“Should I Put Up an Empty Mesuzah Case?”
A Moral Dilemma for the Shabbos Table

By Rabbi Yitzi Weiner

This week’s Torah portion discusses the mitzva to put a mezuzah on your doorposts (Devarim 11,20). The mezuzah is the scroll inside of the mezuzah case. Just as tefillin symbolize dedicating our body to Hashem, mezuza symbolizes dedicating our home to be a place to fulfill Hashem’s will.

There is a mitzva to have the mezuzah checked twice every seven years to make sure that the letters did not fade or get worn out. If they are, the mezuzah should get repaired.

This brings us to our story. Rabbi Shlomo Gold was a rabbi in a small Jewish community. As a busy community rabbi, many people came to his house to ask him questions and ask his advice. Of course Rabbi Gold had a mezuzah prominently placed on his front doorpost.

One day Rabbi Gold brought his mezuzah to a sofer (scribe) to get it checked. The sofer looked at his mezuzah and told him that it needed a few repairs and the mezuzah would be ready in one week.

When Rabbi Gold came home he had the following question. He did not have an extra mezuzah. Until the mezuzah was repaired, should he leave the door post empty with no mezuzah at all? If he did that people might see that he had no mezuzah and it might give the wrong impression. It might violate the principle of maris ayin, not giving the appearance of doing a transgression. Did he have an obligation to put up the empty mezuzah case in order to avoid giving the mistaken impression that he didn’t have a mezuzah? Or would we say that putting up an empty mezuzah case has no value at all?

What would you answer him? Should he put up an empty mezuza case, or should he leave the doorpost bare temporarily? Is there ever a time when one has a mitzva to put up an empty mezuzah case?

See Chashukei Chemed Pesachim page 442

Answer to last week’s moral dilemma

This question is discussed in Mimamakim Book 1, Chapter 26

Rabbi Oshry told him that if it was too difficult to reveal his arm, he would be permitted to put the tefillin on over his sleeve. He would not make a bracha on the hand tefillin and instead make two brachos on the head tefillin.
Ideally however, he should try to put on the tefillin on his skin in private where it would not be embarrassing.

Have a very beautiful Shabbos!

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