Talk:Mezuzah

Picture

I want to remove the picture of the mezuza scroll and replace it with one of the mezuza case. The scroll contains the 4 letter name of Hashem, and I would much prefer to have something else.Gavhathehunchback 21:03, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Apology

Apology. You are right, of course, PhatJew. Musta been sleeping when I changed that. Danny

No prob. Done it myself. PhatJew

overhaul...

I changed some pretty important things in this article...for starters, "mezuza" doesn't refer to the parchment, it refers to the case, and originally (and still today in Hebrew) the doorpost. Second, the text is written on parchment, not on paper...in fact if it's written on paper it is pasul. The rest of what I did was primarily just a bit of reorganization and tidying up. TShilo12 07:28, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Hebrew text, omission of vowels?

Two things:

To give the Hebrew text of the passage might be beneficial, if only to give an aesthetic sense of what the scroll inside the mezuzah looks like. This is easily done by going to the Hebrew-language article, though, so I'm ambivalent about providing what may be construed as redundant information.

Second, while I realize that very religiously observant Jews tend to avoid writing the vowels in "Lord" and "God," is it really necessary to do in a Wikipedia article? Is there (or should there be) something in the Wikipedia style guide that says what to do about such things? --Julian Grybowski 04:14, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

I've been learning a lot about various religions, especially Judaism through Wikipedia, so I have seen the omission of vowels on several articles. In most cases, I've found it inappropriate for an NPOV encyclopedia and rather distracting. I've edited the Wikipedia Manual of Style to indicate where this is appropriate and where it is not. We'll have to wait and see if it is revised or reverted, but I wouldn't object to anyone immediately applying common encyclopedic convention to add the vowels back in where they're missing, as long as it isn't done to direct quotes. Unfocused 16:52, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure which parts of the article are referenced, so maybe this is no longer relevant. But the article as it currently stands only omits vowels where it is quoting what is actually written in the mezuzah. Since in the mezuzah itself there are no vowels allowed, that's the way it should be. MikeR613 (talk) 14:45, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

Past second grade, no one uses nekoodot. The reald mezuza does not have it, and it would be pointless to included it. Te also seems like the large picture is computer generated. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.193.129.99 (talk • contribs) .

That's nice? Not everyone who is reading the English language Wikipedia is a fluent Hebrew speaker. Kari Hazzard (T | C) 05:04, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Expansion

I added a section on removing mezuzot and expanded the section on affixing them significantly. Any comments? Karimarie 22:13, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

Seems fine to me, what are your sources? Jon513 17:38, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

To Be a Jew by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin. ISBN 0465086322 Kari Hazzard (talk | contrib) 20:27, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Mistake in the "Halakhic sources"

There is a mistake in the "Halakhic sources", but I dont know how to change it. The referance in the "Bible:" section is wrong, it should be: Deuteronomy 6:9, Deuteronomy 11:20 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.203.47.176 (talk • contribs).

Mezuzah and Teffilin

I added that, "Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 are two of four passages used for Teffilin." Ira (Eliyahu) 09.11.06 1:20 pm

Article looks silly...

because of huge empty space created by template... is that because of the hebrew........... - Abscissa 04:05, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Vowel-pointing in the blessing

Is there a reason why the vowel points were omitted on the word "מזוזה" in the blessing? Richwales 07:02, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

on stairwells and utility closets

A stairwell is not a room and has no doorpost for a mezuzah. The bit about the utility closet also sounds stupid. In fact, writing such things makes the whole custom sound ridiculous. --Gilabrand 18:17, 21 May 2007 (UTC) Oh, and putting in a paragraph about what ISN'T included on a mezuzah parchment is also needless. I could add a whole lot more about what isn't in it (the whole rest of the Torah, for example).--Gilabrand 18:24, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Utility closets that measure 2m x 2m do require mezuzot. So do wardrobes, walk-in pantries, etc, so long as they're big enough to count as rooms. Zsero 00:41, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Question about wording

Concerning the sentence in the opening paragraph:

Many families place a mezuzah only on the front door, but observant Jews fix 
one on every  doorway in the home apart from bathrooms, and closets too small
to qualify as rooms.

I am troubled by the differentiation between observant and non. As I understood it, it was the practice of some Reform and others to only place them in the front doorway, but the phrasing would classify them as non-observant. Are we sure this is the best way to state this? Can anyone suggest a better alternative? --Reverend Loki 23:30, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

The people who do this are by definition not observant. They surely wouldn't dispute that. Nobody claims that the law only requires a mezuzah on the front door; the only question is whether someone cares to keep the law. That's not POV, it's objective fact. Zsero 02:27, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Professional offices

I've noticed mezuzahs on the doorposts to professional offices. Should this be added? Dogru144 20:39, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

I have, too. Particularly at my university. Is it common? LTC David J. Cormier (talk) 17:54, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

External Links Section OK?

