The mitzvah of Mezuzah applies to one who lives in a house. The fact that you now own (or are renting) a new house does not obligate you yet. Hence, you should wait until you enter the house to live there, and right at that point...
The bathroom does not need a doorway, as you correctly presume, and accordingly, the corridor leading into it does not require one either. It is considered "the corridor to the bathroom," and it is not associated with the living room.((Agur B'Ohalecha 19:12-14, based...
No, "it's never too late!" That being said, one should install them as soon as possible, just like any other mitzvah that should be performed at the first opportunity.((See Agur B'Ohalechah 34:44))
You are correct that camping tents are exempt from Mezuzah placement. This is because the Torah writes to place Mezuzot on the doorways of one’s “house.” As strong and well-furnished as your camping tent may be, and though you may live in it for a month at a time with...
You have asked a complicated question, and the answer is no less complicated.[1] It is questionable if an elevator requires a mezuzah at all, and opinion differ on the matter. The standard elevator is comprised of two parts: the moving compartment and the outer...
One of the Rambam’s Ten Principles of the Mezuzah is that the dwelling must be permanent in order to be obligated. The definition of a permanent dwelling as that it one lives within it for at least a month, while it is in the same location.[1] Caravans are not...
The lintel is a very basic structural element, without which a doorway is incomplete and therefore exempt from mezuzah.[1] [Practical halachah deals with lintels of unusual shape, position or purpose as well as doorways without a lintel, but whose ceiling edge can be...
Clearly, it is preferable to have one’s mezuzot checked by a reliable sofer who is trained to pick up subtleties that the layman’s eye might miss. However, since your mezuzot were already checked by a professional sofer, the purpose of re-checking them now is mainly...
One must check every mezuzah. Each one of them is placed in its own distinct environment and conditions. Moreover, the ink and parchment of each are organic materials that might react differently to humidity and heat fluctuations.[1] [1] Birkei Yosef 291:1, cited in...
It sounds like you did everything right: You checked before the “three and a half years” point.[1] The mezuzah was not in a vulnerable place, such as in direct sunlight or exposed to the rain. In such cases, you would have had to check it at least once a year[2] or...
Some authorities assert that a mezuzah in a sealed glass case that does not come in contact with the wall and is not exposed to the elements does not need checking.[1] However, the Shulchan Aruch and the later authorities do not mention any exceptions to the halachic...
Elul is surely a time for self-improvement and an opportunity to “get right with G-d” before the Day of Judgement. In this spirit, it is recorded that some meticulous individuals have a custom of having their mezuzot checked every year to make sure that the parchment...
Generally, a buyer can assume that he is purchasing everything connected to the house except for items explicitly reserved by the seller.[1]Therefore, since the halachah prevents the seller from removing his mezuzot, the buyer can assume that they are included in the...
One honors a mitzvah by taking care not to downgrade its status. Therefore, if a mezuzah is proudly fulfilling its mission on a doorway that is fully obligated, some authorities write that one should not remove it to place it on a doorway which is questionably...
You can arrange with the new resident that he should affix his new mezuzot immediately as you take yours down.[1] This seems to be the general practice.[2] Some authorities advise that, in such a case, the new resident should be the one to take down your mezuzot.[3]...
You may take your cases with you and replace them with inexpensive plastic ones.[1] However, it is best to stipulate with the buyer before the sale that you will be taking your covers with you, as he may have a potential claim that his purchase includes the home and...
Although a mezuzah is very holy and must be treated with the greatest respect at all times, the fasting custom you mentioned only applies to Torah scrolls and tefillin.[1] The son who dropped the mezuzah is not required to fast even if the mezuzah fell without any...
The Talmud rules that one who moves from a house may not remove its mezuzot if a Jewish person will be moving in.[1] There are several ways of explaining this prohibition. Some Rishonim explain that once a mezuzah is placed on a Jewish door, the sanctity of the Divine...
“Chai” chains, “Star of David” chains, and even “Hamsa” vampire-protection chains. We are all familiar with the various physical symbols people like to use to express their Jewish identity and pride. Just google “mezuzah chain” and you will see that a mezuzah pendant...
