After a Life-Changing Car Accident, Mezuzahs Were Checked – The Unexpected Discovery

Rabbi Yitzchak Kalitzkin, a young husband and father from Beitar Illit, was severely injured in a serious car accident last Wednesday. As his loved ones rallied around him in prayer, his brother felt moved to do something more—and decided to check the mezuzahs in Yitzchak’s home.

The mezuzahs were brought to an experienced, G-d-fearing scribe. As he carefully examined them, his face suddenly turned pale. “The person who wrote these mezuzahs didn’t take their holy task seriously,” he said quietly. “These aren’t just flawed—they were written without care or intention. You can tell right away they weren’t prepared with proper reverence.”

Yitzchak’s brother was stunned. “How can you tell that just by looking?” he asked.

The scribe explained that beyond the basic halachic requirements for a kosher mezuzah—like correct letter shapes, spacing, and crowns—there’s also a spiritual depth that matters. “According to ancient Kabbalistic teachings, each letter carries layers of meaning,” he said. “Take the letter lamed, for example. It has two parts that must be perfectly balanced—symbolizing Hashem’s name and the harmony between mercy and judgment. When that balance is off—like when the left spike is higher than the right—it can reflect the opposite of what we want: judgment overpowering mercy.”

He showed where crowns were missing and where left-sided spikes were higher than the right—details that can easily be overlooked unless someone is truly mindful of the holiness behind every stroke of the pen.

Rabbi David Kalitzkin, Yitzchak’s father, shared that the apartment Yitzchak lives in is a rental, and the mezuzahs were already there when he moved in. “They likely came from an unknown source,” he said. “As soon as I heard, I arranged for beautiful, kosher mezuzahs to be brought into his home.”

He added a heartfelt request: “If your mezuzahs haven’t been checked in a while—or if you don’t know who wrote them—please, have them examined by a knowledgeable, God-fearing scribe. And if you can, do it in the merit of a full and speedy recovery for Yitzchak ben Basya. Every bit of spiritual care matters.”