The Craziest Question I’ve Been Asked On A Mezuzah House Call

“Rabbi, could a posel mezuzah cause a chicken egg to be found in the lighting fixture in our bedroom?”

She explained that they don’t have little children, and the fixture was installed on the ceiling only a few months before. So could a posel mezuzah cause something like this to happen? I’ll plead the fifth.

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).

A Look At My Students

Robert Hirsch (left) with me working on kolmosim. Robert is an accountant who is learning safrus as a hobby. He resides in Fair Lawn, NJ

Avraham Birnbaum, from Monsey, NY is learning safrus as a hobby.

Elchanon Zuckman, President and CEO of Z Electrical Contracting Inc., one of my first talmidim, and a great friend. If you need a great electrician you can find him by looking on the right sidebar under "Get it done right by the pros I trust".

Moshe Amar started out with me, and is now a well known S'faradi sofer. He is from Spain, and resides in Har Nof, Israel with his wife and children.

Reb Yosef Hammer from Monsey, a very focused talmid of the Safrus Program

Rabbi Daniel Melamed, one of my very first talmidim. He now resides in Yerusalem with his wife and children. He learns in kollel and works as a sofer. I sell tefillin and mezuzos that he writes. Contact me for more info.

Rabbi Melamed consulting with one of the Dyanim of the Badatz. They are discussing the halachos of tefillin battim.

Rabbi Gedaliah Levitin resides in Lakewood, NJ. He is working on his first megillah, and is learning how to check tefillin and mezuzos. Rabbi Levitin was zoche to finish shas this past year! Tzkeh l'mitzvos!

Mezuzah With Window For Shakai

It is a very old custom that the back of a mezuzah has Hashem’s name (Shakai) written on it.  Sometimes the margin of the mezuzah is too large and when the mezuzah is rolled, it covers the shem. It is brought down that when we walk by the  mezuzah we put our hand on the shem and kiss our hand, in the same way that people kiss the sefer torah.  The best way to do this is if you actually see the letters of  Hashem’s name. Some people make a window by cutting the klaf as shown in the above picture, but it is better to simply fold the klaf. I asked Reb Wosner if it is really better to cut a window in the klaf than to just cut the margin of the klaf down a bit. He agreed that once you are cutting the klaf it hardly makes a difference if you are cutting a window or cutting the whole margin. Sometimes instead of cutting the klaf or making a window, people fold the edge of the klaf. This is the most preferable method. If you have mezuzos and you need help folding them please call me. For a small charge I will neatly roll up your mezuzos and put them in the cases. If you would like to see how I roll mezuzos watch my video in  How To Roll A Mezuzah.

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.

How to roll aMezuzah

How To Roll a Mezuzah

How to roll a mezuzah

Eye Problems Anybody?

This mezuzah was found in the house of a person recovering from a serious eye operation. Notice that two of the threetaggim on the nun in the word עיניכם are missing. The word means ‘your eyes’. Since taggim can be added after the mezuzah is finished being written, I fixed the mezuzah and put it back up.

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