Even though it is wrapped up and covered, a mezuzah is meant to be rolled in a way that it is readable. Thus, care should be taken that it is affixed right-side up. Also, one should make sure that the Divine name ש-ד-י should be facing outwards, even if the cover is...
A mezuzah is a miniature Torah scroll containing the first two paragraphs of Shema Yisrael and thus is not muktzeh.[1] However, this particular scroll should be treated as muktzeh since its case was affixed to the doorpost in a manner that would require dismantling...
A stand-alone sukkah is exempt from mezuzah as it is a temporary dwelling.[1] The status of a room that one dwells in year-round and replaces its ceiling on Sukkot with schach is a matter of controversy. Some authorities write that during Sukkot it is deemed a...
Since the mezuzot were affixed when there was a door, and they have not been moved from the doorframe, you are not required to remove and reattach them.[1] [1] Agur B’ohalecha 16:28:67. He adds that this seems to be the custom. Sha’arei HaMezuzah (11:44) states that...
Firstly, you were correct to put the mezuzah up since the halachah follows the opinion cited by the Kitzur that doorways are obligated even when they lack doors.[1] According to some commentaries, even the Kitzur would agree in a case where you can’t put the doors up...
Proudly affixing a mezuzah on a doorpost is a very public religious sign that can cause resentment and even peril under anti-Semitic regimes. I know very little about the level of risk in your case, and so I cannot advise you. But I can give some general guidelines...
Mezuzah theft is a common act of antisemitism or vandalism. It has also been suggested that mezuzot are often stolen by people who imagine that they are some type of lucky charm. If this is a real concern, ideally one should protect the mezuzah by carving out a space...
As long as the mezuzot are within the doorway, they can face in any direction.[1] However, placing the mezuzah outside of the doorway is unacceptable to many authorities. And even those who allow outside placement state that this option is far from ideal and should be...
The Talmudic source of this halachah actually states “the tefach close to the street,” and this formula is quoted by many classical authorities. The Sages explain that this placement ensures that the entire house is protected from mazikin and that one sees it...
The mitzvah of mezuzah placement on all the rooms of the house is incumbent upon the owner or renter. So the room is not the child’s. However, Rambam writes: “Minors should be educated to affix a mezuzah to their rooms.”[1] Consequently, many opinions hold that a...
Ordinarily, a married woman should defer to her husband to affix the mezuzot. But if this will cause an unnecessary delay, she should do it herself.[1] A husband may choose to share the mitzvah with his wife, just as he may choose to share it with other persons of...
Although this is the opinion of several authorities,[1] Shulchan Aruch, Kitzur, Chayei Adam and other halachic works do not make this distinction. Consequently, you should recite the normal berachah of לקבוע מזוזה.[2] [1] Rambam, Hilchos Berachot 11:13; Az Nidberu...
Firstly, Mazal Tov on the new home! It is special that you made a Chanukat Habayit at the time of the mezuzah placement. In this way, you are dedicating the house to its higher purpose.[1] Your rabbi was referring to the Sages instruction that “It is greater to do...
Ideally, the mezuzah should be affixed with two nails, top and bottom[1] or with double-sided tape strong enough to last for a long time.[2] Scotch tape and mounting putty are not appropriate as they are less permanent.[3] Even so, your mitzvah was performed according...
Our Sages explain that a berachah is not merely a perfunctory obligation. When we recite the words: “He who sanctified us with His commandments,” we are striving to uplift ourselves to connect with the spirituality of the act we are about to perform. In this sense,...
If a person is accustomed to only distribute his ma’aser money to the poor or for the support Torah scholars, this would not be a permitted allocation. However, Chafetz Chaim writes that if at the time a person takes on the custom of ma’aser he stipulates that he...
The most important part of a mezuzah is invisible. The thoughts and intentions of the sofer breathe soul into the letters, transforming a piece of animal hide into a pulsating “power-pack.” As the sofer sits down to write a mezuzah he must focus and say: “Behold I am...
