Mezuzah & Tefillin

Having your scrolls checked

The parchment inside a mezuzah or a pair of tefillin is handwritten, and letters do fade and crack over the years. It is customary to have them read by an expert — and there is somebody nearby who does it.

Who checks them

Rabbi Levi Potash

In Redwood City. He checks both mezuzah scrolls and tefillin.

Ask him what it costs and how long he will need them.

Call (650) 274-2908 Or ask us first — 408-910-2034

Are my mezuzahs due?

Twice in seven years works out to about every three and a half years. Tell us when they were last checked.

Month they were last checked

I do not know, or they never have been

Tefillin: many people have them looked at before the High Holidays, whatever the date.

Why scrolls are checked

It is customary to have mezuzahs checked twice every seven years, and many people have them and their tefillin looked at before the High Holidays. Ink is ink and parchment is parchment: a letter can crack, a corner can lift, a scroll that has spent a decade on a front door in the sun is not the scroll that went up. None of that is neglect. It is ordinary, and it is the reason the custom exists.

A scroll only does what it is meant to do while every letter is whole and in order, which is not something that can be judged by holding it up to the light. It has to be read by somebody trained to read it.

What to expect

They go away for a while. Your mezuzahs come down off the doorposts and your tefillin leave the house. Ask how long when you call, so it is not a surprise.

If you lay tefillin every morning, plan for the gap. There is a pair at the shul you are welcome to use in the meantime — see tefillin, or just come by.

A doorway should not stay empty. If a mezuzah is coming down for checking and will be gone for more than a few days, it is worth having another to put up in its place. We can help with that — see mezuzah.

Before you hand them over

Tick things off as you go. The ticks stay on this device only.

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Before you call

Count the doorways that have a mezuzah, and note when they were last checked
Note whether you have tefillin, and whose they are
Think about the High Holidays: many people have scrolls looked at before them

On the call

Ask what it costs
Ask how long he will need them
Ask whether you bring them or send them

While they are away

Use the pair of tefillin at the shul each morning, or come by
Put another mezuzah on any doorway that will be bare for more than a few days

Not sure whether yours are due, or whether what you have is kosher in the first place? Ring the shul on 408-910-2034 and ask. There is no wrong question here, and plenty of people find out their mezuzahs have never been checked at all.

More on each of them

Mezuzah — getting one, having it put up, having it checked.
About the mezuzah — what it is, and what makes a scroll kosher.
Tefillin — putting them on, for the first time or the first time in years.

Questions people ask

How often should they be checked?

It is customary to check mezuzahs twice every seven years. Many people also have them and their tefillin looked at before the High Holidays.

How do I know whether mine are kosher at all?

You cannot tell by looking. A scroll has to be read by somebody trained, and plenty of people find out theirs have never been checked. Ring the shul and ask.

What does it cost?

Ask Rabbi Potash.

What do I do with the empty doorway?

If a mezuzah will be gone for more than a few days, put another in its place. We can help with that.

Mezuzah Tefillin