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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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