Question:
Good day, I am a gentile residing in a predominantly Jewish suburb. We’ve been close friends with our Jewish neighbors for well over 20 years. The husband passed away last year and the estate was declared insolvent. The widow and her son could no longer afford to stay in the house and were recently forced to move out to more affordable home. I have subsequently found out that the new owners are gentiles, but the transfer of ownership can still take a few weeks. Will it be acceptable, as a gentile, for me to carefully remove the Mezuzah so that I can give them to the widow? If so, are there any precautions or storage requirements? (I shall deliver it personally to her new home within the week). Thank you for your advice. Kind regards
Coenraad
Answer:
Thank you for reaching out to us.
That is so nice and thoughtful of you to want to remove the mezuza in order to respectfully return it to its Jewish owner. When you take the mezuza off, it should be done with care, and the mezuza after the mezuza is removed it should be brought to its owner. The mezuza should not be brought into a bathroom, or other unclean place as this is disrespectful to it. I am sure that G-d will reward you nicely for the kindness that you are showing to the mezuza that has His holy name written in it.
Best wishes
Sources:
That’s very kind of him… It sounds as if he is only talking about the front door. I wonder if he is aware that there may be more mezuzos inside the house that he could also try to recover for them…
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