Does A Wearhouse Need a Mezuzah and Do We Make a Brachah?

According to some Rabonim a warehouse requires a mezuzah and a brachah is made. This would be true for a store as well and even for a shed (even one that you just keep bicycles and suckah panels and so forth) that is four amosby four amos (approximately 36 sq. ft.) I just spoke to Rabbi Chaim Schabes of New Hempstead and this is what he holds. I asked him if it mattered that the Rambam says a storehouse does not require a mezuzah and therefore if we put one up it should be without a brachah. He answered that since the Shulchan Aruch requires a mezuzah on a storehouse, we make a brachah when we put it up.

Which Side of the Door Case 1

You walk through the front door, walk down a hall to a bedroom, enter thebedroom, go through the bedroom and enter the garage. The only way into the garage from the house is through the bedroom, or from the outside door into the garage. Which side does the mezuzah from the bedroom to the garage go on? I thought to say that it goes on the right side going into the bedroom from the garage because the garage is only a beis haotzar (storage room) while a bedroom is a real beis dira (room that one lives in). I asked Reb BenTzion Wosner and he disagreed. He said that we follow the rule that the mezuzah always goes on the right side as we go deeper into the house (derech k’neisah).

What Is The Proper Location For a Mezuzah On A Wide Doorway?

 The halachah requires the mezuzah to go on the outer tefach (four and one half inches) of the doorway. There are two possible reasons why this is so. One is so that the entire house is protected. The other is so that we come into contact with the mitzvah at the earliest point in time. When the door in question is an outer door the custom is to put it on the outermost spot (unless it will be heavily rained upon). On the inside doorways, since they are already protected by the mezuzos that are on rooms that are closer to the outside of the house, the minhag (custom) is to put it on the middle of the door frame.

How To Roll A Mezuzah

Here are a few pointers to help you roll up your mezuzos.
1) It is only difficult to roll up new mezuzos. Once they are old they are already round and easily roll up to the size you need.
2) You roll mezuzos from the end of the mezuzah to the beginning, that is, if you are looking at the writing, from the left to the right.
3) If you don’t have an electric pencil sharpener insert you can use a round pencil. But trust me, the pencil sharpener insert is much better.
4) If you can’t see the shem Shaki on the back after you are done rolling it, loosen up the tension on the mezuzah. It can be as big as you need as long as it can fit into the case.
5) Mezuzos writen on thick klaf may be difficult to roll. You may need to hold them shut with a bit of tape.   

6) The reason I roll the mezuzah on something round is so that they don’t get creases. Your mezuzos will last much longer if they don’t have any creases. Over time the letters will fade where there are creases.

7) Many people use plastic rap to roll mezuzos. I prefer waxed paper. I find that it lets the mezuzah breath, resulting in less instances of water damage. Additionally, it is much easier to work with. I can cut fifty or a hundred pieces of waxed paper to size and store them one on top the other. Try storing Saran Rap pieces in a pile. What a mess that will be when you try to separate them!

If you need help rolling your mezuzos please give me a call at 845-290-2546.

Many People Have Told Me You Don’t Need To Check Indoor Mezuzos These Days

I have heard many times that since the temperture is consistent in the modern houses that we live in, that it is not necessary to check mezuzos twice every seven years. I asked Reb Avraham Tzvi Wosner if there is any truth to this and he told me it is not true. He explained that there were plenty of places that the Jewish people lived in the past that had mild climates and we don’t find rabbinic sources that say that they didn’t need to check their mezuzos because of the mild climate. It also is not true that houses had only a front door and no inside rooms. There are many indications that people had houses with multiple rooms throughout history.

Where do I put the mezuzah on a tall doorway?

The halacha is to place the mezuzah at the begining of the top third of the doorway. As long as it is at least one tefach (handbreadth, about four and one half inches) from the top of the doorway it is kosher. If the doorway is very high, the mezuzah is placed at shoulder height. What is considered very high? If the mezuzah would be above the face of a normal person, the doorway is considered ‘very tall’ and the mezuzah should be placed at shoulder height. The reason for this is that mezuzos are meant to be seen, so that we remember Hashem and his torah.

Does This Beam Need A Mezuzah?

When I went to this house to do a Mezuzah House Call I noticed that they had a mezuzah on this beam. Although I understood why they thought this spot needed a mezuzah, they were incorrect. Their thinking was: “Two beams, one on either side, and a beam on top, sounds like a doorway to us”. The reason it does not need a mezuzah is because these beams are not there to make a doorway, but rather to hold up the roof (לְהֲחְזָקָת תִקְרָה). Beams contribute to an obligation when they are there to create a doorway, not to hold up a roof. By the way, they mezuzah that they had here was very badly water-damaged, rendering it completely posel (invalid).

