One of the first things you have to do when you move into a new place, is to make sure you put up a "mezuzah" on every door way with the except the bathroom. This is one of the 613
mitzvos(commandments) that Jews are supposed to do, which comes from Devarim 6:9;
"Write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates." There are many things that Jews do that are reminders of what we are supposed to do and what life is all about. The mezuzah is one of those symbols. It is a scroll inside a decorative. The important part is what is inside the casing which is probably the most important Jewish statement reminding us that there is only one G-d. The Shema says: “Hear o Israel, the L‑rd is our G‑d, the L‑rd is One.” It is written in Hebrew on parchment paper. The Shema is one of the first sentences Jews teach our children and is said every night before we go to sleep. We started saying it when we put our son Cyrus to bed once he was old enough to talk. We must have told him what was inside the mezuzah because when Cyrus was watching Stephan put up our first mezuzah he pointed at it and little two year old Cyrus said the Shema. We had our sponsoring Rabbi and community Rabbi come and check and make sure that we had a Mezuzah in all the right places. Some places need a mezuzah, such as the entry way to our living room even though it's technically not a door way ,which is the part where a Rabbi can help make sure of. A tradition the Jews have is to kiss the mezuzah everytime one enters or leaves the place where a mezuzah is, which I think is because it helps the person with the second part of the mitzvah which is to remember the content inside the mezuzah. The Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Mezuzah, "Every time that a person enters or leaves he will encounter the Unity of G-d, the Holy Name of G-d." "A person is obligated to be extremely cautious about the mezuzah. (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, beg, ch 228)
The scroll:
The scroll is what is rolled up inside the Mezuzah case.
The versus are from 6:4-9 and 11:13-21:
Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.
You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and your shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
And it will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, to love the L-rd Your G-d and to serve Him with all yhour heart and with all your soul. I will give rain for your land at the proper time, the early rain and the late rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be sated. Take care lest your heart be lured away and you turn astray and worship alien gods and bow down to them. For then the L-rd's wrath will flate up against you, and He will close the heavens so that there will be no rain and the earth will not yield its produce, and you will swiftly perish from the good land which the L-rd gives you. Therefore, place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand and they shall be a reminder between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, to speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, and when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates-so that your day and the days o your children may be prolonged on the land which the L-rd swore to your fathers to give to them for as long as the heavens are above the earth.
These versus from the Torah are written with a special quill pen by what's known in Hebrew as a Sofer(specially trained religious devout scribe) on a handmade parchment from a kosher animal. The Sofer has to be extremely careful because there are thousands of requirements that must be met in order for the mezuzah to be written in accordance with the laws. For example, the mezuzah is invalid if even one of the 713 letters is shaped incorrectly or one of the letters is missing(see links below for more details on what makes a kosher mezuzah).
Judaism has all kinds of things that we do in to remind us I think of what our life's purpose is, and what life is really about. One of my favorite things going through this process is seeing how kids act being brought up as Orthodox Jews. I see kids at Shabbos tables acting rambunctious and crazy with their friends, but on the way home from school I see one of those boys kiss the mezuzah before he goes inside the house, which is an amazing thing to see. Having kids, I see how they get so caught up in what they are doing that they forget about everything else (which adults can relate to as well), and yet seeing a mezuzah can snap an 8 yr old boy out of his daydreams and brings him back to the present, where he thinks about what he is doing. We all need reminders like that in our life, and I'm so grateful for the many that Judaism has to offer.
References:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/704621/jewish/Mitzvah-Mezuzah-or-Just-Mezuzah.htm
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/256923/jewish/The-Mezuzah-Scroll-and-Case.htm
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/256915/jewish/What-Is-a-Mezuzah.htm
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