How to Hang a Mezuzah: Step-by-Step Guide

A mezuzah is not the decorative case — it's the hand-written parchment scroll inside (the klaf). The case can be beautiful glass, olive wood, Jerusalem stone, or sterling silver, but without a kosher, hand-written scroll from a Certified Sofer STaM, there is no mitzvah. See What Is a Mezuzah? for what's actually written on the scroll.

Printed scrolls, scrolls from non-certified sources, and scrolls that came free with a case are almost always not kosher. If you're unsure, have it checked before you hang it.

Every doorway in a Jewish home requires a mezuzah, with a few exceptions. The main door to the house always needs one. Bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, offices, playrooms, and hallways all need one.

Bathrooms, closets smaller than roughly 6.5 ft × 6.5 ft (4 × 4 amot), and doorways without a proper frame on both sides do not require a mezuzah.

The mezuzah goes on the right side as you walk in — meaning the right side of the person entering the room, not the right side of someone leaving.

For interior rooms, 'entering' is usually defined by where you most commonly walk in from. For the front door, it's always the right side as you enter the house from outside.

The mezuzah is placed at the bottom of the top third of the doorpost. If your doorframe is 80 inches (about 2 meters) tall, the mezuzah goes roughly 53–54 inches from the floor — at the start of the top third.

If the doorway is unusually tall, it should still be placed at shoulder height or higher. If unusually short, it stays in the top third.

In Ashkenazi tradition, the mezuzah is placed at a slant: the top tilts inward toward the room you are entering. This compromise comes from a famous dispute between Rashi (who held vertical) and Rabbeinu Tam (who held horizontal). The slant honors both opinions. The full story is in Why Is a Mezuzah Slanted?.

Sephardic tradition typically places the mezuzah vertically. Follow your family's minhag (custom).

Before hanging the first mezuzah, recite the blessing: 'Baruch Atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu likboa mezuzah' — 'Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to affix a mezuzah.'

If you are hanging several mezuzot in one home at one time, you only say the blessing once — on the first one — and have all the others in mind. Affix the mezuzah with nails, screws, or strong double-sided tape so it is firmly attached to the doorpost itself (not just the molding).

Hung on the wrong side (left instead of right as you enter).

Hung upside down — the top of the scroll (with the letter shin on the case) must point upward.

Hung too low — at eye level instead of in the top third.

Affixed only to the trim or molding instead of the doorpost.

A beautiful case with no scroll inside, or a non-kosher printed scroll.

Left in place for 10+ years without ever being checked — Miami's heat and humidity can invalidate a scroll within a few years (see How Often Should You Check Your Mezuzah?).

Rabbi Levi Backman, Certified Sofer STaM, offers in-home mezuzah installation across Miami, Miami Beach, Aventura, Bal Harbour, Surfside, Sunny Isles, and Hallandale. He brings kosher scrolls, helps you choose cases, hangs every mezuzah at the correct height and angle, and recites the blessing with you.

WhatsApp 845-729-1459 to schedule — most installations can be done within the week.