Tag: mezuzos

Mezuzah Mystery

Question: The Pantry Predicament

Several frum families have recently moved to an apartment complex where the residences are virtually identical. Each apartment has a small pantry off the kitchen, and we need to know whether its door requires a mezuzah, and if so, where to place it. Each family has asked this question from its posek and collectively there have been four completely different answers.

  1. Sarah was told that she should place a mezuzah on the righthand side of the door as one enters the pantry from the kitchen.
  2. Rivkah was told to place the mezuzah on the opposite side – on the righthand side as one leaves the pantry to reenter the kitchen.
  3. Rachel was told that she does not need a mezuzah at all.
  4. Leah was told to place two mezuzos, one on each side.

How can there be four different opinions how to place the mezuzah? Furthermore, since we know that one always places the mezuzah on the righthand side entering the room (Yoma 11b), why were Rivkah and Leah told to put mezuzos on the left side?

The “Ten Commandments” of Mezuzah

The laws governing where one places a mezuzah are indeed complicated. The Rambam (Hilchos Mezuzah6:1) codifies ten necessary requirements that must be fulfilled for a house or room to be obligated to have a mezuzah. The first of his ten rules is that the room must have a minimum area of four amos by four amos (which is about fifty square feet). In the Rambam’s opinion, it is not necessary that each side be at least four amos wide – if the room or building’s area is at least sixteen square amos one must place a mezuzah on its entrance. Thus, according to the Rambam’s opinion, a room that is three amos wide but six amos long requires a mezuzah.

However, the Rosh and others disagree, contending that a room three amos wide and six amos long does not require a mezuzah since it does not have four amos in each dimension. In other words, he contends that a normal living area must be at least four amos per side.

Although the authorities accept the Rambam’s position as primary halachic opinion, and therefore one is required to place a mezuzah at the doorway to a room that is sixteen square amos even if it is narrower than four amos (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 286:13), we do not recite a beracha when placing only this mezuzah. Instead, one should recite a beracha prior to placing a mezuzah on a different doorway that all authorities require a mezuzah, and after installing that mezuzah, put up a mezuzah on the door of the room that is narrower than four amos (Shach). (This is the general rule that is applied to any case when there is a safek whether one must install a mezuzah. One does not recite a beracha, but it is optimal to place this mezuzah immediately after putting a mezuzah on another doorway that requires a beracha, thereby including the safek situation with the beracha.)

The Gemara (Sukkah 3a) says that a house smaller than four amos squared is considered too small to qualify for what the Torah calls a house, which affects many laws, including that it does not require a mezuzah (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 286:13). A house this small is not large enough for human habitation.

However, there are several important discussion points:

What if the “house” is not meant for general habitation, but is intended for a specific use, for which it is indeed suited, notwithstanding that it is smaller than four amos squared? There are authorities who contend that an area smaller than four amos squared that is suitable for its intended purpose requires a mezuzah. According to those who accept this latter idea, since a pantry is suitable for human use even when it is smaller than fifty square feet, this pantry area requires a mezuzah (Chamudei Daniel, quoted by Pischei Teshuvah). This explains why Sarah was told that she should place a mezuzah on the righthand side entering the pantry. The rav she asked follows the approach of the Chamudei Daniel (see Chovas Hadar of Rav Yaakov Blau, page 38, who cites several other authorities who accept this approach).

Are You Coming or Going?

At this point, I want to explain the answer Rivkah received, which was that one should place a mezuzah on the right entranceway reentering the kitchen from the pantry. Many authorities do not accept the approach of the Chamudei Daniel, contending that since Chazal ruled that a house smaller than four amos squared does not require a mezuzah, this is an inviolate rule, without exception. However, some authorities maintain that although a room this small never requires a mezuzah in its own right, when it connects to a larger room that requires a mezuzah, the doorway between them requires a mezuzah as an entrance to the larger room (Rabbi Akiva Eiger). They contend that if we were to remove the pantry, the doorway to the pantry would still serve as an entrance to the kitchen, and as such it requires a mezuzah. In this case, the mezuzah should be placed on the righthand side entering the kitchen and not entering the pantry.

