## Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, Giving Thanks, Consecration of a House

###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, Giving Thanks, Consecration of a House 1
[Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, Giving Thanks, Consecration of a House 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Siddur/s/Giving%20Thanks,_Consecration%20of%20a%20House/r/1)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
SERVICE AT THE CONSECRATION OF A HOUSE
The Torah mentions the dedication of a house: “The officials shall say to the troops: Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it” (Deut. 20:5). There are also descriptions of the consecration of the altar (Numbers, chapter 7) and of the Temple (I Kings, chapter 8).
No formal ceremony for the consecration of a house is mentioned in the early rabbinic literature, other than saying *Sheheḥeyanu* (“Who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this day”) and the blessing on fixing the mezuza. The current ceremony is a longstanding part of Anglo-Jewish custom. A service for the consecration of a house was compiled by Chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschell; another was compiled by Chief Rabbi Dr. Hermann Adler, which is the basis of the present text.
Where appropriate, the ceremony should begin with the fixing of mezuzot with the appropriate blessing, together with *Sheheḥeyanu* (page 999 and 995).
Psalm 30 is then recited because of its superscription, “A song for the dedication of the House.” Psalm 15 speaks of the qualities required for “dwelling in the tent” of God – “tent” being understood by the sages (as in “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob”) as a metaphor for the Jewish home.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, Giving Thanks, Consecration of a House 3
[Rabbi Sacks on Siddur, Giving Thanks, Consecration of a House 3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Siddur/s/Giving%20Thanks,_Consecration%20of%20a%20House/r/3)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָם *Master of the Universe:* A prayer of thanksgiving, followed by prayers for the welfare of those who will live in the house. The sanctity of the home is fundamental to Judaism. It is where we celebrate the love between husband and wife – which is symbolic of the love between God and Israel. It is where, with God’s blessing, parents pass on their faith and teachings to their children. It is where we practice hospitality, said by the sages to be even greater than receiving the Divine Presence. And it is where we create *shelom bayit*, “peace in the home,” from which, we believe, flows peace to the world (See Maimonides, Laws of Ḥanukka 4:14).