On the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes (and manynot-so-traditional homes), you will find a small case. This case is commonly known as a mezuzah (doorpost), because it is placed upon the doorposts of the house. The mezuzah is not, as some suppose, a good-luck charm, nor does it have any connection with the lamb's blood placed on the doorposts in Egypt. Rather, it is a constant reminder of God's presence and G-d's mitzvot. The mitzvah to place mezuzot on the doorposts of a houses is derived from Deut. 6:4-9, a passage commonly known as the Shema (hear). In that passage, God commands us to keep His words constantly in our minds and in our hearts by (among other things) writing them on the doorposts of our house. The words of the Shema are written on a tiny scroll of parchment, along with the words of a companion passage, Deut. 11:13-21. On the back of the scroll, a name of God is written. The scroll is then rolled up and placed in the case, so that the first letter of the Name (the letter shin) is visible (or, more commonly, the letter Shin is written on the outside of the case). Every time you pass through a door with a mezuzah on it, you touch the mezuzah and then kiss the fingers that touched it, expressing love and respect for G-d and his mitzvot and reminding yourself of the mitzvot contained within them. It is proper to remove a mezuzah when you move, and in fact, it is usually recommended. If you leave it in place, the subsequent owner may treat it with disrespect, and this is a grave sin.
Tzitzit and Tallit
The Torah commands Jews to weartzitzit (fringes) at the corners of our garments as a reminder of the mitzvot. The passage also instructs that the fringe should have a thread of "techeilet," believed to be a blue or turquoise dye, but the source of that dye is no longer known, so tzitzit are today are all white. There is a complex procedure for tying the knots of the tzitzit, filled with religious and numerological significance. The mitzvah to wear tzitzit applies only to four-cornered garments, which were common in biblical times but are not common anymore. To fulfill this mitzvah, adult men wear a four-cornered shawl called a tallit during morning services, along with the tefillin. In some Orthodox Congregations, only married men wear a tallit; in others, both married and unmarried men wear one. If a blessing is written on a tallit, a person should be careful not to bring the tallit into the bathroom. Sacred writings should not be brought into the bathroom. For this reason, many synagogues have a tallit rack outside of the bathroom.
Yarmulke
The most commonly known and recognized piece of Jewish garb is actuallythe one with the least religious significance. The word yarmulke (usually, but not really correctly, pronounced yammica) is Yiddish. According to Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish, it comes from a Tartar word meaning skullcap. It comes from the Aramaic words "yerai malka" (fear of or respect for The King). The Hebrew word for this head covering is kippah (pronounced key-pah). It is an ancient practice for Jews to cover their heads during prayer. This probably derives from the fact that in Eastern cultures, it is a sign of respect to cover the head (the custom in Western cultures is the opposite: it is a sign of respect to remove one's hat). Thus, by covering the head during prayer, one showed respect for God. In addition, in ancient Rome, servants were required to cover their heads while free men did not; thus, Jews covered their heads to show that they were servants of God. In medieval times, Jews covered their heads as a reminder that God is always above them. Wearing a yarmulke is regarded as a custom, not a commandment.
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