WATCHWORD

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad. Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto L'eolam Va'ed.
 
(Shema is the watchword of our faith. Shema means "hear", "Listen", and "Obey")
"Hear O Israel, the L-rd our God is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. These words which I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them to your children and you shall speak about them when you dwell in your house, when you travel on the road, when you lie down and when you arise. You shall tie them as a sign on your arm and as a head ornament between your eyes. you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your home and your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

And it shall happen, if you obey my commandments which I command you today, to love God within all your hearts and all your souls that I will give the rains of the land in its proper time, the light rains and the heavy rains, and you will gather your grain, your wine and your oil. I will give grass in your fields for your livestock. You will have enough to eat and you will be satisfied. Guard yourselves, lest your hearts lead you astray and you will serve other gods and you will bow to them. God will then become angry with you and will withhold the rain, and the land will not produce its bounty. You will quickly be lost from upon the good land that God has granted you. You shall place these words on your hearts and on your souls. You shall tie them as a sign on your arms and they shall be head ornaments between your eyes, and you shall teach them to your children to speak about them when you dwell in your house, when you travel on the road, when you lie down and when you arise. You shall inscribe them on the doorpost of your houses and your gates. So that you and your children may live many years on the land that God has promised to your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth." (Deut 11:13-21)

The Mezuzah
Sometimes called
"The Shema".
 
There are 22 hand-written Hebrew lines to the Parchment that is placed inside the Mezuzah. They start with the Shema (Deut 6:4-9) and conclude with Deuteronomy 11:13-21. At the beginning of the seventh line is a blank space where the word SHADDAI (All Sufficient One) appears on the parchment.
 
The great sage Maimonides wrote: " By the commandment of the Mezuza, one is reminded of the unity of God and is aroused to love Him..This thought will make him mindful that he must walk in the path of righteousness."