Would it be OK to add an external links section so that others can include links to websites that don't just provide "reading material" but videos, images, etc? Thanks - --Itsabouttime (talk) 07:34, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Kosher

Could somebody add what makes the Mezuzah kosher? Could they also clarify what makes the Klaf kosher, or not kosher? Looking thru the online catalogs,I've noticed a number of stores have disclaimers stating that their Mezuzah's are not kosher. One or two had similar disclaimers about their klaf's. jonathon (talk) 19:40, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

The command in Deuteronomy to write these words upon your Doorposts, (מְזוּזוֹת mezuzot,) does not include a tradition of having a scribe write it on Parchment, nor does it command you to buy a fabricated one and put it on your door, it commands you to write it, and it commands you to teach and talk about what it says, and it commands you to do the words in every activity that you do. Doing what is written in the Torah is Kosher, adding things that are not written in the Torah, is not Kosher.

שׁמע ישׂראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד׃ ואהבת את יהוה אלהיך בכל־לבבך ובכל־נפשׁך ובכל־מאדך׃ והיו הדברים האלה אשׁר אנכי מצוך היום על־לבבך׃ ושׁננתם לבניך ודברת בם בשׁבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשׁכבך ובקומך׃ וקשׁרתם לאות על־ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך׃ וכתבתם על־מזזות ביתך ובשׁעריך׃

והיה אם־שׁמע תשׁמעו אל־מצותי אשׁר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום לאהבה את־יהוה אלהיכם ולעבדו בכל־לבבכם ובכל־נפשׁכם׃ ונתתי מטר־ארצכם בעתו יורה ומלקושׁ ואספת דגנך ותירשׁך ויצהרך׃ ונתתי עשׂב בשׂדך לבהמתך ואכלת ושׂבעת׃ השׁמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם וסרתם ועבדתם אלהים אחרים והשׁתחויתם להם׃ וחרה אף־יהוה בכם ועצר את־השׁמים ולא־יהיה מטר והאדמה לא תתן את־יבולה ואבדתם מהרה מעל הארץ הטבה אשׁר יהוה נתן לכם׃ ושׂמתם את־דברי אלה על־לבבכם ועל־נפשׁכם וקשׁרתם אתם לאות על־ידכם והיו לטוטפת בין עיניכם׃ ולמדתם אתם את־בניכם לדבר בם בשׁבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשׁכבך ובקומך׃ וכתבתם על־מזוזות ביתך ובשׁעריך׃ למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה אשׁר נשׁבע יהוה לאבתיכם לתת להם כימי השׁמים על־הארץ׃

“Hear Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh first being one. And love associate Yahweh your God within all your heart, and within all your soul, and within all your ability. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be within your heart, and you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit within your house, and when you walk by the pathway, and when you lay down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates. “

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

“And it shall birth, if you shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your cattle, that you may eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other Elohim, and worship them; and then Yahweh's aggression be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest you perish quickly from off the good land which Yahweh gives you. Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall teach them your children, speaking of them when you sit within your house, and when you walk by the pathway, when you lay down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them upon the door posts of your house, and upon your gates, that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Yahweh swear unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. “

Deuteronomy 11:13-21

JosephLoegering (talk) 21:31, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

I think the article has been made clear enough, that the words "kosher" or "valid" here mean according to halakha, traditional Jewish law. As with any part of Jewish law, that involves a lot of different details. MikeR613 (talk) 14:38, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

Worn as a pendant (serving as an amulet?)

The page lacks content about the practice of wearing a mezuzah on a chain around one's neck. In this fashion, would it be considered an amulet? Is this in any way forbidden and considered a desecration? Is it acceptable in some circumstances or communities? Is a mezuzah "decommissioned" from its primary purpose when used as an amulet (קמיע)? For example, I've read archival testimony of a Greek Jewish couple who attached a "miniature mezuzah" to their infant son's diaper when the family fled Salonika during WWII. -- Deborahjay (talk) 12:07, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, this is a practice which should be added to the article. I don't know the details of the custom, but I know that as a boy on Long Island in the 1960's, I was one of a number of children at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County who wore a tiny mezuzah as a necklace. It had been given to me as a brit milah gift. --Eliyahu S ^Talk 02:36, 2 August 2018 (UTC)

History

Is there any information available on the history of the mezuzah? Does it appear in historical writings and or archaeological sites? Is there an evolution as to style and use? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.162.77.10 (talk) 19:26, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Why "Mezuzah"?

