What is a Mezuzah and what is it's significance? Who needs one?
Answer: A mezuzah (Hebrew for "door post") is a piece of parchment taken from the hide of a kosher animal. It is often housed in a decorative case. A mezuzah contains specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). The highlight of these verses is the prayer "Shema Yisrael", beginning with the phrase: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One." The first two paragraphs of this twice recited prayer comprise the rest of the scroll.
A mezuzah is affixed to the door frame of every room in a Jewish home that is used for "honorable dwelling," which would exclude a bathroom, and is done to fulfill the Biblical commandment to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the door posts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9).
Though Torah law requires placement of a mezuzah at each of the door posts (and gates) of one's dwelling, many Jews only place them on their front and back doors. The scroll, from preparing the parchment, to the writing by a qualified scribe (a "sofer"), represents hundreds of ritual laws and can only be done by a person who has undergone many years of meticulous training. Likewise, black indelible ink which is used for writing the verses, must be made according to a special traditional formula, with a special quill, generally a goose feather. The completed parchment, onced purchased from a qualified vendor, is then rolled up and placed inside a decorative case and ready to be attached to the right door post entering the house, or qualified room.
Answer: A mezuzah (Hebrew for "door post") is a piece of parchment taken from the hide of a kosher animal. It is often housed in a decorative case. A mezuzah contains specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). The highlight of these verses is the prayer "Shema Yisrael", beginning with the phrase: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One." The first two paragraphs of this twice recited prayer comprise the rest of the scroll.
