mezuzah

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.

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.

noun

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.”

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