THE MITZVAH
OF
MEZUZA
Placing Mezuzas on your door posts
fulfills a mitzvah (Biblical commandment)
found in the Torah (5 books of Moses)
A Mezuza (מְזוּזָה) is a piece of parchment paper
with a prayer on it called the 'Shma Yisrael' (Hear O' Israel)
- You can buy a Mezuza at a Judaica store in your community or on an on-line Judaica store
- When you buy a Mezuza, it usually has the prayer inside of a decorative container like those pictured above
- The day you move into your home, you nail a Mezuza to the door post of each of the doors starting with the front door
- If you are moving into a rented home, apartment or office, you have up to 30 days to put up a Mezuza
- A Mezuza can be installed during the day or at night
- If a room has 2 doors, both should have a Mezuza
- A storage or utility room that is in regular use, such as a garage or boiler room should have a Mezuza
- A hallway that has a door & is used to reach rooms that have a Mezuza must also have a Mezuza
- If you have a camper that your family uses for trips, it should have a Mezuzah on the entry door
- You do not put a Mezuza on a bathroom door, closet or pantry door
- A Succah doesn't require a Mezuza
HOW TO PLACE THE MEZUZA
- Stand outside the door & place the Mezuza on the right doorpost
- It should be placed at the bottom of the the upper third of the doorpost
but if that's not possible it should still be at least 4 inches from the top of the doorpost - Ashkenazim attach the Mezuza at an angle with the top slanting into the room
- Sephardim attach the Mezuza in a vertical upright position
- Most people use nails or screws to place the Mezuza to the door post but some are sold with 2 sided tape
- After the first Mezuza is in place you say the blessing (bracha) that is below in either Hebrew, Transliteration or English.
- When you are putting up more than one Mezuza you only say the blessing (bracha) one time to cover all the mezuzos
- You should not talk, text, answer phones or take care of something you left on the stove until all the mezuzos are put up.
HEBREW
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ
בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ לִקְבֹּעַ מְזוּזָה
TRANSLITERATION
Baruch Atah Adonai el'oh'heinu melech ha'olam
asher ki'di'shanu b'mitzvo'sov v'tsee'va'nu lik'bo'ah Mezuzah
ENGLISH
Blessed art Thou, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe
who has sanctified us with his commandments
& commanded us to attach the Mezuza
Copyright © 2012 - 2017 KosherWoman.com
All rights reserved
