Where on the Doorpost Do I Place the Mezuzah?

The mezuzah is affixed on the right hand side of the door as you enter. It is affixed on a slight angle with the top of the mezuzah pointed toward the inside of the room and the bottom pointed toward the outside.

The doorway should be measured and divided into three. The bottom of the mezuzah should be aligned with the bottom of the top third (see illustration). In most homes, the doors are approximately 78 inches high. Hence, the bottom of your mezuzah should be no lower than 52 inches from the bottom.

If your door is much higher than 78 inches (90 inches or higher), affix the mezuzah shoulder height, even if this is lower than the upper third of the doorway.

If the doorpost is very low, a rabbinical authority should be consulted in order to determine where the mezuzah should be mounted.

The mezuzah should be mounted on the outermost handbreadth (approximately 3.25 inches) of the doorpost. If the doorpost or archway is very wide, caution should be exercised not to mount the mezuzah in the center of the doorway. However, when there is a protrusion running along the height of the doorpost, some rabbinical authorities advise to affix the mezuzah on the protrusion.

Which is the right side?

There could be confusion as what is the right side of the door: is it the right as you enter a room or as you exit? And what if you could enter a room from two directions (e.g., a doorway between the kitchen and the dinning room), which side is considered right?

Regarding the door at the entrance of the house, the right as you enter is always considered to be the right side.

Inside the house, if the doorway can be utilized as an entrance from either side, the "right of the entrance" is determined by how the door opens. If it opens into the room, then that is considered the direction of the entrance and vice versa.

The laws defining the terms ‘entrance’ and ‘exit’ are multifarious and complex. If there is no door, if there is a swinging or sliding door, or if you are in doubt that you affixed the mezuzah correctly, it is advisable to have a reliable rabbi visit your home to make that determination.

We have young children. Can I place the mezuzah lower so that they could reach it to kiss it?

Do not place the mezuzah lower than the mandated height. Instead, lift your children up to the mezuzah. You'll be instilling in them -- and yourself -- a valuable lesson: if an ideal is beyond your reach, strive upwards towards it, instead of compromising the ideal just because it is beyond your reach.

What if there's no place on the inside of the doorpost for the mezuzah?

When it is physically impossible to affix the mezuzah on the inside doorpost itself -- for example, there is no space on the doorpost, or a swinging door is installed which interferes with the mezuzah -- where should one affix the mezuzah?

It would be preferred to bore a groove, less than a handbreadth deep, into the doorpost and place the mezuzah into the groove.

If that is not possible, then it would be permitted to affix the mezuzah behind the door, provided it was placed on the doorpost under the lintel.

This would as well apply if one is genuinely concerned that the mezuzah will be stolen or defaced were it to be mounted on the actual doorpost.

If there is a stationary chest or some other protrusion in the doorway on the right side, where should I affix the mezuzah?

The mezuzah should be affixed on the side of the protrusion, provided the chest is ten handbreadths high (approximately 32 inches). If it is not that height, or if the mezuzah will not be secure in that position, the mezuzah should be attached to the right doorpost.