Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the status of a former doorway that was sealed, and at what point is it considered fully sealed with no remnant.  There can be many halachic implications, such as if the door still requires a mezuzah, or if the rights to a loading and unloading area are forfeited to the other occupants of the area.

There is an interesting mystical concern about closing doorways and windows, asserted by Sefer Chasidim (746).  Rav Yehuda Hachasid warns of demons who, when faced with the loss of a pathway by the closure, may become enraged and smite the owner.

Because many of Rav Yehuda Hachasid’s proscriptions consist of superstitious-sounding interests that are not mentioned in the Gemara, and indeed seem to sometimes contradict the Gemara, there has been some ambivalence about following these rules.  There seem to be some rules that are taken more seriously by consensus of poskim than others, such as not marrying a woman with the same name as one’s mother, and this doorway prohibition as well. 

A scientific-thinking person might scoff at this superstitious fear of invisible malignant actors, yet we know that there are many mysterious, invisible and toxic forces that act upon the human condition.  Modern science gives it sophisticated-sounding names such as “chemical imbalances”, “addiction”, “viruses”, and “global warming.” 

(While certain political groups seem to have a vested interest in describing global warming or climate change as man-made, isn’t it odd and hypocritical that those same pointy-headed experts insisted that it is impossible that COVID could be man-made.  How does that work, exactly?  We have two humbling, natural global disasters of the 21st Century. In regard to one, “scientists” are certain that it is man made, while in regard to another, “scientists” are certain it was not? Hmmm…Follow the money.)

What are these experiences other than, literally, diabolical? (The word diabolical, comes from Diablos, the Devil.) You can give it fancy scientific names, but as for many of the most troubling and dangerous aspects of life in this world, there is constant danger of succumbing to powerful forces that we cannot always control.

These practices teach us respect and humility.  They are the precursors to conservation and environmental impact studies. The natural environment and ecosystem, in the ancient world, was experienced as spiritual, mystical and sometimes demonic.  According to this Torah ethic, not only are we obligated to preserve our health, not cause self-injury or suicide, or even destroy fruit bearing trees, but we must even respect space and structure. If there is a doorway or window, we do not just arrogantly smash it down.  We must consider the entire ecology of visible and invisible forces, and constantly respect the spiritual-emotional-environmental impact. 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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