezuzah” directly translating to “doorpost” because of its use. Furthermore, the mezuzah symbolizes that Judaism “is not confined to synagogues” and symbolizes protection for the home’s inhabitants. 

With this religious and cultural importance in mind, the affected student’s friend explained that their primary objective is to find the lost mezuzah scroll. They were able to find the student’s container — in the trash can of the men’s bathroom — but they could not locate the scroll.

“I looked [repeatedly] and meticulously through every used tissue, floss and disgusting things in the trash because a kosher scroll is very important, but it really wasn’t there,” the student’s friend wrote. They mentioned that they searched the hallway as well, but to no avail. 

A kosher scroll is significant to Jewish culture because it must be handwritten in a particular way by a trained scribe, called a sofer. The ink and quill that the sofer uses to write the Shema on the parchment also has to meet particular standards. The Jewish Virtual Library explains that “mechanically printed scrolls” and mezuzah cases without scrolls do not “fulfill the mitzvah” or the commandment, in other words. These guidelines hinder the student’s ability to find a suitable replacement for their mezuzah’s scroll. The student’s friend stressed that both the previously discarded case and the lost scroll are of “immense personal and religious value.”

On the night of Nov. 21, the affected student and their friend reported both incidents of theft to the Brandeis police. According to a Sidechat comment, campus police officers questioned residents living in the Skyline Residence Hall in an effort to learn more.

The student’s friend expressed that it is not surprising that someone on campus took issue with the Israeli flag, it was surprising that the party later returned to remove the mezuzah and the student’s name. “The fact that their name was torn and the mezuzah case was in the trash shows to me a level of targeted anger,” they wrote. 

Brandeis Hillel addressed these incidents in a Nov. 26 statement on Instagram, expressing that they should be a “matter of concern for all of us, as they strike at the values of inclusion and respect that Brandeis holds dear.” In response, the Hillel Student Board ordered hundreds of mezuzot for “anyone on campus who wishes to display one [in] their residence hall or office door.” 

In a Dec. 2 correspondence with The Justice, Brandeis Hillel Student Board President, Riley Genevieve Miner ’25, said the organization plans to host an event for community members to decorate their mezuzah cases on Thursday, Dec. 5 between 7 and 8 p.m. in the International Lounge. She added that Hillel will also be distributing mezuzot in Upper Usdan on Friday, Dec. 6 in the late morning and early afternoon.

“The Hillel Student Board plays a vital role in creating programming to support the ongoing needs of the Jewish community,” Miner wrote. “We consistently offer a space to be in community when events that impact the Jewish community occur, as while it’s important to acknowledge such events.” She added that Hillel’s student board is eager to “[create] moments for Jewish joy” given that statements on social media regarding antisemitic incidents can cause heightened anxiety.

Data collected by Hillel International shows that the number of antisemitic incidents on college campuses in the United States, such as these occurrences, have “reached alarmingly high rates” since October 2023. More specifically, Hillel International found that they have increased by 700% between 2022 and 2023, showing that Brandeis, even with its large population of Jewish students, is not excluded from this national trend.