Mezuza on a Tzimmer

by R. Daniel Mann

Question: We will soon complete building a tzimmer (vacation cabin) attached to my house (separate entrance). I will definitely put mezuzot up, even if just for the “feel” or protection, but am I really obligated, since I do not live there? I guess that will determine whether I make a beracha or not.

Answer: The gemara (Bava Metzia 101b) does say that the obligation of putting up mezuzot on rental property is on the renter, implying not on the landlord (see also Avoda Zara 21a). While this is practical for a lengthy rental, a tzimmer owner could not expect that vacationers will bring mezuzot with them. Actually, though, the vacationers do not need them. True, in Eretz Yisrael, a renter is required to affix mezuzot right away, as opposed to in chutz la’aretz, where there is a 30-day “grace” period (Menachot 44a; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 286:22). However, even in Eretz Yisrael, one who stays in a pundak (an inn for travelers – Rashi ad loc.) is exempt from mezuza (ibid.). This applies to hotels and tzimmers as well (Chovat Hadar 3:5), at least for 30 days (see S’dei Chemed vol. V, p. 63; Mishneh Halachot IV:134).

Then, the question becomes – if your guests are exempt, does that mean you are obligated? This depends on the rationale of the gemara (Bava Metzia 101a) that mezuza is the obligation of the dar (the renter who is living there). Some posit that if one owns a house but does not live in it (i.e., the landlord) he is fundamentally exempt from mezuza (Tosafot, Avoda Zara 21a). If so, if you never use the tzimmer as part of your “living quarters,” you should not be obligated. On the other hand, Rav Yehonatan (cited in Shita Mekubetzet, Bava Metzia 101b) posits that according to Torah law, the landlord is obligated in mezuza, but they obligated the renter because he is the one who benefits from the mezuza’s protection. According to this latter approach, if the guests are not obligated during their insufficiently significant stint, the owner would be obligated.

Even if a permanent landlord is not obligated on any level in attaching mezuzot, you might be obligated. One possibility is that the fact that you are dealing with the tzimmer commercially, to make money, on an ongoing basis rather than on a one-time basis, makes it considered a use of the money maker (see Torat Hamezuzah p. 104). This is enhanced if, as proprietor, you often have to go in and take care of the tzimmer (see Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deah II, 141). Also, the Shevet Halevi (II:156) says that even if hospital patients do not require a mezuza on their room (due to the nature of the stay), a Jewish hospital would require mezuzot on all its doors. This is not only because the Jewish staff frequent the rooms, but also because of the Jewish ownership. (He does not discuss whether they are affixed with a beracha.)

The approach that the owner does not need to live there like a home depends on the question of mezuzot for the workplace (which we discussed in Living the Halachic Process, I:G-4). The Rambam (Mezuza 6:9, accepted by the Shulchan Aruch, YD 286:11) says that a store in a marketplace does not require mezuzot seems to imply that mezuza requires domestic living. However, some attribute the Rambam’s exemption to other factors – it is used only in the daytime; the market was only on certain days. Still, most poskim suggest not making a beracha on attaching the mezuza to a commercial space due to doubt about the requirement (see LTHP ibid.).

The simplest advice is to affix the mezuzot without a beracha. If you want to find a way to make a beracha appropriate, you can use the tzimmer for personal needs either before turning it commercial or even afterwards, if you do so from time to time. This includes having close family and friends being semi-frequent occupants, as many consider the living use of such people like your own (see Torat Hamezuza ibid.). Note common practice is that one who moves into a house that has a room set aside as a guest room affixes a mezuza on it without a beracha, even if the guests are not constant!

לעילוי נשמת יואל אפרים בן אברהם עוזיאל זלצמן ז”ל