Kosher Handwritten Mezuzah Scroll — 6 or 7 cm Klaf, Certified Sofer

Description

This is the mezuzah itself — the klaf, the hand-written parchment scroll that goes inside the case. Everything else is a container.

Written by hand, the way it has to be

A kosher mezuzah is written by a trained sofer STaM with a quill and specially prepared ink, on parchment from a kosher animal. Nothing about it can be printed, stamped, or mechanically reproduced. The text runs 713 letters across two passages from Deuteronomy — the Shema (6:4–9) and V’haya Im Shamoa (11:13–21) — and every letter must be formed correctly, in order, with the proper spacing between words and lines. A single missing, broken, or touching letter renders the whole scroll invalid.

Checked twice

Each scroll is scanned by computer to catch letter formation, spacing, and sequence errors, then reviewed by a certified sofer. Computer checking catches what the eye misses; a sofer catches what software can’t judge. You get both.

Rolled and ready

The parchment arrives rolled, not flat, so it slides directly into a standard case sized for a 6–7 cm scroll.

Affixing it

The mezuzah goes on the right-hand doorpost as you enter, in the upper third of the frame. Ashkenazi custom is to angle it with the top pointing into the room; Sephardi custom is to mount it vertically. It belongs on the entry door and on the doorways of the rooms inside the home, not just the front door.

Caring for it

A klaf should be examined by a sofer twice every seven years — ink cracks and fades with humidity and time, and a scroll that was kosher when you hung it may not stay that way. A scroll that becomes invalid isn’t thrown away; it’s placed in a genizah.

Please note: this listing is for the scroll only. Mezuzah cases are sold separately — be sure your case is sized for a 6–7 cm klaf.