Chapter 11 – Mezuzah [or Mezuzot] (Small, Prayer Scrolls Rolled up to Place on Doorways, Entryways and Gates)

11.1) Affix a mezuzah (small, prayer scrolls rolled up to place on doorways, entryways, and gates) to every door of your house.

11.2) Affix mezuzot to every gate of the courts, the alleys, the cities and the provinces of your community.

11.3) Affix mezuzah to the right-hand side of the door’s entryway.

11.4) Be guided by the side where the door hinges are when attaching a mezuzah on doors, which are positioned side-by-side.

11.5) Affix mezuzah within the upper-third part of the door-post, in the upper one-third of the door.

11.6) Roll the end of the parchment from the end of the sentence to the beginning, so that the word “Shema” is on the top. Fasten it diagonally on the door-post, with nails, with the first word facing toward the house and the last line facing outward.

11.7) Say the benediction before placing the mezuzah on a door-post.

11.8) Affix a mezuzah to both the big gate to your house and the small door by which people enter and leave.

11.9) If you are concerned that someone will steal your mezuzah, make a groove in the door-post and place the mezuzah in the groove, or place it in the inside of the house, behind the door on the door-post, not the wall.)

11.10) All houses more than four cubits square (six feet square) must have a mezuzah.

11.11) Only doors that have two door-posts at least ten hand-breaths (about 30 inches) apart with a lintel require a mezuzah.

11.12) Doors with no lintel above sometimes require a mezuzah (small, prayer scrolls rolled up to place on doorways, entryways, and gates); refer to the source for specifics.

11.13) Opinions vary as to whether an entrance with no door requires a mezuzah.

11.14) A temporary residence does not require a mezuzah.

11.15) A three-wall corridor does not require a mezuzah.

11.16) Gate houses, small huts, porches, attics, garden huts, and sheds do not require mezuzot.

11.17) Bath-houses, canneries and purification shelters do not require mezuzot (small, prayer scrolls rolled up to place on doorways, entryways, and gates).

11.18) Mezuzah where children are, or in bathrooms, should be covered.

11.19 ) A house where non-Jews and Jews reside does not require a mezuzah.

11.20) A cellar where the door lies on the ground does not require a mezuzah.

11.21) If you rent a house outside of Israel, you do not need a mezuzah.

11.22) If you sell your house, do not remove the mezuzot when you leave. Include the cost of the mezuzot in the price of the house.

11.23) Make sure you observe the precept of mezuzah so that when you leave and return to your house, you are confronted with His name.

11.24) Kiss the mezuzah when you leave and enter your house, but do not put your hand upon it.

11.25) Examine the mezuzah of your private dwelling twice every seven years; examine the ones on public buildings twice every fifty years.