Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah · Siman 285
Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah 285 — English translation
Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.
- 1The reward and mitzva of mezuzah. Containing 2 paragraphs: It is a positive commandment to write the Shema, the Veyhaya Im-Shamoa, and to fix them on the side of one’s door, and one needs to be very careful in this, and all who are careful in this, their days will be lengthened, and the days of their children. And if one is not careful in this, his days will be shortened. Rama: And in any case, if it's out of his reach to acquir Tefillin and a Mezuzah, let him acquire Tefillin and not Mezuzah (Yerushalmi Megillah, end; O"C 38:12), as a mitzvah that is a bodily obligation is greater.
- 2Its placement is in the outer tefah. Rama: There are those who say that when a person leaves his house, he puts his hand on the Mezuzah there and says “God will guard my going, etc.” And so too when one enters a house, one puts his hand on the Mezuzah.
License: CC0
שכר מצות מזוזה. ובו ב' סעיפים:
מצות עשה לכתוב פ' שמע והיה אם שמוע ולקבעם על מזוזת הפתח וצריך ליזהר בה מאד וכל הזהיר בה יאריכו ימיו וימי בניו ואם אינו זהיר בה יתקצרו: הגה ומ"מ אם אין ידו משגת לקנות תפילין ומזוזה יקנה תפילין ולא מזוזה (ירושלמי סוף מגילה ובא"ח סי' ל"ח סי"ב) דמצוה שהיא חובת הגוף עדיפא:
נתינתה בטפח החיצון: הגה י"א כשאדם יוצא מן הבית יניח ידו על המזוזה (מהרי"ל שם ומוכח בעבודת כוכבים דף י"א) ויאמר ה' ישמר צאתי וגו' (במדרש) וכן כשיכנס אדם לבית יניח ידו על המזוזה:
Yoreh De'ah Siman 285
Yoreh De'ah Siman 285 is a source-text unit from the Shulchan Arukh with 2 seifim. Its reading map separates the practical rule, its conditions and the points that need comparison with the surrounding text.
Open the full commentary pageWhat to track
Read each seif as a separate step. Identify the action, the condition that limits it and any distinction between cases before moving to the next seif.
Study lens
Look for rabbinic statements and attributed teachings. The source text remains the primary evidence; this note offers a structured way to enter it rather than replacing close reading.
- rabbinic statements and attributed teachings
Continue the sequence
Parallel sources
Lessons and study tools
Smart source finder
Type a reference or pick tractate, book or part and the exact unit — the finder resolves it to a page on this site and shows which sages cite it.
Resolved to: Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah 285
Open in the reader