Question What is the mezuzah?

Answer One of the external signs of a Jewish home is the small generally metal or wood case attached to the right side of one's doorpost. Colloquially, this case is known as a mezuzah, but that is incorrect. Inside the case there is a small rectangular piece of parchment, on which are hand-written two paragraphs from the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21, which are also the first two paragraphs of the Shema passage. On the other side of the parchment are the three Hebrew letters Shin, Daled and Yod, which spell out one of God's names. When the parchment is rolled up, this name of God remains visible on the outside of the parchment. It is the parchment scroll which is properly the mezuzah. In fact, one could wrap the parchment in paper and attach it to the doorpost that way, and still be in full compliance with the law governing the mezuzah.   

Question What does the word mezuzah mean?

Answer In both the paragraphs contained on the scroll, there is a reference to writing "them" (which the Sages understood to mean these paragraphs) on "the doorposts of your homes and of your gates." Now, the word for doorpost is mezuzah, and as the two passages have to be placed on the doorpost, the word eventually came to represent the scroll that is placed on the doorpost.  

Question What is the mezuzah's significance?

Answer Although the Torah does not give a specific reason for placing the mezuzah on one's door, the different commentators have offered reasons for it. One, for example, sees this as a reminder of God's presence everywhere, just as the tzitzit serve this purpose. Another regards it as keeping evil from the home. This view deduces a modicum of support from God's name (made up of the three Hebrew letters Shin, Daled and Yod) on the outside of the parchment, which it takes as an acronym of Shomer Daltot Yisrael - "He who guards Israel's doors."   

Question Which doors require a mezuzah?

Answer In general, every door in the house needs a mezuzah, except if

a) it leads to an area less than 6 ft. by 6 ft. in size, or

b) it leads to a bathroom. In addition, even if one has a gate consisting of two posts and a lintel over the top, it too requires a mezuzah.  

Question Where is the mezuzah to be affixed?

Answer It is affixed on the right doorpost (based on going into the room in question), and must be within the top third of the post.  

Question What precautions are needed in buying a mezuzah?

Answer As the parchment scroll is hand-written, a decent scroll cannot be cheap. Unfortunately, there have been those who - through ignorance or avarice - have "cut corners," by selling the outer case (which, as we mentioned, is not the mezuzah proper) with a photostated copy of the original text, or even with any other type of printed material. In some cases, when these mezuzah cases are made in certain countries - often Asian - the error is inadvertent, based on ignorance of the requirements of Jewish law. Regardless of what the reason, unless the case contains a properly hand-written parchment scroll (and one often needs a rabbi to determine if the text was written accurately), it cannot be considered a proper mezuzah, and the placing of such a case on one's door in no way fulfills one's obligation under Jewish law.  

Question What is the Torah?

Answer As mentioned in the first chapter, the word "Torah" has many meanings, and can refer, for example, to all branches of Jewish religious learning, as in the phrase "to study Torah." When referring to an object, though, the word refers to a scroll, hand-written in Hebrew on parchment, of the entire Five Books of Moses. The Torah scroll is made up of pieces of parchment obtained from a kosher species of animal sewn together to form a single long scroll. The Torah scroll is without a doubt the most venerated of all Jewish ceremonial objects, and there are various laws which reflect this. Thus, for example, if a Torah scroll is being carried from one place to another, all present must rise and remain standing until the scroll has been put down. It is customary not to touch the naked parchment with one's hand; instead one handles it through the fabric of one's tallit. Another sign of this veneration is that if, Heaven forbid, a Torah scroll is burned in a fire, it must be buried in Jewish cemetery, just as if it had been the remains of a person.