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Mezuzah

File:Mezuzah_Museum_of_the_History_of_Polish_Jews_in_Warsaw.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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thumb|upright|Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi mezuzah. The case is tilted and features the Hebrew letter (Shin). thumb|upright|A Sephardi Jews|Sephardic mezuzah. The mezuzah case is vertical and features the Hebrew letter (Shin).

Key facts

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Mezuzah at the entrance toPOLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which is inside a red decorative case
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and
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Shabbat 32a, Yoma 11a, Menachot 33a,
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Menachot 3:7
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Tefillin, Mezuzah, veSefer Torah ch. 5–6
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Yoreh De'ah 285–291

via Wikipedia infobox

~16 min read

Encyclopedic overview

19 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Purpose
  • Design
  • Additional inscriptions
  • Mezuzah cases
  • Practices
  • Affixing the mezuzah
  • Position and integrity
  • Angle
  • Time
  • Blessing
  • Touching the mezuzah
  • Checking the parchment
  • Karaite and Samaritan mezuzah
  • Legal battles in the U.S.
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

thumb|upright|Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi mezuzah. The case is tilted and features the Hebrew letter (Shin). thumb|upright|A Sephardi Jews|Sephardic mezuzah. The mezuzah case is vertical and features the Hebrew letter (Shin).

A mezuzah ( 'doorpost'; plural: mezuzot) is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jews affix in a small case to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical passages in which the use of a mezuzah is commanded ( and ); they also form part of the Shema prayer.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mezuzah” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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