Mezuzah

1 It is not permitted to write mezuzoth on the skins of ritually unclean cattle or on skins of ritually unclean wild animals. It is permitted, however, to write them on skins of nebeloth and ṭerefoth, and there is no need to consider the possibility that they were pierced at the animal’s heart.

2 One must leave a space of one line on every side of the text of the mezuzah, according to Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar.

3 If a hole was made in the place of the script it is unfit for religious use. But if it occurred in the margin it remains fit. If the letter waw in a mezuzah was shaped like a zayin or vice versa, curved letters like straight-lined letters or vice versa, open letters closed or vice versa, or if the shape of its letters had been altered in any other way, or if it was written in obsolete Hebrew, it is unfit for religious use.

4 A storehouse for straw, a woodshed and any storage room are exempt from the mezuzah. A stable for cattle is exempt, but if women use it, it is liable. Cone-shaped huts, travelers’ stations, field sheds and tanneries are exempt from mezuzah.

5 A bathhouse is exempt, but if a residence adjoins it the outer doorway is liable.

6 A corner doorway that has only one doorpost, or a doorway made in a structure of boards which has only one doorpost is liable. Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob declares it exempt.

7 Arched doorways are exempt, but Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Judah declare that they are liable. All, however, agree that if they have the usual structure below and the arched section above they are liable to mezuzah.

8 City gates, the gates of open places and the gates of Temple Courts are exempt. The doorways of chambers in the Temple were exempt from mezuzah, but the Chamber of the Counselors, which served as a residence for the High Priest on seven days in the year, and potters’ booths are subject to mezuzah. Rabbi Yose declares them exempt.

1 The mezuzah is placed on the right-hand side of the entrance from the street into the lodge, and on the right-hand side of the exit from the courtyard into the lodge.

2 If a garden has a doorpost where it adjoins the courtyard, the mezuzah is placed on the right-hand side of the exit from the garden into the courtyard. And if a lodge is attached to it, mezuzoth are to be placed on both doorways of the lodge.

3 Where small rooms open into a reception room, the mezuzah is placed on the doorway that is normally used. If they are all normally used, mezuzoth are placed on all the doorways.

4 If a number of rooms have doorways leading from one room to the other, mezuzoth are placed at the entrance of each one of them. Rabbi Judah says: If the ladder is movable on the four sides...

5 If a doorway leads from a roof into a room, the mezuzah is placed on the right-hand side of the entrance from the roof. Rabbi Nathan ben Rabbi Yose said: In such a case the House of Shammai holds that the doorway is subject to mezuzah and the House of Hillel holds that it is exempt.

6 In a booth that is set back from the edge of a roof the mezuzah is to be placed on the right-hand side of the exit from the booth to the roof. Rabbi Yose says: On the right-hand side of the entrance from the roof to the booth.

7 In the case of a portico that is set back from the rooms and has no other exit, the mezuzah is placed on the right-hand side of the exit from the portico into the rooms. Rabbi Yose says: On the right-hand side of the entrance from the rooms to the portico.

8 If an entrance serves as two doorways and a wall of not more than one handbreadth in width separates them, only one mezuzah is to be affixed, according to Rabbi Judah. If the wall was wider than that, two mezuzoth are required.

9 The mezuzah is placed in the upper half of the doorpost, according to Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Judah says: It should be placed below the handbreadth from the top of the doorpost and above one handbreadth from the bottom.

10 If someone made a groove in the wall at a distance of not more than one handbreadth from the doorpost, and placed the mezuzah in it, the mezuzah is valid. If the distance was greater than that it is invalid. If someone made a groove in a stick and put the mezuzah in it, it is invalid. If someone inserted the mezuzah in a tube and hung it up behind the door or behind the doorpost, Rabbi Meir declared it valid, but Rabbi Judah declared it invalid.

11 A new house is subject to the obligation of mezuzah as soon as it is completed.

12 One who lodges in an inn in the Land of Israel for thirty days is subject to the obligation of mezuzah, and if one rents a house he must affix a mezuzah at once. Outside the Land of Israel, one who lives in an inn is exempt, and one who rents a house must affix a mezuzah after thirty days.

13 A Jew who rents a house from a Gentile or from a Samaritan must affix a mezuzah at once, and when he leaves he must remove it. But if one rents a house from an Israelite, he affixes the mezuzah at once and when he leaves he must not remove it.

14 One who buys a house from a Gentile or a Samaritan is required to put up a mezuzah, but if he bought it from an Israelite it is presumed to have been provided with the necessary mezuzoth.

15 If one buys a brick mold from a Gentile, he should not heat it before he has examined it. The scroll in the mezuzah should be examined once every twenty-five years, according to Rabbi Simeon. Rabbi Jacob says: A much longer interval may be allowed. Both, however, agree that if it was transferred from one place to another it requires examination. Similarly, water tanks in a public domain must be examined once every seven years, but those situated in a private domain once every twenty-five years, according to Rabbi Meir. But the Sages say: In either case the general rule is that wherever there is a top cover the examination takes place once every seven years, and where there is no top cover the examination takes place once every twenty-five years.