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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

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Mezuzah

מְזוּזָהmezuzah
Awaiting expert review

A parchment bearing two passages of the Torah, including the Shema Yisrael, fixed in a case to the doorpost of a Jewish home.

01

Origin

Bible

The Torah commands writing God's words "on the doorposts of your house and on your gates". The word mezuzah originally means "doorpost".1,2

02

Meaning

Interpretation⁂ To verify

The mezuzah expresses that the home is a space for the word of God. Maimonides rejects understanding it as an amulet: its purpose is to recall the oneness of God at every coming in and going out.3

03

Use

Halakhah

The parchment contains two passages: Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (Shema) and Deuteronomy 11:13–21 (Ve-hayah im shamoa), handwritten by a sofer. The divine name Shaddai is usually written on the back.4,5,6

HalakhahAshkenazimSephardim⁂ To verify

It is fixed to the right-hand doorpost on entering a room, in the upper third. Following the Rema, Ashkenazim fix it at a slant (top pointing inward) as a compromise between vertical and horizontal positions; Sephardim fix it vertically.7,8

Halakhah⁂ To verify

The mezuzah is checked regularly (according to the Talmud, twice in seven years), because the writing may fade. The value of a mezuzah lies in the parchment, not in the decorative case.9

04

Historical development

History

The oldest surviving mezuzot come from the Qumran finds; their content differs in part from the later standard.10

05

Related traditions

Minhag

Many people touch the mezuzah when passing through the door and kiss their fingers. This is a custom, not an obligation.

HistoryCzech lands⁂ To verify

On the doorposts of houses in historic Jewish quarters, including Prague and Moravian towns, notches left by removed mezuzot are still visible in places.

FAQ

What is inside a mezuzah?

A handwritten parchment with two passages from Deuteronomy, including the Shema Yisrael.

Why does it hang at a slant?

In Ashkenazi practice it is a compromise between two halakhic opinions (vertical vs. horizontal). Sephardim place it vertically.

Is a mezuzah an amulet?

Popular belief attributed protective power to it, but halakhic authorities such as Maimonides stress that it is a reminder of the commandments.

Sources

Secondary literature

  1. 10Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed.

See also