Va’eschanan 6:9 · unit 6

TT #52 · Parashas Va’eschanan · Passuk 6:9

The Complete Passuk

וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃

And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Chabad.org — 6:9

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to the exemption of bathhouses / tanneries / etc. (structures not built for honor) and the status of a rented house.

Sefaria — Yoma 11b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
יָכוֹל אַף בֵּית הַכִּסֵּא וּבֵית הַבּוּרְסְקִי וּבֵית הַמֶּרְחָץ וּבֵית הַטְּבִילָה? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר בַּיִת — מַה בַּיִת הֶעָשׂוּי לְכָבוֹד, יָצְאוּ אֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵינָן עֲשׂוּיִין לְכָבוֹד. בַּיִת שְׂכוּרָה פְּטוּרָה מִן הַמְּזוּזָה דִּכְתִיב עַל מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ — בֵּיתְךָ וְלֹא הַשְּׂכוּרָה.

English: One might have thought even a privy, a tannery, a bathhouse and a immersion-house? The verse says “house” — just as a house is made for honor, these that are not made for honor are excluded. A rented house is exempt from mezuzah, as it is written “on the doorposts of your house” — your house, and not a rented one (biblical exemption; rabbinic obligation may still apply).

On the daf / in context: Structures whose use is not honorable, and (on the biblical level) rented dwellings, fall outside the strict reading of “beisecha.”

Type of Learning

Diyuk of “bayis” as a structure of honor, and of “beisecha” as excluding a rented house on the biblical level.

What Is Learned

Bathhouses, tanneries and similar non-honorable structures are exempt; a rented house is biblically exempt (though a rabbinic obligation may still rest on the occupant).