The h letter in the end is quite unnecessary. Any objections to removing it? --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 14:18, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Hi Amir. The whole area of how to transliterate Hebrew on the English Wikipedia is very complicated and sometimes controversial. It has been debated for years. You are of course correct that the h is entirely unnecessary in a phonetic transliteration, but there is also the matter of traditional spelling (in English among Jews who use the word) and comfort-level. I doubt many people would support, for instance, the spelling "Tora" (without an h) even though it is exactly the same thing.

I personally have no opinion at all on this issue, and don't care which way it is spelled. I just want to warn you that you are opening a Pandora's box, and that dealing with the issue may take a lot more effort than it is worth. Hope to meet you at Wikimania. Dovi (talk) 04:29, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

The h at the end of the Romanized word is very necessary and it is the traditional spelling. (Personal attack removed) The kipah is accepted as "kipa" because of this type of ignorance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.21.105.240 (talk) 14:48, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Controversy and conspiracy section missing!

In Europe, many Christians think the muzuzah is a declaration of the jewish plot for world rule, because the parchment inside does contain a written wish that YHWH erase all the goyim (people made of dust and without soul = all non-jewish people) and grant their houses, lands and animals to the chosen nation. 87.97.106.18 (talk) 14:25, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Do you have a verifiable, reliable source for the above claim (which, by the way, is not true as far as I am aware)? — Richwales 17:03, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Removed sentence from 'Affixing the mezuzah' section

I've removed the sentence "Some Jews touch their Mezuzah when entering and leaving the room" from the Affixing the mezuzah section for the following reasons:

1. The statement was unsourced and has had a citation needed tag since September. 2. After some changes when it was originally added to the page it has ended up in between a sentence describing that a specific blessing is recited before affixing the mezuzah and the blessing itself. 3. It doesn't really have anything to do with affixing the mezuzah, which is the topic of the section. Maybe it would fit better in a (new) section about traditions concerning the mezuzah? Wolfhound668 (talk) 15:57, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Remove Hashem's name from the picture of the klaf

does anyone know how to remove or just blot out the sections that have Hashem's name on the klaf pic? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.90.12.253 (talk) 04:01, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

If you're asking how to get the contributors to Wikipedia to replace the current picture of a mezuzah parchment with a "censored" version in which the divine name is not visible, you are probably out of luck: by policy, Wikipedia is not censored, and such requests will normally fall on deaf ears (and will get anyone blocked from editing if they try to defy the policy and remove material they don't like regardless of what others may think).

If you want to learn ways to suppress the display of specific images when you look at certain Wikipedia articles, you might be able to get ideas by reading WP:NOIMAGE — but please beware, doing anything other than a wholesale suppression of all pictures throughout all of Wikipedia is painfully complicated. — Richwales (no relation to Jimbo) 05:16, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Samaritan/Karaite Mezuzot

What's about the samaritan and karaite mezuzot?! They differ from the jewish ones. This aritcle shows only the jewish position. Informationskampagne (talk) 15:20, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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Bibliography

"Mezuzah Info Center" appears to be a commercial site. Perhaps it would be better to substitute another site. Mcljlm (talk) 18:22, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

I agree with you that this is nothing but a commercial site. I've removed the link and also a tagged dead link that was below it.Wolfhound668 (talk) 18:04, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Translation of Biblical texts into English

For a Jewish prayer used in a Jewish context, a decidedly Christian translation of Deuteronomy like the American Standard Version is unhelpful. Both this article and the one on the Shema itself generally follow the Jewish Publication Society of America Version (aka JPS 1917), which is reproduced at Mechon-Mamre.org. I have thus restored the lead to the same translation. Since it's linked immediately before the quote is given, I don't think a separate footnote is needed; if that's thought necessary, we can easily add one. Huon (talk) 22:08, 25 July 2019 (UTC)

Writing on the back of mezuzah

I've made a small correction to the wording of the Additional inscriptions section. It used to say that the Sefardi custom prohibits the phrase כוזו etc. According to the sources quoted, that is incorrect - they merely do not say to do it. What they prohibit, as the quote included says, is any other writing on the inside of the mezuzah. MikeR613 (talk) 14:33, 7 December 2020 (UTC)