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Nota d'ambito

Used for discussions of mezuzot. (en-US)

Definizione

The term mezuzah (pl. mezuzot, meaning "doorpost") refers to a parchment scroll rolled up within a container that is customarily placed in a slanting position on the right hand side of the lintel of a door in a Jewish home. Like tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot contain writings from Torah, in particular the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). The Hebrew letters "shin, dalet, yud" are inscribed on the back of the container and interpreted as an acronym for "shomer delatot Yisrael," ("guardian of the doors of Israel.") The containers that contain the parchment range in style from simple wooden boxes to richly decorated silver or embroidered cases. Among observant Jews, it was customary to place a mezuzah on the door 30 days after moving into a new home and to touch a mezuzah and then kiss the finger after passing through the doorway. Mezuzot can also be carried or worn around the neck. (en-US)

Fonte

Werblowsky, R.J. Zwi, and Geoffrey Wigoder, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. p. 460-461

Termini più generici

• Vita religiosa ebraica