What is the halachic status of mezuzot on cars?
From what I remember, mezuzot are only for dwellings. There’s even a rule that if someone will stay in a place for more than thirty days, only then should a mezuzah be attached (which is one reason why mezuzot are not attached to sukkot). So, attaching a mezuzah to a car would actually not be allowed as people don’t live in cars, right?
WRS
My wife (who is Jewish) says that her off-the-wall opinion is that you shouldn’t attach one to a car but you should attach one to an RV if that RV is your dwelling. So a retired couple who sell their house and spend their golden years driving around the country in a Winnebago should attach a mezuzah to the door post. But someone who is merely using the Winnebago for weekend jaunts to the lake shouldn’t.
I’ve never seen a mezuzah on a car. But I have seen mezuzot on places where nobody lives; my elementary and high school classrooms are the first places that leap to mind. Although I’m certainly not an authority, the only rule that I know of prohibiting hanging a mezuzah is on a place where people will be doing things like idolatry or other inappropriate behaviors. The thirty-day rule is when mezuzot become required, rather than permitted - you could hang it on your hotel room where you’ll be for one night if you’d like, although I’m not sure whether you should say a blessing when you do so.
A mezzuzzah is not required on a place where people don’t live. Thus one’s car does not require a mezzuzzah.
I hadn’t even thought of a situation where someone lives permenantly in an RV. My guess would be that it would then require one if someone is going to be living there more than 30 days, but I can’t say for certain that that is the halacha.
If one has a temporary dwelling (defined as living there less than 30 days) then a mezzuzzah is not required. This is why no one puts a mezzuzzah on their succah.
Zev Steinhardt
Zev:
Why are mezuzot placed on places of commerce (restaurants, Judaica stores, etc.) if no one lives there?
Are Jews permitted to put up a mezuzah when one is not required?
Online and at my favorite Judaica store, I have seen mezuzot for cars being sold - complete with the mezuzah klaf in the container. This has puzzled me.
WRS
I want to know too. There were mezuzot on the door of every single room at my school in Israel, except on the bathrooms. There were so many, in fact, that I wondered if it would be okay to play a recording of the bracha for affixing a mezuzah, or the workers would have to repeat the bracha every couple minutes while affixing them all.
I know the answer to the second question. I just spend much time today at a wonderful STa"M website.
When affixing mezuzot, the bracha is recited only for the first mezuzah. No bracha is recited for the rest; however, one should not speak until the last mezuza is affixed (except for necessary stuff related to affixing the mezuzot, such as asking for a hammer or nail).
From this webpage:
WRS