Before you run off to Home Depot for some parchment, ink, and goose quills, you might want to consider a few pesky details about mezuzot. Firstly, as you can see reflected in the Kitzur’s wording here, many authorities hold that it is a positive commandment to “affix”...
As with every mitzvah, one should always seek to beautify the mezuzah according to his means. The Torah teaches us: “This is my God and I will glorify Him.” Therefore, you are entitled to remove a perfectly serviceable cover to replace it with a cover of one’s...
Your question is fascinating, and it resonates with our very real obligation to express our gratitude to Hashem for the miraculous survival of Israel and to show our solidarity with our people in their distress. Interestingly, there is a tradition that the Baal Shem...
Yes. Since the tube is firmly affixed within a handbreadth of the door, the air and the wooden base do not constitute an interruption between the scroll and the door.[1] [1] Agur B’ohalecha, citing Da’as Kedoshim Y.D. 289:4 and R. Shmuel Wosner in Kovetz Mi-Beit Levi...
A bedroom is a living area that serves a variety of dignified functions. It therefore requires a mezuzah even though people sometimes expose themselves while getting dressed in the room or a young child’s dirty diapers are changed there.[1] However, the mezuzah should...
Firstly, let me express my respect for the sensitivity you are showing toward your son’s chosen path. I hope that the steps you are taking to accommodate him will be meaningful for you as well. Let me give you a little background to help you choose the right cover...
As your rabbi said, the halachic custom is to refrain from affixing mezuzot on both posts in a doubtful situation as this may be considered “adding on” to the mitzvot.[1] However, though this is the custom, your question is spot on, and many authorities have addressed...
The mezuzah should go on the right door going from the garden as your son suggested. Even though the garden gate is rarely used, it represents another pathway into the garden from the street and renders all the outer doors of the house as “front doors,” in terms of...
Although the Sages exempt an entrance into a garden,[1] many contemporary authorities note that this would only apply to gardens used exclusively for growing fruits and vegetables and not for human habitat. In contrast, our gardens are multi-faceted recreational...
In your case, since you decided to put the door out of use permanently as you moved in, it is exempt.[1] If the door was only being blocked temporarily, it would require a mezuzah from the outset.[2] If the door was originally in active use, but now you have decided...
In that case, even if the space between them is more than four tefachim, only one mezuzah is necessary. The inner door should get the mezuzah: Since it opens onto a large room, it has a clear Torah obligation, whereas the obligation of a small beit sha’ar may be...
If the space between the two doorframes is more than four tefachim, you would need two mezuzot: The area between the two doors has the special status of a beit sha’ar (gate-house) and thus needs a mezuzah even though it is not four by four amot sq. If the space is...
Yes. Since there is no division between the entrance and the living room, the whole area is considered one large room. The outer door, then, is the door for the whole area, and is fully qualified for a mezuzah with a berachah.[1] [1] Agur B’ohalecha 36:38.
Yes. The Gemara calls this area a beit sha’ar, literally a gate-house. Although it does not meet the minimum size of a living space, since it serves as a passage into a living area, it needs a mezuzah without a berachah.[1] Commonly, people like to put their...
Your front archway is part of the perimeter fence, and consequently it deserves a mezuzah, without a berachah. But the archways over the garden path are not within a structure and are therefore exempt according to many authorities.[1] Other authorities recommend that...
When a curved archway is surrounded at its top and sides by a wall or a fence, even though it lacks differentiated posts and lintel, we conceptually “carve out” virtual doorposts and a virtual lintel from the surrounding structure. Even then, its obligation is...
There are two approaches to this problem. Many authorities assert that if the sides rise straight up at least ten tefachim before arching, the area above the beginning of the arch is deemed to be the lintel, and the area below is the post. Accordingly, one measures...
This gate would not require a mezuzah. Because these wires are only there for extra security, they are not considered structural elements and are not deemed to be a lintel.[1] [1] Oral rulings of R. Moshe Heinemann & R. Yosef Salzer.
It is exempt. Even though a door that is used infrequently is still obligated, an emergency door is exempt because it is not designed to be a doorway.[1] Some authorities also exempt it because it is designed for exit and not for entrance.[2](()) [1] Rema Y.D. 286:18;...
