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Chapter 10

Laws of Mezuza

י - הלכות מזוזה

In this chapter (17)
  1. 1. The Basis of the Mitzva
  2. 2. The Parameters of the Mitzva of Mezuza
  3. 3. A Dignified Dwelling
  4. 4. A Mezuza at the Entrance of Cowsheds and Chicken Coops
  5. 5. A Synagogue
  6. 6. Stores
  7. 7. The Position of the Mezuza – Upright or Slanted
  8. 8. A Guest Is Exempt from Mezuza
  9. 9. Renting a House
  10. 10. A Hotel
  11. 11. The Size of the House
  12. 12. An Entrance
  13. 13. The Berakha over the Mezuza
  14. 14. Checking the Mezuza
  15. 15. How to Affix the Mezuza
  16. 16. Removing Mezuzot When Moving
  17. 17. The Place of the Mezuza
10:1

The Basis of the Mitzva

יסוד המצווה

The aim of the Torah is to elevate life in all its components, without exception. Therefore, there are mitzvot directed to agriculture and working the land, there are mitzvot that pertain to the family, such as marriage and nidda, and there are mitzvot placed on a person’s body, such as tefillin and tzitzit. A person’s home, too, is not outside the realm of the mitzvot, and the central mitzva that the Torah designated for it is the mitzva of mezuza.

In two passages of the Torah it is stated: “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates” – in the passage of “Shema” (Devarim 6:9) and in the passage of “Ve-haya im shamo’a” (ibid. 11:20). From here we learn that these two passages must be affixed to the doorpost of the entrance of the house. The Torah further said: “That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children” (ibid. 11:21), and from here the Sages learned that whoever is careful with the mitzva of mezuza, his days and the days of his children will be lengthened. Even the Shulḥan Arukh, which does not deal with matters of aggada and whose entire purpose is to summarize halakhic rulings, took the trouble to write (YD 285:1) that whoever is careful with the mitzva of mezuza, his days and the days of his children will be lengthened, and if he is not careful, they will be shortened (see Shabbat 32b).

The home may cause one to forget faith and to become disconnected from the source of life, from God. A person dwells securely within his sturdy walls and thinks that he has nothing more to worry about, everything is fine. But the truth is that in order for life to continue flowing and progressing, one must always remember the source of life. Therefore, the mezuza must be affixed at the entrance of the house, so that every time one enters and every time one leaves, one will again remember the foundations of faith written in it, including the famous verse: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Devarim 6:4).

Therefore, the custom is to place one’s hand on the mezuza and kiss it, in order to remember the significance of the mezuza when leaving the house and when entering (Rema YD 285:2).

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