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Are there any Jewish customs associated with moving to a new home?

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Rabbi Eliezer Gurkov: Welcome to the Rabbi's one on one chat room, how can I help you today?

teacher1: What are the customs of moving into a new house?

teacher1: I have a student that is moving to a different city. I wanted to teach her about various customs of moving, establishing a new house, or entering a new community.

teacher1: Do you have any information or resources that can help me with that. I was thinking about Mezuzahs, for a start.

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkov: that is a great place to start

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkov: we put the Mezuzah up after thirty days

teacher1: why 30 days?

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkov: that is a number of permanance

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkov: though some put it up right away without reciting a brachah¹

abbi Eliezer Gurkow: according to tradition, the first thing to bring into the house is bread and salt

teacher1: ok-why?

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow: i'm not sure.²

teacher1: Is there anything else that I can teach the class that she is in?

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow: some have the beautiful custom of bringing some children into the home before moving in and having them study some Torah

Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow: the Torah which emanates from their pure mouths has a powerful spiritual effect on the home

teacher1: that really is a beautiful tradition

teacher1: thanks a lot for your help

All names, places, and identifying information have been changed or deleted in order to protect the privacy of the questioners. In order to preserve authenticity, the chat sessions have been posted with a minimum of editing. Please excuse typographical errors, missing punctuation, and/or grammatical mistakes which naturally occur in the course of informal chat sessions.

Footnotes

1. See "How long must I reside in a residence in order for it to require a Mezuzah?" . (http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/147,2037381/Are-there-any-Jewish-customs-associated-with-moving-to-a-new-home.html)

2. Editor's Comment: Perhaps the reason is because bread is a symbol of food and prosperity, and salt symbolizes eternity, as it doesn't rot or become stale. We are hoping that the new home always have an abundance of food and income, and we are looking forward to many peaceful years in this new abode.

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Torah

Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.

Mezuzah

A rolled up scroll containing certain verses from the Torah which is affixed to the right-hand doorpost of doorways in a Jewish home.

Mezuzahs

Plural form of Mezuzah. Rolled up scrolls containing certain verses from the Torah which are affixed to the right-hand doorposts of doorways in Jewish homes.

Are there any Jewish customs associated with moving to a new home?

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