A Braille Mezuzah

We may be a business, but as artists we love to give people joy through our work. This letter is a great example of that and we are very glad that this special mezuzah brought such happiness.

"Dear Mr. Rosenthal,
Sherry Davidowitz, a friend and our local JCC Judaica coordinator contacted you when I asked her about a Braille Mezuzzah. I was asked to do a blessing at the naming of a new facility for our local Association for the Blind here in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Mezuzzah you sent with the raised Shin and the word Shalom spelled out in Braille was beyond my wildest dreams. The family that donated the building is very modest about their philanthropy and had to have their arms twisted to agree to having their name on the building. They were uncomfortable about the publicity, but when they saw the Mezuzzah and heard the artist’s name they were moved to tears and knew they had made the right decision. Before the event I was a bit nervous about the Braille on the Mezuzzah. When I looked at it I checked the dots with a web page that seemed to show the letters differently than I had originally seen. But when I presented it to the president of the association, who is a blind attorney, and asked him to read the word on the Mezuzzah, he said “Shalom” loud and clear. He couldn’t quite make out the Shin on top (he’s not Jewish), but the letters were perfect.

The folks from the Association for the Blind will be contacting you separately, but I want to thank you for making this event so special and meaningful. An artisan such as yourself probably assumes that the vast majority of people who enjoy his work do so visually. But you will now have a steady flow of blind and visually impaired folks in northeastern PA that will enjoy your art every day just by touching it. Thank you for making this possible.

All the best,
Rabbi Larry Kaplan
TempleIsrael, Wilkes-Barre, PA"