The number one reason why I tell people not to buy a Mezuzah in a Jewish museum gift shop or even a Judaica store. The Mezuzahs are almost always very poor quality. And more often then not blatantly not Kosher.
A Mezuzah is not to be compared to a Menorah or a Seder plate, who can blame a untrained sales clerk or Judaica owner from knowing any better. A Mezuzah is a specialty item and must be very specific and accurate to be Kosher and therefore must be purchased from a certified trained Sofer. How many letters in this Mezuzah can you actually decipher? This Mezuzah was written sloppily and and as you can see here there is a very interesting scenario. What is the problem? We have the Yud of ידכם and the Vov of והיו and they are practically the same length. A short vov (depending how short) is technically a Yud and a long Yud (depending on length) is a vov. Usually each Shaloh is presented individually and judged accordingly and in context to the Ksav... However here we have a Vov and a Yud practically the same length and one after the other. This makes it a bit more difficult because they can't both be Kosher. The result? I bought this to a Rav who Paskend that the Vov was to short and this Mezuzah is not Kosher. |
CASE STUDIES
Check out my YouTube channel for the latest updates Many things can render Tefillin or Mezuzah not Kosher or at best minimally Kosher. Some of these happen over time with aging and some unfortunately are Posul from the get go. Such as, Letters, words and or Tagim that are missing, extra substituted, touching, Broken, Improperly Spaced, misshapen faded, cracked and weather damaged. We document the problems we find and periodically upload them to the website. We hope that this will educate and encourage the public to purchase only Tefillin and Mezuzas that are high quality from a reputable source, to take care of them properly and have them checked regularly. Categories
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AuthorRabbi Kass was ordained by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, former Ashkenazik Chief Rabbi of Israel. He is certified as a Sofer for both Kesivah and Hagoah by one of the leading experts in Safrus, Rabbi Avrohom Tzvi Vosner, Rav of the Vad Mishmeres Sta”m. Archives
December 2023
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