Is it permitted to Lower the Height of the Mezuzah so that Children Can reach it?

Dear Friends

Here is a response to a question that Noam posed to me. 

Question - Is it permitted to Lower the Height of the Mezuzah so that Children Can reach it?

Rambam (hilchot Mezuzah 6:12) and Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 289) write that one should ideally place a Mezuzah no more than ⅓ down from the frame of the doorpost. However, it is still kosher if it is placed at least 1 tefach (handbreadth) from the top. The author of the Turei Zahav (Yoreh Deah 289:3) argues that both the Shulchan Aruch and Rema believe that if one places the mezuzah lower than ⅔ height of the doorway, it is invalid.

What if the door is very high, i.e. too high for a person to reach and kiss? Tosfot (Menachot 33) argue that in such a case, one should place the Mezuzah at shoulder length. However, because Rambam and Shulchan Aruch do not make such a distinction, Chacham Ovadia (Yabia Omer (vol. 2, Yoreh De’a 21) argues that one must place the Mezuzah ⅓ from the top in such a situation as well.  

Based on this analysis, it appears that one may not lower a mezuzah in a room so that a child can kiss the mezuzah. At the outset, this may sound strange. After all, we make exceptions in halakha for educational purposes, such as reciting berachot with Hashem’s name even when we are just instructing our children?!

I found the following explanation of this halakha...Rather than lowering the Mezuzah to meet the child, it is better for the child to get a stool or chair to climb up and reach for the Mezuzah, just like the Kohen Hagadol who had to step on a stool to reach the Menorah to light the lamps in the Beit Hamikdash. The message of this halakha is that we need to inculcate in our children the notion that they must strive to reach up to perform mitzvot. Judaism is a system that demands that we transcend ourselves.  As children grow older, b’h this message of always striving to grow “taller” both spiritually and religiously will stay with them and infuse their Jewish practice. 

Tizku L'mitzvot

Rav Bendavid