No Mezuzah Need Apply

At this point, we will explore a third approach to the above question. Rachel’s rav ruled that her pantry doorway requires no mezuzah on either side. This is because he agrees that there is no requirement to place a mezuzah entering the pantry notwithstanding that it is suitable to its purpose, since it is smaller than four amos squared. He also holds that there is no requirement to place a mezuzah entering the kitchen. Whereas Rabbi Akiva Eiger contends that we remove the pantry from the picture and still require a mezuzah because the doorway between the two rooms qualifies as a door entering the kitchen, this third approach understands that the doorway must be viewed exclusively as the entrance to the pantry and not to the kitchen. If the pantry is too small to necessitate a mezuzah, then this doorway does not require a mezuzah at all (Da’as Kedoshim 286:13).

Double Duty

What remains is to explain the answer that Leah received that one must place a mezuzah on both sides. This rabbi appears to be concerned that perhaps the Chamudei Daniel is correct that one must install a mezuzah on the right side entering the pantry, and perhaps Rabbi Akiva Eiger is correct that one must install a mezuzah on the right side entering the kitchen. Although many authorities object to this approach of having mezuzos on both sides (Shu”t Maharam Shik, Yoreh Deah 287), there are authorities who see no problem with having mezuzos on both sides when it is uncertain which side should have the mezuzah (see Shu”t Binyan Tzion 1:100). I would like to note that most authorities object to placing mezuzos on both sides of an entranceway.

Mezuzah Rewards

We touch the mezuzah whenever we enter or exit a building to remind ourselves of Hashem’s presence, which is a physical and spiritual protective shield. Whenever passing a mezuzah, we should remind ourselves of Hashem’s constant protection.

Mezuzah Basics

The “Ten Commandments” of Mezuzah

The laws governing where one places a mezuzah are, indeed, complicated. The Rambam (Hilchos Mezuzah 6:1) codifies ten necessary requirements that must be fulfilled for a house or room to be obligated to have a mezuzah.

  1. The room must have a minimum area of four amos by four amos (which is about fifty square feet). In the Rambam’s opinion, it is not necessary that each side be at least four amos wide – if the room or building’s area is at least sixteen square amos, one must place a mezuzah on its entrance. Thus, according to the Rambam’s opinion, a room that is three amos wide and six amos long requires a mezuzah.

However, the Rosh and others disagree, contending that a room three amos wide and six amos long does not require a mezuzah, since it does not have four amos in each dimension. In other words, they contend that a normal living area must be at least four amos in both its length and its width.

Although the authorities accept the Rambam’s position as the primary halachic opinion, and therefore one is required to place a mezuzah at the doorway to a room that is sixteen square amos, even if it is narrower than four amos (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 286:13), we do not recite a beracha when placing only this mezuzah. Instead, should there be another doorway that is definitely required to have a mezuzah, one should recite a beracha prior to placing this mezuzah, following which he can put up a mezuzah on the door of the room that is narrower than four amos (Shach). (This is the general rule that is applied for any case when there is a safek whether one must install a mezuzah. One does not recite a beracha, but it is optimal to place this mezuzah immediately after putting up a different mezuzah that requires a beracha, thereby including the safek situation with the beracha.)

Let us now return to the Rambam’s Ten Mezuzah Rules – that is, the ten necessary conditions that require a house or room to have a mezuzah.

  1. The entrance must have sideposts on both sides. I will soon explain what this means.
  2. The entrance must have a mashkof, that is, something that comes down vertically, similar to the way a lintel functions as the top of a doorway.
  3. The room or house must be roofed. An enclosed yard or porch without a roof does not require a mezuzah, although sometimes the doorway to an unroofed yard or porch functions as an entrance to the house and requires a mezuzah for this reason. However, a doorway of an unroofed room or building that is not an entranceway to a house does not need a mezuzah.
  4. In the Rambam’s opinion, a mezuzah is required only when the house or room’s entrance has a door. In this instance, the Rambam’s position is a minority opinion, since most other Rishonim contend that the lack of a door does not absolve the requirement of a mezuzah. The accepted conclusion is to install a mezuzah in a doorway that has no door, but not to recite a beracha when doing so (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 286:15). (Again, the best option here is to place this mezuzah  immediately after putting up a mezuzah in a place that all opinions require one, with the beracha recited on the latter mezuzah.)
  5. The sideposts of the entrance are at least ten tefachim tall, which is between 32 and 38 inches.
  6. The house or room does not have the sanctity of a shul or beis medrash. In the Rambam’s opinion, a beis medrash does not require a mezuzah. Most authorities rule that one should place a mezuzah on a beis medrash, and, therefore, accepted practice is to place a mezuzah on any beis medrash, but without a beracha. Common practice today is to treat a shul as a beis medrash and, therefore, to place a mezuzah on its door without a beracha.
  7. The house or room is intended for human habitation. For example, stables and barns are absolved of the requirement of mezuzah.
  8. The house or room is meant for an honorable use, as opposed to a bathroom or similar rooms, where we do not install a mezuzah.
  9. The room or house is intended for permanent use. For this reason, we do not install a mezuzah on a sukkah.