If the top of the post rises to a point that is ten tefachim above the ground, you should affix a mezuzahwithout a berachah. Of course, the doorway itself must be 10 tefachim long.[1] [1] Agur B’ohalecha 22:19, citing Chazon Ish, Eruvin 7:6,11.
A garage is obligated in a mezuzah as any other storage room, with a berachah, especially if it is attached to the house.[1] Even though nobody “lives” in a storage room, it is fully obligated in a mezuzah if it serves the owner or renter in some way and he enters...
From the picture you sent,(()) it looks like there is a virtual “lintel” formed by a row of cabinets descending from the ceiling. If there is no lintel above the countertop, it does not require a mezuzah. Maybe that is the case in the rabbis’ homes you have been to....
Although the halachah states that a doorway without a lintel is exempt from mezuzah, if the ceiling’s edge is flush with the opening of the room, many authorities contend that if the edge is shaped like a frame and protrudes slightly it is considered a “virtual...
If the entrance is fitted with doorpost and lintel, it is no different than any other room. If it is closed at its back, the mezuzah is placed on the right side of one entering from the big room. If there is a door at its rear, one would decide based on the priorities...
Even if the doorposts are greatly out of alignment with each other, if a lintel connects them on their top, a mezuzah should be placed.[1](()) However, if there is no lintel connecting them, and the ceiling merely flows from one room to the other,(()) your playroom...
The Sages debate whether the Torah’s use of the plural “doorposts” indicates that a doorway with only one post does not require a mezuzah. In practice, if there is a post on the right side, we affix a mezuzah, without a berachah.[1] Here are some other typical cases...
To avoid the potential issues you have identified, you should place the mezuzah on the furthest protrusion of the post into the opening and not on the outer tefach. Keep in mind that some authorities assert that one does not need to place mezuzot on the outer tefach...
The Talmud is clear that the mezuzah should be within the doorway.[1] Where this is unfeasible, the custom is to place it on the outer face of the doorpost within a tefach of the opening.[2] If this is not an option, one may even place it on the inner face of the...
You are correct that ideally the mezuzah should be placed outside the door so that one encounters it upon entrance and also to ensure that the whole dwelling is protected. Your desire to proudly display your mezuzah is also commendable. However, since, in your case,...
Even if the right section of the door is latched and used rarely, as long as it is opened in case of necessity, it would still be considered a door, and the mezuzah should not be put on its edge.[1] However, the permanently fixed glass section of a sliding door is...
Let’s start with your first question. The use of part of the room as a home office would grant it a distinct status as an independent room. Even if it is only enclosed by the accordion door from time to time, its doorway needs a mezuzah.[1] To answer your second...
Although this is the opinion of several authorities,[1] Shulchan Aruch, Kitzur, Chayei Adam and other halachic works do not make this distinction. Consequently, you should recite the normal berachah of לקבוע מזוזה.[2] [1] Rambam, Hilchos Berachot 11:13; Az Nidberu...
The mezuzah should be affixed to the top third of the doorpost, measuring from the lower lintel.[1] The extended posts are excluded because the window does not become an entrance merely because it is framed by posts and a lintel. Moreover, the significant posts are...
The mezuzah should be placed on the right of one going into the side room. Since none of the rooms are deemed to be internal to the other, one then looks at the main direction of traffic. This is true even though the living room is considered the main room in relation...
In some small kitchens, fixtures such as washing machines, ovens, sinks and cupboards can diminish the size of the floor space to below the minimal area. However, according to most authorities, these items enhance the functionality of the room, and thus are not looked...
A walk-in closet that is four by four amot requires a mezuzah on the right side of one entering it.(()) If its area is sixteen amot sq., but it is long and narrow (e.g. two by eight amot), a mezuzah is placed there without a berachah. If a walk-in closet is less than...
The Sages determined that a room smaller than four by four amot does not meet the minimal criteria of a dwelling suitable for human habitation, and it is thus exempt from many halachic considerations including mezuzah obligation.[1] The room need not be a perfect...
