Talk:Mezuzah

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[edit] 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)

[edit] Apology

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

No prob. Done it myself. PhatJew

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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

[edit] Article looks silly...

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

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] Professional offices

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

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)