Thursday, August 21, 2008

Halocho #152 - Don't hang your Mezuzah

A Mezuzah is rolled-up from the left, so that a person opening it would see the word "Shma".

A Mezuzah is not allowed to hang; it should preferably be put into a tube which is nailed - top and bottom - to the doorpost. At the very least it should be glued along it's entire length to the doorpost.

Care must be taken to ensure that the Mezuzah is not affixed upside-down. A Mezuzah has the 3 letters Shin-Daled-Yud (spelling one of Hashem's names) on the outside. If this is visible then the Mezuzah is the right way up.

A Mezuzah has 14 letters written upside-down along its upper edge. If these are on the bottom and right-way-up then the Mezuzah is upside down. Most Mezuzot are rolled tightly, so these letters are not visible.

These 14 letters are written behind the words "Hashem Elokeinu Hashem" of the first inside line, and are the letters following the letter they are behind; Kaf is behind the Yud, Vav is behind the Hey, etc. This is the way Mezuzot have always been written.

Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 11:6

- Danny Thursday, 20 Av 5768

Please daven for a little girl undergoing chemotherapy- TAMAR bat NAAMA -תמר בת נעמה

2 comments:

  1. and are the letters following the letter they are behind

    what does this mean

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  2. This means as I wrote: Kaf is behind the Yud, Vav is behind the Hey, etc. thus (replacing ק for ה):

    יקוה אלקינו יקוה
    כוזו במוכסז כוזו

    Does that make more sense?

    ReplyDelete