Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small piece of parchment inscribed with the biblical passages Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 and marked with the word Shaddai, a name of the Almighty, that is rolled up in a container and affixed by many Jewish households to their door frames in conformity with Jewish law and as a sign of their faith.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Among the Jews, an emblem consisting of a piece of parchment, inscribed on one side with the words found in Deut. vi. 4-9 and xi. 13-21, on the other with “Shaddai,” ‘the Almighty,’ and so placed in a small hollow cylinder that the divine name is visible through an opening covered by a glass.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Judaism A piece of parchment inscribed with Pentateuchal texts and attached in a case to the doorpost of a house, in accordance with Jewish law that says that “the Jews must remember the Tenth Plague and the blood on the doorposts.”

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun religious texts from Deuteronomy inscribed on parchment and rolled up in a case that is attached to the doorframe of many Jewish households in accordance with Jewish law

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Hebrew məzûzâ, doorpost, mezuzah; see ḏwḏ in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From post-Biblical Hebrew מְזוּזָה (m'zuzá) (referring to Deuteronomy 6:9).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word mezuzah.

Examples

  • Actually, a mezuzah is a daily reminder — and a public declaration — of Jewish identity …

    Literacy News – 79th Edition « News « Literacy News 2009

  • As a matter of interest a mezuzah is a parchment scroll with selected Torah verses placed in a container and affixed to the exterior doorposts of observant Jewish homes.

    My Grandparents' Legacy 2006

  • From her father she knew that the box was called a mezuzah and that, inside, was a scroll with a prayer, called the shema.

    Stones from the River Ursula Hegi 1994

  • From her father she knew that the box was called a mezuzah and that, inside, was a scroll with a prayer, called the shema.

    Stones from the River Ursula Hegi 1994

  • From her father she knew that the box was called a mezuzah and that, inside, was a scroll with a prayer, called the shema.

    Stones from the River Ursula Hegi 1994

  • From her father she knew that the box was called a mezuzah and that, inside, was a scroll with a prayer, called the shema.

    Stones from the River Ursula Hegi 1994

  • From her father she knew that the box was called a mezuzah and that, inside, was a scroll with a prayer, called the shema.

    Stones from the River Ursula Hegi 1994

  • (A mezuzah is a piece of parchment, often contained in a decorative case, that includes Hebrew verses from the Torah.

    Orrin Hatch does Hanukkah 2009

  • On its face, the so-called mezuzah case sparks an interesting question: Does a condo association violate owners 'civil rights by banning religious symbols from a ...

    Geoffrey R. Stone: The Next Justice: What Obama Wants 2009

  • BLITZER: And he -- you know, he's -- he's a Mormon, but he wears a mezuzah, which is a Jewish ...

    CNN Transcript Dec 9, 2009 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.