Monday, Aug. 9, marks the beginning of Elul, the 12th and final month in the Jewish calendar. The next month, Tishrei, begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. As such, Elul serves as a bridge, connecting the past year with the coming year. We use it as a chance to reflect on the past year and prepare for the High Holidays.
One important action to take during Elul is to have your mezuzahs and tefillin checked with a certified, experienced sofer (“scribe”), an expert in STaM: Sefer Torah, tefillin and mezuzah.
Even if you purchased them from a reputable source, it’s still important to have them checked periodically, as imperfections and flaws can develop over time. We sat down with some experienced sofrim to learn more about this practice
Creating a mezuzah is a complicated process. The parchment used must be fully processed hide from a kosher animal. It almost always is from a cow, but sheepskin or goatskin could be used. You can follow along the process of writing and mounting a mezuzah with this video:
Learn more about the important mitzvot of tefillin and mezuzah with these two videos!
