FAQ

The gemarah in Avodah Zarah 11A tells of Onkelus the convert. We are taught, that the Cesar was not happy with his nephew for converting, and subsiquently sent his officers to arrest him. As Onkelous was being taken he rested his hand upon a Mezuzah and asked the officers if they where aware of what the object was. not knowing the answer, the officers asked Onkelous to explain. he explained to the officers by comparing a king with G-d "A human king sits inside, and his servants guard him from outside. however Hash-m's servants are inside, and He guards them from the outside. He concluded with the following passuk"Hash-m Yishmor Tzeisecha u'Vo'echa." G-d Watches those that come and go.

The breakdown:

The Torah commands us "Uksavtam Al Mezuzos Beisechah Uvshiarechah" write these passages of "Shemah and Vehayah Im Shamoah" by your doorposts and entryways to your home.

We are taught that the passages are written and placed on the doorpost.

A Mezuzah is made out of the parchment of a kosher animal and written only in black ink.

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After the Mezuzah is written, we then check the each Mezuzah to assure that it was written to Halachic standards.

It is common practice to place the Mezuzah parchment into a case and hang/ nail it to the doorway.

A Mezuzah is placed inside a case, and then hung on the right doorpost on the entrance to

a room. This is done for all rooms

except

for the bathrooms and other rooms that are too small to be habitable.

The Mezuzah is hung on the top 1/3 of the doorway at a slight angle as to coincide with all opinions regarding the proper placement in Halacha.

As in the example below, the proper placement of a Mezuzah depends upon how a person enters a room.

See the diagram below

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Tefillin

Tefillin that are worn on a consistent basis technically do not need to be checked at all. This is because "The presumption of kashrus" (chezkas kashrus). As long as there is a reasonable certainty that nothing has happened to the Tefillin (not wet, in a humid environment, not warped, no severe cracking, and etc) We advise not leaving Tefillin in the car for prolonged periods. on the other hand, many seforim note that it is still advisable to haev them checked at least once.

Mezuzos

One needs to check their Mezuzos twice in seven years. This is in contrast to a public Mezuzah that needs to be checked once in every fifty years.

it is recommended that one check every three and a half years based on this principle. the main reason that Mezozos require checking is due to the fact that one places them in a case and does not know what may be happening to them. They are not frequently used like Tefillin, and therefore require a frequent checking. It is interesting to note, Tefillin that are not used would need to be checked as often as mezuzos.

Sifrei Torah

The Gemara states that a Sefer needs to be rolled every 30 days ( at minimum). If a sefer is not used or only used for a specific portion, it is recommended by our sofer to check the sefer periodically. On the other hand, if the sefer is used then one can see if there is an issue and can fix the sefer as needed.

While it might be tempting to purchace any Mezuzah from a Judaica store, the more one puts into the price the better quality oe recieves. One might compare this to purchasing a car seat for a child. As any parent will readally admit, no one wants the lowest quality car seat, and while it might be diffiicult to afford the best one, you wil always try for the best that you can afford. The amount that one ends up spendng on a Mezuzah can not only be the difference between what is considered mehudar and non-mehudar quality, some might be outright pasul.