Conference taveng::bagels

    It's just a custom; you don't have to slant the mezuzah case if it
    won't fit that way, for example.  I think the original idea was to keep
    the "good luck" inside the house or room.  Of course, you don't even
    have to have a "case"; you can chisel a hole in the door frame and put
    the mezuzah scroll inside it if you like.
    
    /Charlotte

The "custom" of positioning the Mezuza in a slanted position is based on the
following:

There is a difference of opinion as to whether the Mezuza is positioned
entirely vertical or entirely horizontal. Placing the Mezuza in a slanted
position is a sort of compromise of these two opinions.

We basically accept the view which maintains that the Mezuza should be
positioned vertically, and most authorities do NOT opt for the compromise
position.

Thanks,

Cb.

    Re: .1 on "luck" -- a mezuza should not be considered a good luck
    charm.
    
    Re: .1 on chiselling the door frame as an acceptable substitute for a
    mezuza -- this doesn't seem to follow the precept that ritual objects
    should be beautiful.
    
    John

>    Re: .1 on chiselling the door frame as an acceptable substitute for a
>    mezuza -- this doesn't seem to follow the precept that ritual objects
>    should be beautiful.

Nonetheless, this seems to have been the common practice in Jerusalem.
Many ancient buildings have a carved slot in the stone.  In the Old City,
you often see one newer stone in the doorpost, evidence that the building
was Jewish-owned before the British divided the city into "quarters."

    Quite a few American Jews wear a little mezuzah on a chain as a
    necklace - apparently as a good-luck token, or simply to show Jewish
    roots, I guess (I don't actually know anyone who wears one, though).
    I don't know if these things actually have a tiny parchment inside -
    never looked.  I suppose they are OK if you think of them as pieces of
    jewelry - I would think that if there is a scroll in side so that the
    thing is like a real mezuzah, that you ought to remove it before using
    the bathroom, etc.
    
    I looked around this morning and relaized that some of our mezuzahs
    slant and some of them do not - the bigger ones won't fit in place
    except vertically.  Paul think they are also installed too high - my
    eye level instead of his, but then, it was my house originally and I
    put up most of them.
    
    /Charlotte

I highly suspect that the mezuza cases that people wear on chains are either
empty or contain printed parshiyos.  There are traditional amulets, but as
far as I know, a mezuza isn't one of them.

As regards height, the mezuza should be in the top third of the door frame
if possible.  If that's too high to reach, it can be lower.

I wear a mezuzah around my neck on a chain. It is completely sealed and I rarely
take it off. Supposedly it has the parchment inside. 

Linda

A kosher parchment isn't cheap -- I believe I paid $40 each a couple of
years ago.  It's virtually impossible for anything less than 3 inches
high to be kosher.  That's why I think the amulet mezuzas don't contain
kosher parchments.

Not that it really matters -- there's no mitzva in hanging a mezuza
around your neck.

    Wow!  I think I paid $19 or so the last time I had to replace one - I
    hope they are all OK next time I check them (which I only do every
    several years anyhow - the ones on the outside doors get so that they
    aren't kosher anymore after being out in the weather for several
    years).  Maybe I should replace those mezuzahs with some that seal up
    more, to protect the scrolls, but I really like them as art works
    anyhow.  We have a silver filigree one on the bedroom doorframe, which
    I take down and polish as part of the Pesach preparations, but I keep
    that parchment sealed up in plastic so it won't get messed up - the
    other indoor ones are reasonably protected.
    
    /Charlotte

    There is a rule on how often one is supose to check the mezuzot.  I 
    believe its twice every seven years (please correct me if I am wrong.)
    It is often cheaper to buy a new mezuzah than to have someone check
    and/or fix the old ones.  I bought a couple of Mezuzot with inexpensive
    plastic cases for $25/each this year from a Lubavitcher I trust (so I
    know that they are kosher.)  He also had some that were even less
    expensive.  My Lubavitcher friend told me that Mezuzot are better to
    hang at a slight angle pointed inward, top 1/3 of the door frame, they
    have to be easily reachable and be on the side of the door that opens.
    
    BTW, I don't think there are any particular laws that govern the
    mezuzah casings.  They are only for protecting mezuzot.  In fact I
    don't think you even have to have a case for your mezuzah.  You just
    need to be able to securely attach mezuzot without destroying them.
    So chiseling a hole in a door frame sounds OK, as long as you make it
    reasonably nice.
    
    P.S.  A friend of mine has a mezuzah-case necklace; he wears it almost
    all the time.  It suposetly has a scroll inside it (some of them
    don't), but he knows it's not kosher (nor does it have to be.)  In any
    case most of these necklaces are permanently sealed, so that you can't
    check the scroll inside, which would make them not kosher after a
    certain amount of time automatically (IMO).
    
    Jake 

>    It is often cheaper to buy a new mezuzah than to have someone check
>    and/or fix the old ones.

Pasul [non-kosher] mezuzot cannot be corrected.  I believe the sofer [scribe]
that I use charges a dollar or two to check a mezuza, versus $40 to replace
one.

>    BTW, I don't think there are any particular laws that govern the
>    mezuzah casings.  They are only for protecting mezuzot.  In fact I
>    don't think you even have to have a case for your mezuzah.

In my experience, Lubovitchers don't use cases at all.