The room does not serve a dignified purpose and is therefore exempt.[1] [1] Kuntres HaMezuzah 286:103; Sha’arei HaMezuzah 2:11.
There are two customs in this regard, and either may be followed. Some authorities maintain that when a doorway is fitted with actual doorposts of wood or metal, the mezuzah should be affixed on these rather than on the walls of the doorway.[1] This is true even if it...
Your daughter is fortunate that she has such supportive parents. You will surely have a lot of nachas from her as she blossoms into an inspired Jewess and eventually establishes her own home. While it is true that sometimes “newbies” to Yiddishkeit need some guidance...
The Gemara states that when one rents a dwelling, he only becomes obligated after thirty days.[1] The obligation in a rental is of rabbinical origin. [Note: This Gemara is referring to a dwelling outside Israel. In Israel, one is obligated even on the first day of...
The maid’s quarters you have seen probably are separate residences designated for workers as long as they are employed. That space is her personal dwelling, even though the employer might own all the furniture. As such, her doorways are exempt from mezuzah. However, a...
Since your shoulders can reach the beginning of the top third with a bit of a stretch,[1] you should still put it within the top third.(()) If this is not so, it should be placed at shoulder height of a normal person.(()) Practically speaking, if the top third of the...
Indeed, many authorities exempt dorm rooms from mezuzah. They reason that a student is not considered the “renter” of his particular room since he is paying only for accommodation in general. In fact, the University could move students from room to room, if necessary....
Most authorities rule that contemporary laundry rooms require a mezuzah.[1] Firstly, most people no longer launder cloth diapers. Moreover, even if the children soil their clothing, the dirty laundry is only present in the room for a short time.[2] They also observe...
The Shulchan Aruch rules that a storage room requires a mezuzah, and this is accepted practice. In a normal case, the custom is even to make a berachah on the placement.[1] Even though the owner or renter does not “live” there, it is considered to be an extension of...
No. A bedroom is a multi-purpose room. The fact that people bathe and change in it does not turn it into a “bath-house,” and it is therefore obligated to have a mezuzah.[1] Likewise, even though the room contains a toilet, it also has many other uses and is therefore...
Yes. Even if the room was a mere cubicle, and none of its walls reached the ceiling, it would be obligated with a berachah, if the wall is at least ten tefachim high and the door itself has a lintel. This is common in home offices.[1] [1] Mezuzot Beitecha 286:14:54;...
Commonly, a company reserves the right to reallocate offices at its discretion. Unless you are renting the space, or you have been formally designated a permanent room, you are exempt from any obligation.[1] [1] Shulchan Aruch 286:1.
The status of an office in terms of mezuzah is a matter of halachic controversy. Indeed, many authorities rule that it only needs a mezuzah if the owner or renter lives in the office day and night.[1] It is also not a storage area because even if it has a desk, a...
Let me give you a little background. The Talmud says clearly that a store in a marketplace does not require a mezuzah. This is even codified by the Shulchan Aruch. However, the Acharonim point out that these “stores” were actually temporary booths set up in what we...
On my recent trip to Israel, I bought some clear plastic mezuzah covers for the scrolls that I am planning to put on our new home. I like to see the actual mezuzah, and I have heard that the letter “shin,” which stands for Hashem’s name, is supposed to be left...
The Talmud writes that one who rents a property in the Diaspora is obligated to put up mezuzot after thirty days. Many authorities argue that a bungalow is no different than any other property rented for more than thirty days.((Agur B’ohalaecha 31:3; Sha’arei...
Welcome to the Maven's haven. Thank you for knocking on our door. Kiss the Mezuzah and step right in. Accordion Door A: Let’s start with your first question. The use of part of the room as a home office would grant it a distinct status as an independent room....
Welcome to the Maven's haven. Thank you for knocking on our door. Kiss the Mezuzah and step right in. Performing the Mitzvah for Others A: Although this is the opinion of several authorities,[1] Shulchan Aruch, Kitzur, Chayei Adam and other halachic works do not make...
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