The next section is an edited version of an actual correspondence that I was asked via e-mail.

Bs”d

Dear Rav Kaganoff,

I have a sad financial/gezel sheilah for the Rav.

My former employers owe me several hundred pounds.  In legal documents, through their lawyer, they have acknowledged that they owe me the money.  They have also made it clear that they are not going to pay it.  The only way to get the money, at this point, would be if I went to secular court, since it is quite clear, based on their track record, that they would not obey a ruling of a beis din.  My wife and I have decided that we cannot afford this. It would cost us more than we would probably win.

However, when we moved, the moving company accidentally packed mezuzos which belong to the former employer.  These mezuzos are now sitting in my lift boxes waiting to be unpacked when we move into our new apartment in two weeks. 

Prior to accepting this job, the employer had instructed me to purchase mezuzos that I would need for the house that we were renting. He reimbursed us for them two months later. 

The money the employer owes me is predominantly from unpaid reimbursements. Frequently, there were expenditures that I made out-of-pocket for which they were supposed to reimburse me. Each month when they reimbursed me, they never paid the full amount.  They always shortchanged me — 20 pounds here, 10 pounds there. At the end of my employment, they owed me several hundred pounds of out-of-pocket expenses. And, more recently, they stopped paying the reimbursements altogether.

Am I allowed to keep the mezuzos, since I was the one who originally bought them? 

Thanks very much

xx

 

My answer:

The fact that you had purchased the mezuzos is not relevant. What is germane is the issue of “tefisah” – a creditor (or other person owed money) taking something belonging to the debtor (or person who owes money) on account of the debt.

In this case, if the value of the mezuzos is certainly less that the amount you are owed, it is permitted to keep them.

Best wishes.

Sources:

The question of “grabbing” (taking hold of) property for purpose of reclaiming bad debt is discussed extensively by authorities.

Permission to do so, in appropriate circumstances, is found in a number of authorities (see Choshen Mishpat 4; Sema 4:3; see also Gra 4:15). In the case of your question, because you are already in possession of the mezuzos, the case is more lenient, and you can certainly rely on the permitting poskim.

A condition for this is that you can prove your case in Beis Din. From the question, I understand that this is the case – the documents you have prove the employer’s debt, and this will be admissible in Beis Din – so that it is permitted to keep the mezuzos on account of the debt.

It is indeed ironic, or perhaps not at all so, that this a mezuzah is to remind us that Hashem protects us, and that this question came from someone whose employer forgot that Who is in charge!

Mezuzah Rewards

Aside from fulfilling a mitzvah commanded by Hashem, the mitzvah of mezuzah serves to remind us constantly of His presence. We touch the mezuzah whenever we enter or exit a building to remind ourselves of Hashem’s constant presence, so that the mezuzah serves as a physical and spiritual protective shield. Whenever passing it, we should remind ourselves of Hashem’s constant protection. In addition, the Gemara teaches that someone who is meticulous in his observance of the laws of mezuzah will merit acquiring a nice home (Shabbos 23b). We thus see that care in observing this mitzvah not only protects one’s family against any calamity, but also rewards one with a beautiful domicile. May we all be zocheh to always be careful in our observance of the laws of mezuzah and the other mitzvos, and reap all the rewards, both material and spiritual, for doing so!

 

 

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