I do not know which emergency directors you consulted with, but this article is full of errors. Bacteria are all over, our skin is full of coagulase negative staph- that isn't the way disease is spread- was there enough colonies of bacteria on these mezzusos to pose a threat? Were these live specimens? Has an infection ever been documented at being spread in this fashion? We know that urinary tract infectionsa re not spread through droplets but through contamination of the urinary tract from nearby infected areas. In addtion, H1N1 is not a bacteria and may spread differently- many viruses die if not kept moist . As the only Chareidi director of an emergency department in Israel, I would have expected a more balanced and scientifically sound article . This borders on yellow journalism YBL MD Specialist In EM

The mezuzah contains verses from the SHEMA. It is not a prayer it is an instruction. Touching the mezuzah is a custom and therefore for the sake of health and to potentially save lives.....wait a minute......even if you do this and you have a cold you are wrong because you could very well be making someone sick. The practice is a problem.

You should recognize Hashem's protection in the desert, "..."You will rejoice before Hashem... Seven days you will dwell in Sukkos... So that your generations will know that I placed the Jews in Sukkos when I took them out of Mitzraim (Egypt)." (Vayikra [Leviticus 23:40-43]): http://www.geulahcompany.com/hashgachah.php

The doctor only banned kissing a filthy mezuzah. If they can clean shopping carts at the grocery store with disinfectant, then the same can be done for mezuzot.

Hashem shall guard you from all evil: He shall preserve your soul. Tehellim 121:7 You should recognize Hashem's protection in the desert, "..."You will rejoice before Hashem... Seven days you will dwell in Sukkos... So that your generations will know that I placed the Jews in Sukkos when I took them out of Mitzraim (Egypt)." (Vayikra [Leviticus 23:40-43]): http://www.geulahcompany.com/hashgachah.php

The H1N1 flu is due to a virus. A Virus does not remain vital outside the living body longer than a split of a second. Even most bacteria remain no more than a few minutes. Remeber the public phone scare about venereal disease during the early seventies? Is this article for real or is the doctor a real

dont listen to the voice of reason, keep burying yourselves in bronze age superstitions! that'll help us. people, wake up.

Gays abuse the true purpose of certain body parts spreading disease like bees and pollen, the secular world glorifies physical contact with virtual strangers, but Doctor's are concerned about kissing a Mezuza. Provide one case where kissing a mezuza caused so much as a blister. This must be a leftist media plot, during their breaks from accusing Jews of war crimes.

If the egel zhav carried a plague into a home when people kissed it, people would have no problem recognizing it as a sign. How can something supposedly from G-d be a carrier of a plague? When it is not really from G-d? Are they no more than magic items? We know that according to the Baalam story, the tents of Jaacob could not be cursed because their was no magic in them. Odd that this box which outwardly shows no words of Torah to learn from would be an object that would carry "pig flu" in to a home. Aparently these kaballah items really are magic and likely pagan and proof that only G-d protects. The signs are clear. Hint: Moses wrote the words of Torah on stone tablets. Maybe he meant what he said to write them on the doorposts.

That box is not fullfillment of writing the words of Torah on your doorpost and gates. Neither is kissing it. It is a kaballistic box made to look like a mitzvah.

is why any doctor should have to fear the rabbis? If, for the sake of argument, it was determined that kissing a mezuzah could spread illness, then doctors and other medical personnel shouldn't hesitate to say so, since this is a public health issue. Maybe next time, they might want to check with some doctors who are agnostics or atheists. I know there are certainly enough of them in Israel.

On days when the Torah is read in synagogue it's customary to kiss the scrolls as they pass thru the congregation. Maybe this should also be stopped...

...put it always reminded me of the people in the Catholic church down the block from me in Yonkers who kissed saints. Never saw a Jew kiss a mesuzah 'til I came to Israel. And I knew a number of Orthodox Jews.

He wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone like people do, but was fearful of infections. The attendant sprays the stone with alchohol before anyone kisses it to disinfect it, but Michael Jackson put a cloth between his lips and the actual stone, perhaps handkerchief would be a better description.

the toe of the black marble St. Peter statue at the Vatican knew/know that that statue was a statue of Jupiter/Zeus before it was renamed St. Peter. Now, that's REAL idol worship. The Catholics also kiss a cross at Easter time. I prefer the real thing myself: a photo of the face of the Shroud of Turin to kiss. Olaf Hage of Maine has a lecture out this month on the writing found on the Shroud that is Hebrew and dates to the time of Rabbi Yeshua. His website is www.petragrail@yahoo.com.

the Torah Scroll being carried around the room and people touch their holy books to it. Maybe that is something new. The reader kisses the scroll, but not the congregation at B'Nai David in Visalia, California.

DON"T GET ON A BUS OR TRAIN,DON"T WALK OUSIDE , ,DON"T GO SHOPPING, TAKE MONEY,OR FLY BY PLANE,DON"T GO TO THE DOCTOR"S OR HOSPITAL FOR EVERY LITTLE PAIN....ETC... SO THE BEST ADVICE IS TO ISOLATE YOURSELF,...AND ABOVE ALL DON"T COMPLAIN !

As a child I lived in a neighborhood in Brooklyn that was very ethnically diverse, and virtually none of the Jews living there at the time were Orthodox. Then, at some point, a lot of very strictly observant Jews began to move in, so I had the opportunity to become acquainted with some of their customs, and I don't think I ever saw a single one of them ever leave the house without kissing the mezuzah. So, based on your comment, I can only conclude that perhaps the Orthodox Jews in Yonkers weren't as Orthodox as the Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn.

El Shaddai will surely protect his people, but WHERE is the mitzvah that says to kiss the mezuzah?

i like to be near it will bless me .but many do not bless this mazzuza .so if you are infected you must be away from it and sure you will get its blessing

Darothy , i too lived abroad , there were many religious people there , all kissing the Mezuzah . To both : here you can also see girls in very short shorts , what some call "immodest" , also kissing a Mezuza . Maybe a kind of superstition ? PS to some : Why should'nt i kiss my wife ?

You could be right about the superstitious aspect because I put a mezuzah on my door, and I'm hardly what anybody would consider religious. Not only that, but here in New York, I know a lot of non-Jews who wouldn't think of removing a mezuzah that may have been left by a previous occupant of their house who was Jewish, because they feel the mezuzah brings good luck.

A Mezuzah needs also to be checked from time to time , to see if still "kosher" . I did'nt remove the mezuzoth when i bought my appartement . I have "shomre Shabbat" family and friends . A Jew normally removes the Mezuzoth when leaving a house [ if the buyer is not Jewish or unknown yet ] A used Mezuzah may not be thrown away , has to be put in a Ghenizza , a place where used Jewish books are conserved . You may NOT damage them . And by leaving them in "unknown" hands , you don't know what could happen to them.

Pagan? Rabbi recommendations?! When will it stop? Better idea, instead of writing a prayer in a box that no one but the Rabbi reads, how about writing the eser debrot so we can read them? Maybe bad people wont cheat our neighbors so much. The the mitvah of writing "these words" can be fullfilled like in the time when Moses learned from Egypt to write on stone and on buildings text of books.