Mezuzah: Difference between revisions
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→Having one's Mezuzot checked
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#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]].<ref>Yoma 11a, Shulchan Aruch YD 291:1, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 11:25, Yalkut Yosef YD 285:92. [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9357&st=&pgnum=120 Kol Yakov 291:3] quotes a practice to check one's mezuzot when there is a mice infestation.</ref> | #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]].<ref>Yoma 11a, Shulchan Aruch YD 291:1, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 11:25, Yalkut Yosef YD 285:92. [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9357&st=&pgnum=120 Kol Yakov 291:3] quotes a practice to check one's mezuzot when there is a mice infestation.</ref> | ||
# Some poskim hold that it isn't necessary to get one's mezuzot checked if they are completely sealed.<ref>Agur Bohalecha 39:4 cites Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Rav Elyashiv as holding that it isn't necessary to check one's mezuzot if they're sealed. Agur Bohalecha himself disagrees and holds that it is necessary to check even if it is completely sealed since the classic poskim didn't make such a distinction.</ref> | |||
#If one's mezuzah became wet one should check it immediately.<ref>Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (comment on Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 11:22)</ref> | #If one's mezuzah became wet one should check it immediately.<ref>Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (comment on Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 11:22)</ref> | ||
#The mezuzah's of a | #The mezuzah's of a publicly owned building only need to be checked twice in fifty years.<ref>Yoma 11a, Shulchan Aruch YD 291:1</ref> | ||
#Ideally Ashkenazim should get mezuzot with a ketav (handwriting) that is Ashkenazic and Sephardim the Sephardic ketav. If one uses the other one it is still valid.<ref>Mezuzah Vhilchoteha 13:24 p. 123 citing Halichot Olam v. 8 p. 202-5. See Shulchan Aruch 288:13 and Yachava Daat 4:3 regarding the break between the paragraphs which for mezuzot doesn't invalidate.</ref> | #Ideally Ashkenazim should get mezuzot with a ketav (handwriting) that is Ashkenazic and Sephardim the Sephardic ketav. If one uses the other one it is still valid.<ref>Mezuzah Vhilchoteha 13:24 p. 123 citing Halichot Olam v. 8 p. 202-5. See Shulchan Aruch 288:13 and Yachava Daat 4:3 regarding the break between the paragraphs which for mezuzot doesn't invalidate.</ref> | ||
#A Sephardi should have a mezuzah with a paragraph break like the Rambam and not the Taz, which is common in Ashkenazi mezuzot. For a Sephardi it is possibly invalid and should be replaced.<ref>[https://harav.org/books/stm11/#_ftn32 Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (Stam 11:32)] writes that a Sephardi should have Sephardi mezuzot according to the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, however, if he is found in a house with mezuzot that are written according to the Taz and it would be a large loss to replace them he can leave them as is. Yachava Daat 4:3 quotes many achonrim who disagree with the Taz and concludes that Sephardim don't follow the Taz. Agur Bohalecha p. 98 quotes the minhag Ashkenazim is like the Taz for tefillin and Rav Elyashiv advised doing the same for mezuzot. He also explains that the Bet Yosef doesn't disagree with the Taz.</ref> | #A Sephardi should have a mezuzah with a paragraph break like the Rambam and not the Taz, which is common in Ashkenazi mezuzot. For a Sephardi it is possibly invalid and should be replaced.<ref>[https://harav.org/books/stm11/#_ftn32 Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (Stam 11:32)] writes that a Sephardi should have Sephardi mezuzot according to the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, however, if he is found in a house with mezuzot that are written according to the Taz and it would be a large loss to replace them he can leave them as is. Yachava Daat 4:3 quotes many achonrim who disagree with the Taz and concludes that Sephardim don't follow the Taz. Agur Bohalecha p. 98 quotes the minhag Ashkenazim is like the Taz for tefillin and Rav Elyashiv advised doing the same for mezuzot. He also explains that the Bet Yosef doesn't disagree with the Taz.</ref> | ||
