Search results for: ""Mezuza""

Mezuza: Removal: Do Not Remove When...
Do not remove your mezuzot if you:
  • Leave your house, even for a long period such as a year.
  • Sell your house to a Jew.
Mezuza: Bedroom

You may not be naked or have intercourse in a room with a mezuza inside the room, unless:

  1. There is a wall or divider  within 10.5 inches of the ground and at least 40 inches tall between yourself and the mezuza, or
  2. The mezuza is covered by two layers (kis b'toch kis) of paper or other material.
Note This is true even if the couple is covered, as is the proper practice, and even if they are more than 4 amot/7 feet away, since the entire room is considered to be one domain.
Mezuza: Checking: How Often
Have your mezuzot checked twice every seven years.
Mezuza: Kissing: Which To Kiss
If your custom is to kiss mezuzot, only kiss them when entering or leaving a house.  Do not kiss the mezuzot on the interior room doorways.
 
Mezuza: Kissing: Custom
Kissing a mezuza (and tefilin) is not halacha but rather a custom to show our love for those mitzvot.
Mezuza: Blessing If You Removed Mezuza
Don't say a new blessing when you replace a mezuza that you took off (for example, to have it checked).

 

Mezuza: Blessing If Mezuza Falls Off
Say the blessing again when you replace a mezuza that falls off.
 
Mezuza: Blessing
When you attach a mezuza to the correct doorpost, affix it at the bottom first and then say the blessing likbo'a mezuza.
Note Do not say the blessing if there is no door in the doorway
Mezuza: When To Affix Outside Eretz Yisrael: Renting for Fewer Than 30 Days
Outside of Eretz Yisrael, you do not need to affix a mezuza (even without a blessing) to an apartment, house, or other accommodation that you rent for less than 30 days.
Determining 30-Day Mezuza-Affixing Period
If you are living in a rented house, apartment, RV, etc., and remove all of your possessions used for living (such as clothing, bedding, and toiletries) at some time before 30 days have elapsed, the place is not considered to be your domicile. You restart counting the 30 days from the day you move the personal items back inside. 
Situation You rent a vehicle for 30 or more days but live and sleep there only five days a week (and remove all your personal items to spend Fridays and Shabbats with a family or in a hotel)
What to Do You will not be considered to be living there; you must affix a mezuza only if you leave some personal effects in the vehicle continuously for at least 30 days.
Mezuza: When To Affix Outside Eretz Yisrael: Buying (or Renting for More Than 30 Days)
Outside of Eretz Yisrael, you must affix a mezuza immediately once you begin "living" in your house--determined by the first time you eat or sleep in the house. If you buy a house but do not move in immediately (for any reason--repairs, you are still in your previous house, etc.), you should affix a mezuza but do not say the blessing. Then, when you do move in, remove the mezuza and re-affix it and say the blessing.
You need not affix a mezuza if you will be renting for less than 30 days, and you may delay putting up a mezuza until the 30th day if you will be renting longer than that. Here are the types of rentals that will require a mezuza by the 30th day:
  • A home,
  • An apartment, or
  • Other accommodation--such as a camper, trailer, recreational vehicle (RV), etc.--in which you will live at some time.

NoteIf you are renting a vehicle/trailer that you will live in but might not keep it for 30 days, put on mezuzas as needed immediately but do not say a blessing (this is the same for in Eretz Yisrael or outside). Then, even if you keep it for more than 30 days, do not do anything additional (don't remove them and replace; don't say a blessing).

Mezuza: When To Affix in Eretz Yisrael
In Eretz Yisrael, whether you buy or rent, you must affix mezuzot immediately upon moving in.
Mezuza: Placement
Mezuza: Placement: Door Frame
Place the mezuza outside the door but within the door frame. If not possible, you may place the mezuza inside the door frame. 
NOte You may recess a mezuza into the door frame.
Note If the doorframe is wider than 4” (10 cm), place the mezuza toward the outer edge of the frame, not centered in the middle.
Note You may attach a mezuza to a piece of wood that extends the doorway.

Mezuza: Placement: Height
Place the mezuza at shoulder height for the average person. Leave at least one tefach (4”, or 10 cm) between mezuza and lintel.
If possible, affix a mezuza just above where the top 1/3 of the doorpost meets the middle 1/3.
Note This rule is superseded by the rule that the mezuza must be near shoulder height.

Mezuza: Placement: Angle
Place the mezuza on a 45-degree angle from the vertical, with the top of the mezuza toward the inside of the main room. If you cannot, any angle toward the entrance is OK.

 
Mezuza: Placement: Balcony
Place a balcony door mezuza on the right side of the doorway as you enter the house from the balcony, if the balcony has an outside entrance. If the balcony does not have an outside entrance, put the mezuza on the right side as you exit the house.
Note If the balcony has a roof, you may be able to put it on the right side as you go out. Consult a rabbi.
Mezuza: Placement: Right Side of Doorway
Attach a mezuza to the right side of the doorway as you follow the main traffic through the house. If there is one continuous path to go further into the house, place all of the mezuzot on the right side as you go further into the house.
Mezuza: Which Doors: Arches
Place a mezuza on doors or gates, even if they have an arch on top instead of a straight lintel.