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- Why
is the Hebrew Bible we use today
- identical
to the book given to Moses on Mount Sinai?
- Why
aren't there two different versions of the Hebrew Bible?
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- What
is the Hebrew idiom that shows the connection between these questions
and the Sofer Stam (Scribe)?
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- Click below
to hear answers!
- CD 2 TRACK 68
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- What is a
mezzuzah?
- What is the
source of the commandment of Mezuzah?
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- The commandment of
Mezuzah in found in the Torah: "Inscribe them upon the doorposts
of your house and upon your gates" (Duet. 6:9 and Duet 11:20).
This is the mitzvah of mezzuzah. The details of the law are set
forth in the Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 285. This mitzvah is
performed by placing a parchment, whereupon is written by a scribe,
two paragraphs from the Torah, on the upper right-hand doorpost
of each door in your home.
Some doors do not require placement mezzuzah. You may want to
consult your Rabbi for which doors do not require a mezzuzah
(i.e. bathroom doors, rooms that are not of a minimum dimension,
etc.) The scroll is rolled from the end of the line (the left
side of the scroll) toward the beginning (the right side) so
that the letters: shin dalet yud (G-d's name) from
the backside of the parchment are showing. Most ashkenazim place
the mezzuzah at an angle leaning toward the inside of the room,
and most sephardim place the mezzuzah upright.
- It has become the
custom among many to place the parchment within beautiful and
elaborately decorative cases. This is fine as long as one remembers
that placing the parchment on the doorpost is the performance
of the mitzvah, and not the case. The main issue is to have a
kosher mezzuzah inside the case.
- The bracha (blessing)
that is recited before affixing the mezzuzah to the doorpost
is: Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam Asher Kidshanu
Bemitzvotav Vetzeevanu Leekboa Mezzuzah.
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- A kosher mezzuzah should
be handwritten on parchment, and cannot contain any mistakes.
The mezzuzah and case containing
the scroll should be placed in the top third of the doorpost
on every door in the house, except a bathroom, on the righthand side as you enter a room,
or on the side without the hinges (although a mezzuzah can also
be affixed to a doorway
without a door, that connects two rooms. It should be placed
at an angle so the top of the mezzuzah tips into the room as you enter. The slanted
position resulted from a compromise between Rashi and his grandson.
Rashi argued that
the mezzuzah should be placed vertically, and his grandson argued
horizontally.
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- This page has been visited
 times since June
2003
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