Upside-Down Mezuzah

Upside-Down Mezuzah

Question:

When checking my mezuzot, I was shocked to find that one of the scrolls had been upside-down all these years! I immediately put it right side up. Afterwards, I wondered whether I should have made a new berachah. What should I have done?

Answer:

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 not transparent.[1]

However, a berachah is not recited when the problem you described is corrected, as some authorities assert that a mezuzah placed upside-down still fulfills its mitzvah.[2]

[1] Mezuzot Beitecha, Sha’ar Hatziun 288:40. Sha’arei HaMezuzah (15:11) writes that this also insures that the mezuzah is placed in a way that the text is “readable.”

[2] Mezuzot Beitecha 289, n. 62.

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