Warning: Steer Clear of Synagogue Gift Shops When Purchasing Mezuzos

A customer walks in to my office to purchase two used mezuzos. She’s in  her mid to late sixties, her life is upside down, she tells me, and the mezuzah which was on her door (for the past forty four years) was also upside down. “I’m superstitious and I believe in G-d so I need kosher mezuzos” After picking out a few mezuzah cases she asks, “Are these used mezuzos not as good as new mezuzos?” “Of course not, I tell her.” “Should I get new ones?” “Of course you should”, I reply. As you may know, I sell used mezuzos because I think that under certain circumstances they are a valid option. But for somebody that can afford new mezuzos, and they are for the house that they live in, and they are only buying two mezuzos, no, I don’t think they should buy used mezuzos.

I offered her a new mezuzahh that was much nicer (better taggim, neater, etc) for $42.00. Her response? “Let me get back to you, I need to speak with someone”. I asked her, “Is it the price?” Yes, it was the price. It turns out she is going to check her Reform synagogue’s gift shop. My question for you is: If a person wants better than a used mezuza, why of all places would they even think to look in a Reform synagogue gift shop? Do they expect the sales person to be able to tell them, “Yes Mrs. Goldstein, this is a kosher mezuza, I know that the sofer had s’michah, and that it was checked over by a reliable sofer who knows how to check mezuzos.” Lets be realistic. It is not a priority of Reform synagogue gift shops to be sure that the mezuzos they sell are kosher. In fact, we all know that the case is more important to them than the scroll that is in it.

Could there be an exception out there? Sure, but we all know that what I am saying is the norm. So don’t buy mezuzos from somebody who is not an expert, and especially from a synagogue gift shop! If you do go into a gift shop to buy a mezuzah, ask them where the mezuza is from, who wrote it, does he have s’michah, who checked it, is it computer scanned, and what quality level is it. After you see that your question were not answered to your satisfaction, give me a call.

By they way, where do these gift shops get their mezuzos from? Often they are the mezuzos that knowledgeable soferim rejected from wholesalers. The wholesalers are not by and large certifying that the mezuzos that they sell are kosher, so if the gift shop doesn’t ask, this is how the wholesaler clears out his inventory of cheap mezuzos. Is the wholesaler a dishonest crook? Probably not. He probably bought a  batch of mezuzos from someone, and after showing them to qualified soferim he realized that they are ‘not so good’ so he sold on the assumption that they are probably kosher on some level, and that it is the job of  the person who sells to the consumer to insure that it is kosher.

Upside Down Mezuzos

Today I did a Mezuzah HouseCall and found seven upside down mezuzos! An upside down mezuzah doesn’t fulfill the mitzvah. I often see a single upside down mezuzah, but seven? How could this happen? The homeowner told me that he bought all of them in Eretz Yisroel from the same person. In addition to being only barely acceptable as far as kashrus goes, the person who sold them didn’t even know how to put them into the case! I hope the conclusion that you draw from this will be, “Just because it comes from Israel doesn’t mean it is kosher”. So many people have this idea in their head that if it comes from Israel it must be good. Not true. I will say that a large percentage of the tefillin and mezuzos that I sell do come Israel, but they are coming from people that I know and trust. I’ll tell you another thing this person told me. His son who is presently in Israel lost his tefillin. He instructed his son to go buy a new set. His son went to Meah Sh’arim and bought a new set. The total price was $300.00. I told him he should  definitely get them checked as soon as possible. Since he had just purchased a new set for another son and spent three times as much, he very much agreed with me that they need to be checked.

Let me know what you think: Do they need to be checked right away or not?

By the way, here is a good tip for making sure your mezuzos are right side up: When you are ready to put up your mezuzos, place all the cases on the table in front of you with the tops away from you. Next, place all the mezuzos on the table with the tops away from you. Now double check that all the tops of all the cases and all the mezuzos are away from you. If you place all the mezuzos into the cases when every thing is set up like this, it is almost impossible for you to make a mistake.

What Rooms Require a Mezuzah?

The following room require a mezuzah with a berachah:

1. Entrance into a house
2. Bedroom
3. kitchen
4. dining room
5. living room / den / family room
6. playroom
7. porch
8. office / study
9. attached garage. This includes the large sliding garage door.

The following require a mezuzah without a berachah:

1. storage room
2. walk-in closet (36 sq. ft. or more)
3. doorway to staircase or hallway
4. office used exclusively for business
5. Bais Midrash
6. a room that is in between 36 sq. ft. and 64 sq. ft.
7. a room with out a door.
8. a room with a door post on the right side even if there is no doorpost on the left side.
9. detached garage

Rooms that do not require a mezuzah:

1. bathroom
2. sauna
3. doors that are used for exit only, like emergency exits or fire escapes
4. room without a roof
5. doorway less than 36″ high
6. garbage room
7. door sealed shut

This list was based in part on the list found in ‘The World of Tefillin & Mezuzos’ by Rabbi Zeev Rothschild

Special situtations:

If one is renting a motel room by the month they should put a mezuzah up. This was told to me by Reb Avraham Tzvi Wosner, Posek for the Vaad Mishmeres STaM.

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