Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
If your house has a flat roof, the Torah tells us that it should have a wall or fence around it, called a מַעֲקֶה (ma’akeh)
(ח) כִּ֤י תִבְנֶה֙ בַּ֣יִת חָדָ֔שׁ וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מַעֲקֶ֖ה לְגַגֶּ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תָשִׂ֤ים דָּמִים֙ בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־יִפֹּ֥ל הַנֹּפֵ֖ל מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃
When you build a new house, you shall make a ma’akeh for your roof, so that no one dies in your house - to prevent anyone falling from it.
The pasuk emphasizes that the ma’akeh is a safety precaution.
Here are some ma’akeh details:
- A ma’akeh must be 10 tefahim tall (32-40 inches) and strong enough that if someone leans on it, it will not collapse. (Shulhan Arukh Hoshen Mishpat 427:5)
- Before completing your ma’akeh there’s a בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) to say:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְווֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת מַעֲקֶה
Blessed are You, God our Lord, Ruler of the world, Who has made us holy with God’s commandments, and commanded us to make a ma’akeh.
- Based on ma’akeh, there’s also a mitzvah to put up a fence around a pit or hole that is 10 tefahim (about 30 inches) deep. Stairs that are taller than 10 tefahim should also have a railing. (Shulkhan Arukh Hoshen Mishpat 427:7)
- Ma’akeh teaches us that we are responsible for making sure that people are safe in our homes. For example, we shouldn’t keep a broken ladder or appliance in our homes because having these things around could cause someone to get hurt. (Bavli Bava Kama 15b)
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