mezuzah

mez-oo-zah

Explanation

This literally means ‘doorpost’ but usually refers to the small box, with texts from the Torah inside, that is fixed to the doorposts in Jewish homes.

Context

The parchment rolled up inside the mezuzah will have been written by a qualified scribe; it contains the Shema, which reads, in Hebrew, ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord (is) our God the Lord is One’.