University Faculty Hang Mezuzahs Together With Jewish Pride, Turning Offices Into Sanctuaries

By Aggie Grossman, Associate Director of Engagement, MyZuzah

A California university professor proudly hangs a mezuzah on his office door (Photo is blurred to protect his identity)

Creating visible spaces of Jewish pride and safety on North American college campuses has taken on a new urgency. Through MyZuzah’s partnership with the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), college faculty members receive kosher and solidarity mezuzahs to visibly mark their offices as welcoming sanctuaries for students.

Recently, MyZuzah Associate Director of Engagement Aggie Grossman led a virtual dedication for several faculty members at a California university that exemplified this initiative's true power. What began as a typical Zoom Virtual Dedication quickly transformed into an intimate gathering, as the colleagues walked from office to office and affixed their mezuzahs side by side.

Before affixing hers, one professor paused to dedicate it to her grandparents. “Before I say the blessing, I dedicate it to my four Zionist grandparents, without whom I would not be alive,” she said. “They made the journey to Israel before it was the state of Israel, to return to the ancestral homeland and make sure the Jewish people continued to be a big Am Yisrael. This is for them. Am Yisrael Chai!”

Afterward, faculty shared what this experience meant for them and the students walking their hallways. “I chose to place a mezuzah on my campus office door because it was yet another symbol of pride and resistance as an openly Jewish faculty member on a campus where this is not easy,” said one faculty member. “My office door was defaced after I posted October 7 hostage posters and other pro-Israel material; the mezuzah is yet another symbol that my Judaism, Zionism, and pro-Israeli identities will not be silenced.” Another faculty member said, “The experience was very uplifting and gave me the opportunity to do something that shows my Jewish pride.”

MyZuzah Director of Strategic Partnerships Lori Hoch Stiefel remarked, “Right now, it matters more than ever for Jewish faculty to be able to show their pride in being Jewish on campus, and for Jewish students to know who they can turn to. That’s what makes MyZuzah’s partnership with the Academic Engagement Network so meaningful. A mezuzah on a professor’s office door can speak before a student even knocks. It says, ‘I’m glad you’re here. You can come in, talk to me, and be yourself.’ And when allies put up a solidarity mezuzah, they’re making that same welcome visible.” By bringing together organizations and faculty, this initiative helps keep Jewish identity a proud, visible presence on campus.

For more information about the MyZuzah and AEN partnership, or to start your own MyZuzah partnership, contact Lori Hoch Stiefel at Lori@myzuzah.org.