“Who Wrote Your Mezuzos?”

My wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, but she then developed an infection that kept returning after every round of antibiotics and after undergoing surgery. Our mezuzos didn’t have any mistakes, but we discovered that they had an invisible, but serious, problem.

By Rabbi SG – Detroit MI

Four months ago, my wife and I were lucky enough to welcome a beautiful baby girl into the world. While the baby was healthy, baruch Hashem, the birth was a bit complicated, and my wife faced significant challenges in the weeks that followed.

Just a week after delivery, my wife started feeling pain that didn’t seem normal. A visit to the doctor revealed an infection. Antibiotics were prescribed and she was sent home, but within weeks, the infection returned. This happened repeatedly – the wound just wasn’t healing.

Our doctor, a highly experienced OB, couldn’t explain why this was happening. A family friend, also an OB with over 30 years of experience, had nothing to say either. This cycle continued for three months, with visit after visit to the doctor, only for the infection to flare up after every round of antibiotics. At that point, the only remaining option was surgery by a specialist.

The search for a specialist was another ordeal. This condition is so rare that there are almost no experts in our area. After much effort, we found one doctor who confirmed that surgery was necessary. We then found a clinic that specializes in this issue, and we decided to proceed there.

The surgery was scheduled for nearly four months after the birth. Baruch Hashem, the procedure went smoothly, and the doctors assured us it was nothing more serious than an improperly healing wound. Still, they warned that recovery would be painful, especially in the first few days.

They weren’t wrong. My wife endured intense pain in the days following the surgery. By the fifth day, it had worsened instead of improving. She recognized familiar symptoms of infection and feared her body simply wasn’t responding to any treatment. It was emotionally overwhelming, and the physical pain was unbearable—despite taking all three prescribed painkillers at once, she found no relief.

Although we wrote in to the Rebbe’s Ohel throughout this ordeal, we both wrote in again describing how much she can’t handle such pain, and begging for a bracha that things should get better. An appointment was set for the following day to assess whether there was another infection.

The doctor’s appointment (set for 12:45 pm on Monday) provided some reassurance—there was no infection, and the pain was attributed to the extensive surgery. On the way home from the hospital, I received a phone call that changed everything.

A few days earlier I had sent my tefillin and mezuzos to New York for checking because of our situation, as the Rebbe would instruct (our local sofer was unavailable). The sofer from Machon Stam was now calling to report that my tefillin are kosher, but had questions about my mezuzos.

“Where did you get them?” is all he asked.

When I explained, he replied, “Listen, your mezuzos were written by ‘that guy’ in Ukraine. It is very clearly his handwriting.”

I was stunned. About a year earlier, there had been a scandal about a sofer in Ukraine who had left Yiddishkeit and continued writing tefillin and mezuzos. Although beautifully written, they were completely pasul. I never imagined my mezuzos were from him.

Then the sofer surprised me with a second question: “Is everything okay?”

I froze. “Actually, no” I said—things weren’t okay. My wife had been suffering from persistent infections, unrelenting pain, and a prolonged recovery.

“Unbelievable,” he says, “these mezuzos are all over and they are causing issues in dinei nefashos!” Suddenly, what no doctor could understand began to make sense.

Needless to say, we immediately replaced the invalid mezuzos with the best ones we could find. That very day, my wife, who had been in excruciating pain just the night before, began to feel relief. (We later learned that the mezuzos were opened to be checked at around 12:30 pm on Monday…)

Since then, she hasn’t touched pain medicine and her recovery finally took a turn for the better. At her first post-surgery follow-up, they declared her fully healed. What should have required another few weeks had been completely resolved.

I share this story to remind others that the ruchniyus of a Yid is truly connected to his gashmiyus. Yes, I know the Rebbe would say to check our Stam often and yes, I’ve heard the amazing stories. But it was so easy to forget that this applies to me!

So please, take the time to check your mezuzos and tefillin—especially if you’re facing unexplained challenges. Ensure they were written by a reliable sofer.

Baruch Hashem, since replacing our mezuzos, my wife has made a complete recovery. May this story inspire others to value and care for the mitzvah of mezuzah and recognize its profound impact.

Discussion

We appreciate your feedback. If you have any additional information to contribute to this article, it will be added below.

  1. Wow this is so important! I will remember this. Thank you so much for sharing and so happy to hear your wife is doing better and Mazal tov!

  2. The places this illegitimate sofer sold to probably have records of who bought his mezuzos. They have a responsibility to contact their customers.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


 
advertise package