ז וְלָקְחוּ, מִן -הַדָם, וְנָתְנוּ עַל-שְתֵּי הַמְזוּזֹת, וְעַל-הַמַשְקוֹף--עַל, הַבָתִים, אֲשֶׁר-יֹאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ, בָהֶׁם.
12,7 And they shall take of the blood and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.
How and where did the Jews place the blood on the doorposts?
The Jews had held onto the lambs for four days. Now in the afternoon of the 14th of Nissan they were to schecht the lambs, put the blood on the doorposts and then eat the lambs that night at their Sedar. At midnight, their house would be passed over during the killing of the first-born. They also already knew they were leaving Egypt the next day. The name of Passover comes from this action.
So, did they just slab the blood onto the door posts in any way it happened? Did they make it look like a Mezuzuah or a Menorah (Mitzvos of which they were not yet aware)? Did they put the blood on the inside so that the Jews would see it at the Sedar? Did they place the blood on the outside as is HaShem needed it in order to spare the first-borns in that house?
The Holy Zohar comments that the Mitzvah was for the Jews to spell out the four-letter name on the doorposts with the blood, so the destroying angel would not strike that house.
A new question: How could the Jews write the four-letter name knowing they were leaving the house the next day? The Egyptians would either destroy or desecrate the homes which would be a disgrace to the name of HaShem.
Maharil Diskin suggests the beginning of the answer from the difference of opinions in the Mechilta. The Medrash brings two opinions as where the blood was placed. One opinion was the blood was placed on the doorposts facing the inside so that the Jews would see the Mitzvah during the Sedar and the night’s other events. The other opinion was the blood was placed on outside so that the destroying angel would see the sign of the Jewish house.
He suggests that there is no argument, but the blood was placed in such a way as to fulfill both opinions. The four-letter name was written on the inside in mirror-image (right to left and not the standard left to right manner) and then would not be considered the actual inerasable Name. However, the blood had the ability (or the destroyer angel had the ability of sight) to be seen on the outside in the correct format (left-to-right). Therefore, there would not be any disgrace to HaShem with this type of writing after the Jews left these houses.
The Lesson from the first mitzvah to be done in a Jewish House. A Jewish house must contain and promote Jewish values such as Torah study, hospitality, etc. Yet, the Jewish house must outside “radiate” the light of Judaism outside to the public.
