Mezuzah

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File:Mezuzah.jpg

There is a positive commandment to set up a mezuzah on every doorpost. [1]

Which doorposts require a mezuzah

  1. Every door of one's house is obligated in mezuzah. Even if a room has several doorways, each one is obligated in having a mezuzah, unless a room has one doorway that is used for entering and exiting and one entrances that isn't used for entering or exiting except that it is used sometimes to put packages down there, then the entrance not used for entering or exiting isn't obligated in having a mezuzah. [2]
  2. The doorway to a courtyard or city is obligated in having a mezuzah. [3]
  3. The doorpost of a cellar that is lying flat on the ground is not obligated in having a mezuzah. [4]

How the mezuzah should be placed

  1. The mezuzah should be put up on the doorpost which is to one's right upon one's entering the room. [5]
  2. The mezuzah should be placed on the upper third of the height of the doorway, but it should be placed at least a Tefach from the top of the doorway. [6]
  3. One may put up a mezuzah at night.[7]

Having one's Mezuzot checked

  1. One should have one's Mezuzot checked by a sofer twice in seven years, or once in every three and a half years, and it is a pious practice to check them every year during Elul.[8]

The Bracha on putting up a Mezuzah

  1. Before putting up a mezuzah one should recite the bracha of "Asher Kideshanu Bemizvotav vetzivanu likboh Mezuzah" - " אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו לקבוע מזוזה" . If one puts up several mezuzot at one time one bracha suffices for all of them. [9]
  2. If a mezuzah fell down and one is putting it up again one must recite a bracha before putting it up again. [10]
  3. If one took down one's Mezuzot in order to have them checked by the sofer and they were found to be kosher, one should put them back up with a Bracha of Lekvoh Mezuzah.[11]
  4. However, if one took down one's Mezuzah just to put it in a nicer case, one doesn't need to make a new Bracha when putting it up unless it was taken down for several hours so that one stopped thinking about the Mezuzah.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:1
  2. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:1
  3. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:2
  4. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:20
  5. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:3. See there where he adds that there's no difference for a lefty or righty, both should put the mezuzah on the doorpost which is to one's right upon entering the room.
  6. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:5
  7. ↑ Rav Mordechai Eliyahu's comment on Kitzur S"A 11:10
  8. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:25, Yalkut Yosef YD 285:92
  9. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:7
  10. ↑ Kitzur S"A 11:7
  11. ↑ Yalkut Yosef YD 285:93 writes that one should recite a bracha if they were taken down to be checked by a sofer, while the Kitzur S"A 11:7 writes that there's a doubt if one should make a bracha if a mezuzah was taken down to check it.
  12. ↑ Yalkut Yosef YD 285:94
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