Written by hand
By a trained sofer stam, with a quill and black dyo ink, on parchment prepared from a kosher animal. A printed or photocopied scroll is never kosher, however convincing it looks.
Kosher Scroll
Handwritten on parchment by a certified sofer, checked by hand and by computer
$96
Scroll size
Biggie
Written and checked in Thornhill, Ontario
Description
- A mezuzah case is empty until the klaf goes in.
- This is the scroll itself — two passages of the Shema, handwritten in black ink on parchment by Rabbi Asher Abitbol, then checked both by hand and by a verification program before it is rolled and sent.
- Rolled to fit our cases exactly: 6 cm for a Mini, 10 cm for a Biggie.
What’s written on it
- The two paragraphs the Torah asks to be set on the doorposts of your house: the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9) and V’haya im shamoa (Deuteronomy 11:13–21).
- Twenty-two lines of Hebrew in the square Ashuri script, written in order, right to left.
- On the reverse is the Name Shaddai, often visible through the window of the case.
Sizing
- Mini — 6 cm, for our Mini mezuzah cases
- Biggie — 10 cm, for our Biggie mezuzah cases
The klaf should sit inside the case with a little room at each end. A scroll is never trimmed or forced to fit.
Care & checking
- Rolled from the end toward the beginning, so the Shema appears first when it is unrolled, and kept in a case that shields it from moisture and damage.
- Keep it dry and out of direct sun.
- Ink can crack or fade over the years, so a mezuzah should be taken down and checked by a qualified sofer twice in seven years.
Shipping & returns
- Ships from Toronto, Canada.
- This product is final sale — no returns or exchanges.
The klaf
Two passages, written by hand
A mezuzah is not the decorative case on your doorframe. It is the small piece of parchment inside it — the klaf — and without it the case is only a case.
On it a trained scribe hand-writes the two paragraphs the Torah asks to be set on the doorposts of your house: the Shema, and V’haya im shamoa. Twenty-two lines of Hebrew in the traditional Assyrian script, ktav Ashuri, written in order and read right to left.
The scroll is rolled from left to right so the text faces inward, and on the reverse is the Name Shaddai — read also as an acronym for Shomer Daltot Yisrael, Guardian of the doors of Israel. The case protects the klaf; the klaf is the mitzvah.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
Deuteronomy 6:4
In three words
כְּלָף
KlafThe parchment scroll
סוֹפֵר
SoferThe trained scribe
שַׁדַּי
ShaddaiA Name of God
Kashrut
What makes a scroll kosher
Every letter, in order
Each letter must be complete, correctly formed and touching no other, written in sequence from the first word to the last. One broken or missing letter makes the whole scroll pasul — invalid — and the sheet begins again.
Written with intent
Before the first stroke the sofer declares that the writing is for the holiness of a mezuzah. The intent is not a formality; it is part of what makes the scroll valid.
Checked twice over
Every scroll is read by Rabbi Abitbol and run through a verification program that compares it letter by letter against the text.
And checked again, in time
Ink cracks and fades. A mezuzah should be taken down and checked by a sofer twice in seven years.
The sofer
הרב אשר אביטבול
Rabbi Asher Abitbol
Mohel · Shochet · Sofer Stam
Ordained yoreh yoreh by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and working out of Thornhill, Ontario. He writes, checks and sells tefillin, mezuzot and tallitot, and teaches for bar mitzvah.
Every POPPSI scroll is written and verified by him before it reaches us.
Placement
How and where to affix it
Right-hand side
On the right doorpost as you enter the room or home.
Upper third
In the lower part of the top third of the doorway, within a handbreadth of the outer edge.
Angled inward
In Ashkenazi custom, tilted so the top slants into the room; Sephardim affix it vertically.
A mezuzah is required on the entrance and on nearly every interior doorway of a home, including living spaces and bedrooms, but not on bathrooms or very small rooms. Fix it firmly at both ends, so it is attached to the doorpost rather than merely hung.
The blessing
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לִקְבֹּעַ מְזוּזָה
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to affix a mezuzah.”
Recited immediately before fixing the mezuzah to the doorpost. When putting up several at once, one blessing covers them all.
The mitzvah
The case is the frame. The scroll is the mitzvah.