by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com It is a question that comes up quite often: When are we allowed to remove our Mezuzos? Can we do so when we move? What about during the summer time? In the following article this issue will be explored. Prohibition IF A PERSON is moving out of his house or apartment and the next tenant is Jewish it is forbidden to remove the Mezuzos (SA YD 291:2). The Talmud (Bava Metziah 102b) states as follows: One who rents a house to his friend, it is upon the tenant to affix the Mezuzah. And when he leaves he may not take the Mezuzah in hand and depart. The same passage in the Talmud also relates a very tragic story regarding a person who removed his Mezuzos. The Mezuzah has 713 letters in it. This fits the Gematria of the verse in Bereishis (42:22), “vegam damo hinay nidrash.” If, however, the landlord is a gentile, and the next tenant is a Jew but has not yet signed a lease agreement, the Mezuzah may be removed. If the next tenant has signed a lease it is questionable whether the Mezuzah may be removed (ruling of Rav Dovid Kviat zatzal, cited in Mezuzah a Comprehensive Guide). Rav Yaakov Breish ruled (Chelkas Yaakov YD #159) that whenever a landlord is a gentile it is always permitted to remove the Mezuzah when leaving out of concern that the Mezuzah may be maltreated. Rav Henkin zt”l had ruled that if the apartment will be painted before the next tenant moves in then the Mezuzah should be removed. Reason for the Prohibition There are a number of explanations for this Halachah: • Rav Achai Gaon (Sheitos Parshas Shlach 126) writes that removing a Mezuzah from its active function in a Mitzvah is a disgrace to the Mezuzah. This reason applies only when the Mezuzah is not to be used upon another doorpost. • Even though it is permitted for a person to remove Tzitzis from one garment and place them on another garment, here it is forbidden because negative spiritual forces (mazikin) that affect Jewish people come into a home that does not have a Mezuzah. According to Tosfos (BM 102b “Lo Yitlena b’yado”), when the Mezuzos are removed it is as if the person damaged the new tenants himself. Extent of Prohibition It is even forbidden to remove a Mezuzah from a place that, when it was first placed, did not definitely require a Mezuzah in the first place (Chovas HaDar page 18). Even if the house is to remain empty after he has moved out, it is still forbidden to remove the Mezuzos (She’ailas Yaavetz II #117). Next Tenant’s Obligation to Pay If the next tenant is a Jew, one is permitted to ask him to pay for the value of the Mezuzos. If he refuses to pay for them they may not be removed. One is permitted, however, to replace these Mezuzos with less expensive Mezuzos (Minchas Yitzchok V #110:2. See, however, Chelkas Yaakov YD #160 who possibly dissents). Since there is a dispute among the Poskim as to whether this is permitted, however, it is preferable to remove them for inspection, and then replace them with the less expensive Mezuzos. The new tenant is obligated to pay for […]
The post Wait! Don’t Remove That Mezuzah! appeared first on The Yeshiva World.