case is where one wrote them on dokhsostos on the side that faced the flesh. In both of these situations the phylacteries are unfit, but a mezuza that one wrote on parchment is fit.

And if you wish, say instead that the ruling of the baraita that if one changed whether in this manner or in that manner it is unfit is in fact referring to a mezuza that one wrote on parchment, and this is a dispute between tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita: If one changed in this manner or in that manner it is unfit. Rabbi Aḥa, in the name of Rabbi Aḥai, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, deems it fit; and some say he said this ruling in the name of Rabbi Akiva, son of Rabbi Ḥanina.

§ The baraita indicates that if it were permitted to reduce the sanctity of an item from a level of greater sanctity to a level of lesser sanctity, one could make a mezuza from phylacteries that became worn. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But a mezuza requires scoring, i.e., the parchment must have lines etched in it before writing, as Rav Minyumi bar Ḥilkiya says that Rav Ḥama bar Gurya says that Rav says: Any mezuza that is not scored is unfit, and Rav Minyumi bar Ḥilkiya himself says concerning this: The scoring of a mezuza is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. With regard to phylacteries, by contrast, he does not teach that their parchment requires scoring.

The Gemara answers that this is a dispute between tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yirmeya says in the name of our teacher, Rav: Phylacteries and mezuzot may be written when the scribe is not copying from a written text, and their parchment does not require scoring.

The Gemara concludes: And the halakha is that the parchment of phylacteries does not require scoring, but the parchment of a mezuza requires scoring. And unlike a Torah scroll, both these and those, phylacteries and mezuzot, may be written when the scribe is not copying from a written text. What is the reason for this leniency? These short texts are well known to all scribes, and therefore it is permitted to write them by heart.

In connection to Rav Ḥelbo relating the customs of Rav Huna, the Gemara cites that Rav Ḥelbo says: I myself saw Rav Huna as he wished to sit on his bed, which had a Torah scroll placed on it. And he overturned a jug on the ground and placed the Torah scroll on it, and only then sat on the bed. The reason he did so is that he holds that it is prohibited to sit on a bed upon which a Torah scroll is placed.

The Gemara notes: And this halakha disagrees with a ruling of Rabba bar bar Ḥana, as Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: It is permitted to sit on a bed upon which a Torah scroll is placed. And if a person whispers to you, saying: There was an incident involving Rabbi Elazar, who was sitting on a bed and realized that a Torah scroll was placed on it, and he immediately slipped off the bed and sat upon the ground, and in doing so he looked like one who had been bitten by a snake, i.e., he jumped up in a panic, that incident is no proof. There, the Torah scroll was placed on the ground. It is certainly disgraceful for one to sit on a bed while a Torah scroll is on the ground.

The Gemara returns to the discussion about the halakhot of writing a mezuza. Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: If one wrote a mezuza in the manner of a missive that one composes to a friend, i.e., without being exact about the lettering of each word, it is unfit. What is the reason? This is derived by a verbal analogy between “writing,” and “writing,” from a scroll, which must be written in precisely the correct manner.

And Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: If one hung a mezuza on a stick in the entranceway, without affixing it to the doorpost, it is unfit. What is the reason? We require the fulfillment of the verse: “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:9). This ruling is also taught in a baraita: If one hung a mezuza on a stick, or placed it so that it was affixed behind the door within the house, he exposes himself to danger, and it does not enable him to fulfill the mitzva.

The Gemara relates: The members of the household of King Munbaz would do so, i.e., hang mezuzot on sticks, in their inns, i.e., when they would sleep in an inn. They would not do this in order to fulfill the mitzva, as one who sleeps in an inn is exempt from placing a mezuza, but in remembrance of the mezuza. Since they would travel frequently, they wanted to remember the mitzva of mezuza, which they did not fulfill often.

And Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: It is a mitzva to place the mezuza within the airspace of the entrance, not on the outside. The Gemara asks: Isn’t this obvious? After all, the Merciful One states: “And upon your gates,” which indicates that it must be within the area of the gate, rather than the outside. The Gemara explains that it might enter your mind to say that since Rava says: It is a mitzva to place the mezuza