The mezuzah is a small case holding a parchment scroll inscribed with Deuteronomy 6:4–19 and 11:13–20, which is affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes. Among the other ornamental features of a Jewish home is the mizrah, which is a wall plaque indicating the direction of prayer toward Jerusalem in the east. In religious Jewish households, the prohibition on mixing dairy and meat products led to the practice of keeping separate sets of dishes and utensils. Although it is not clear why certain items were placed there, the genizah opens a window onto a vanished world strewn with both ordinary and extraordinary objects that are imprinted with the people who once used them.
