Mezuzah («doorpost»)

MĒ ZŪ ZĀH («doorpost»). - A parchment scroll in a glass or metal capsule that is affixed to the doorpost; it contains in Hebrew the passages Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21; the first treats of infinite love for the Lord, the second of the reward for obedience to His will. The m. is to be affixed to the doorpost, to the right of one entering, at the entrance to houses and courtyards; excluded therefore are storerooms, stables, cellars, but also synagogues and schools. Observant faithful, on entering, touch the m. with a finger and then kiss the finger.

From the 3rd century onward, popular beliefs reduced the m. to a kind of amulet, and for this reason various names of God and of angels were added. Against this abuse Maimonides (v.) protests in his work Mishneh Torah. Among the uneducated populace, the use of the m. was not yet widespread in the Talmudic period. The Karaites (v.) do not know this use. Inscriptions on doorposts were already in use among the ancient Egyptians, and Muslims too are accustomed to place sayings from the Qur'an on the entrances of houses. In the Jewish milieu the use of the m. was justified by appealing to the passages of the Pentateuch mentioned above.

Eugenio Zolli