Conference taveng::bagels

    Check in a siddur for the blessing for affixing a mezuzah - if I
    remember right it is only one sentence long, and follows the usual
    bracha formula, so you really only need to know what the last three
    words are.
    
    The mezuzah goes on the frame of the door (inside of the frame is OK too,
    or inside the door if mounting on the frame isn't feasible) at around
    eye level.  There is a tradition to mount it tilted so that the top is
    tipped toward the inside of the room/house/enclosure.  You should put
    them on doors to real rooms (bathrooms, storerooms, and closets don't
    get one), and on gates.  If you have an archway that does not contain a
    door, if the top of the arch is not the ceiling of the room then it
    technically should get a mezuzah but doesn't need one if the opening
    doesn't form an archway.  Most people don't think you need a mezuzah
    for the garage door used by the car, so I don't have one there myself.
    Some people only put one on the main entrance to their home.
    
    I think the general opinion is that you do not need mezuzahs for a
    building that is not one people live in.  That is, if you have a
    workshop in the back of your detached garage, or a toolshed, it doesn't
    need a mezuzah.  Your office doesn't need one either (my office doesn't
    have a "door" anyhow).  Some people, though, take a larger
    interpretation of what spaces they "live" in and put mezuzahs
    everywhere they spend significant amounts of time.
    
    For practical considerations: don't put silver or brass mezuzot on
    outside doors, or you will be always polishing them!  Also, you are
    supposed to take them down once in a while (I forget the interval -
    maybe 7 years?) to see if the scrolls inside are still kosher.  So, you
    want to get the type that enclose the scroll in a weatherproof sort of
    way for mezuzot on outside doors, or you will end up replacing the
    scrolls every time you check them.  Only the scroll is important, of
    course; it doesn't matter what sort of container, fancy or simple, it
    is put in - you can even chisel out a slot in the door frame and put
    the scroll in there if you want.
    
    /Charlotte
                                    

>>    What is the correct bracha for putting mezuzot on your doors?  The
>>    correct algorithm?  Thanks.
    
>>    Sid (who bought his house two months ago and still hasn't put the
>>    mezuzot on the doors)

	boruch atah hashem elokainu melech ha'olam asher kiddishanu
	b'misvotav vistivanu likboa mezzuzah

	You should hold the mezzuzah case against the desired location,
	make the brocha, and fasten it down without speaking or any
	other interruption.

	The "correct algorithm" is quite simple in theory, but complex
	in practice...  There are some books on the subject, but it
	is usually better to work with a competent Rav.

	BTW, the accepted opinion is that you need to affix the mezzuzot
	ASAP; some rulings are that the time should be less than 30
	days -- some rulings, even less.

don

I don't think anyone's mentioned that the mezuza goes on the right as you
enter the room.  It should be in the top third of the doorway, although
I believe that if that would make it unreachable, it can be lower.

re .1:

>                                                           You should put
>    them on doors to real rooms (bathrooms, storerooms, and closets don't
>    get one), and on gates.

Storerooms and closets *do* require a mezuza if they're large enough
(16 square amos, 36 square feet).  I recently realized that we have
three closets that are big enough to require a mezuza.  Since kosher
mezuzas are expensive (I paid $40 each), this can be an expensive
proposition.

>                             If you have an archway that does not contain a
>    door, if the top of the arch is not the ceiling of the room then it
>    technically should get a mezuzah but doesn't need one if the opening
>    doesn't form an archway.

I believe that if there's a doorpost, a mezuza is required even if there's
no lintel.  As Don pointed out, a competent rabbi should be consulted for
cases that aren't straightforward.

>                              Most people don't think you need a mezuzah
>    for the garage door used by the car, so I don't have one there myself.

If it's an attached garage that you use to enter the house, I believe that
all authorities hold that a mezuza is required.  If it's detached, there
are varying opinions.


>    I think the general opinion is that you do not need mezuzahs for a
>    building that is not one people live in.  That is, if you have a
>    workshop in the back of your detached garage, or a toolshed, it doesn't
>    need a mezuzah.

Again, many authorities hold that if you use it, even once in a while, it
requires a mezuza.

>                     Your office doesn't need one either (my office doesn't
>    have a "door" anyhow).

I believe the fact that you don't own your office provides the "heter."

>                                                          Also, you are
>    supposed to take them down once in a while (I forget the interval -
>    maybe 7 years?) to see if the scrolls inside are still kosher.

Twice in 7 years (every 3.5 years).  There are all kinds of stories about
people having personal problems having their mezuzas checked and finding
them "pasul" (not kosher).  A friend of mine who has lost most of her
hearing had her mezuzas checked and found the word "shma" (hear) was
defective.

>                you can even chisel out a slot in the door frame and put
>    the scroll in there if you want.

There are many houses in the so-called Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem
that have one new stone on the right doorpost.  It's clear from this
that these were once Jewish homes despite the claims of the Arabs.

I believe that in the diaspora, you have 30 days to put it up (maybe
the assumption is that the diaspora is considered temporary unless shown
otherwise), while in Israel the mezuza has to be put up immediately.

>There are all kinds of stories about
>people having personal problems having their mezuzas checked and finding
>them "pasul" (not kosher).  

Since some statistics show that 90% of the mezuzot are "p'sulot", this is not
surprising.  I'd be interested to hear about people who had "good things"
happen to them, and they checked their mezuzot.  Perhaps they would also
find the mezuzot psulot.  

There's a tendency (especially among the Lubavitch) to place a great deal
of emphasis on the connection between bad things happening and the mezuzot.
I'm sure there are sources for this (the name "shadai" on the mezuza can be
said to stand for "shomer daltot Yisrael" (Guardian of the Doors of Israel))
implying that the mezuza, besides being a positive commandment (which should
be enough reason to observe it) is some kind of amulet.  Maybe I am guilty
of oversimplifying, but it seems to me to border on idol-worship sometimes.

Perhaps this isn't the note to discuss it, but here goes.  Isn't the
issue of "zaddik v'ra lo, rasha v'tov lo" (why bad things happen to good
people and vice versa) too important to be explained by a missing letter on
a mezuza?  Again, lest I be misunderstood, I am not lessening the importance
of having kosher mezuzot.  I just believe the reason for doing so should be
the mitzva itself, and not its connection to "bad things happenning".

Sid

    The difference between the diaspora and Israel rergarding waiting 30
    days is ONLY with regard to houses/flats which have been rented. If the
    house/flat has been purchased then there is NO difference and the
    Mezuzah should be put up immediately.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Cb.