Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Halakhah for Yoma 22:15

ואי בעית אימא הא והא דלית בה בית דירה

Is that not self-evident? You might have said: Then shall come he who has the house to him;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XIV, 35. So lit., E.V. 'he that owneth the house shall come',');"><sup>19</sup></span> to him' [implies] but not 'to her' [woman], 'to him' but not 'to them' [partners], therefore we are told [that this is not so]. Perhaps it is really so? - Scripture says, In house of the land of your possession,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 34.');"><sup>20</sup></span> [which includes both] - Why then 'to him'? [That means to say that] if one devotes his house to himself exclusively, refusing to lend his belongings by pretending he did not own them, the Holy One, blessed be He, exposes him as he removes his belongings.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In accord with the priest's command, as prescribed: And the priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest go in to see the plague. Lev. XIV, 36.');"><sup>21</sup></span> Thus 'to him' excludes [from the infliction of the house plague] him who lends his belongings to others.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The plague is thus seen as a punishment for niggardliness.');"><sup>22</sup></span> But is a synagogue subject to uncleanness from house plagues? Has it not been taught: One might assume that synagogues and houses of learning are subject to uncleanness from house plagues, therefore Scripture says: 'He who has the house to him', i.e., he to whom alone the house belongs, that excludes those [houses] which do not belong to him alone? - This is no difficulty: The first teaching is in accord with R'Meir, the second with Rabba, for it has been taught: A synagogue which contains a dwelling for the synagogue attendant<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra p. 47 n. 8.');"><sup>23</sup></span> is liable to a mezuzah, but one which has no dwelling apartment, R'Meir declares it liable but the Sages exempt it. Or, if you wish, you might say: Both teachings are in accord with the Rabbis. In the one case the synagogue referred to has a dwelling [apartment], in the other it has no dwelling apartment. Or, if you wish, you might say [in accounting for the discrepancy] that in both cases the synagogue has no dwelling apartment

Sefer HaChinukh

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Menachot 28a) that these two sections impede each other; and even one writing impedes upon them. [This is] meaning even one letter that is not done properly - such as if the [blank] parchment does not encircle it from its four sides - impedes the [validity] of the mezuzah. And [also] that which they said (Menachot 34a) that the obligation of the mezuzah is to place it on the doorpost of his entrance from the right, as it is stated, "your house (beitecha)" - and our Rabbis explain it [as] your coming (beeatecha), and that when a person picks up [his feet], he picks us his right foot first. And [also] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 11), "Our rabbis taught, '"And on your gates" - it is one [whether they are] the gates of houses, courtyards, cities, towns, a barn, chicken coops, a hay storehouse, wine storehouses, or oil storehouses, all of them are obligated in [having] a mezuzah. It is possible that I would include a gatehouse, a portico, an open porch, and a balcony [serving as a corridor to several residences. Hence,] we learn to say, "house"; just as a house is designated for residence, so too [only] all that are designated for residence; to the exclusion of these that are not designated for residence. It is possible that I would include even a bathroom, a bathhouse, and a bath for immersion. [Hence,] we learn to say, "house"; just as a house is designed for dignity, so too [only] all that are designed for dignity; to the exclusion of these. It is possible that I would include even the Temple Mount, its chambers and the courtyards. [Hence,] we learn to say, "house"; just as a house is non-sacred, so too [only] all that are non-sacred; to the exclusion of these that are holy."' And a synagogue is in the category of holy houses (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll 6:6), so long as there is no house of residence there. But if there is a house of residence - such as the synagogues of villages within which guests reside - it is obligated.
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