How to Make a Mezuzah with your Child

You’ll find a mezuzah hung on the door posts at Jewish homes and businesses. Here’s a great project that is wonderful for children and adults of all ages.

Make your own mezuzah and hang it at the entrance to your bedroom, another room in your home, or give it as a gift.

This project makes the mezuzah case only. You will still need to obtain the scroll to place inside of it.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 inch thick dowel, 6 inches long
• Aluminum foil
• Pasta machine to roll the clay
• Oven bake clay, in white and other assorted colors
• Oven to bake the clay

1. Wrap the dowel with two layers of aluminum foil. The foil will protect the dowel so that it can be removed when it’s time to bake the clay.

2. Using the pasta machine, roll out the oven bake clay so that a thin layer fits around the dowel that’s covered with aluminum foil. The dowel makes it easier to work with the clay while retaining the shape of the mezuzah. This will form the base for the mezuzah case.

3. You want the ends of the dowel to stick out on the top of the mezuzah. Let extra clay hang off of the bottom of the mezuzah, going past where the dowel ends.
   
   Crimp the end of this clay closed since it will become one of the ends that is used to hang the mezuzah.

4. Place the mezuzah on a table or flat surface and press down. You want one side of the mezuzah to lie flat against the wall.
   
   This side will not be decorated.

5. Where the clay hangs down from the dowel and has been crimped closed, use a straw to poke a hole into the clay. This will allow a nail to go thru the mezuzah to hold it on the door posts.

6. Using your pasta machine, roll out different colors of clay and put them together to form a cane. Then roll them to make them smaller, cut them and place pieces of your own cane on your mezuzah.

7. Using other pieces of clay, decorate your mezuzah. Let your creativity run wild! You can use cookie cutters to make animal shapes, form balloons out of other colors of clay, make blocks filled with designs, whatever you’d like.

8. Remind your child that there is no right or wrong, no best or worst. Their design is totally up to them and their imagination.

9. When you and your child are done with your mezuzah, make sure that the hole is still usable at the bottom. If not, make another hole.

10. Carefully pull the dowel out of the top of the mezuzah. Using the clay, sculpt the top so that it sticks out and you can place a hole through it, like you did on the bottom. With your straw, poke a hole in the top of the mezuzah.

11. Cut another piece of clay that will fit the top to seal it but don't attach it.

12. Bake the mezuzah, and piece that will seal it, according to the manufacturers directions.

13. Insert a scroll, seal your mezuzah, and it's ready to be hung.