Hundreds of mezuzahs (pieces of parchment inscribed with specific verses from the Torah, which Jewish followers affix to the doorposts of their homes) that were donated to various units in the IDF were found to be invalid, and the IDF Rabbinate prevented their distribution. Arutz Sheva-Israel National News has learned that the rabbi of the Givati Brigade, Captian Rabbi Daniel Kind, received a message from a donor who wished to donate hundreds of mezuzahs. Rabbi Kind sent them to the IDF Rabbinate's Scribes Institute to be examined and authorized for use. The Scribes Institute found in its inspection that many of the mezuzahs were invalid, and their distribution was stopped. The IDF Rabbinate's Scribes Institute is under the halachic supervision of the most senior experts in the field who rule on the halachic questions that arise. The institute is led by Captian Rabbi Elhanan Mansour, and the soldiers who deal with it are scribes and proofreaders ordained by the "Mismeret STAM" and "Yad Refael" institutes. The institute oversees the validity of the thousands of Torah scrolls in the various IDF units, along with tending to the mezuzahs and tefillin (phylacteries) supplied to the IDF and Defense Ministry. The institute has raised the standards of the religious articles to a high and stringent level, and it uses various technological tools to tend to the scrolls. The IDF Rabbinate notes that this is not the first time that religious articles donated to the IDF were found to be of a low level of kashrut or not kosher at all. By the order of IDF Chief Rabbi Eyal Karim, the IDF Rabbinate set a high halachic bar for their religious articles. "Adherence to the instructions allows for a set halachic standard in the military among all soldiers, and the Rabbinate's motto is 'Everyone deserves the best.' That is the reason that donated tzitzit that came to the military from overseas were blocked when they were found to be halachicly problematic. The IDF Rabbinate runs an instructional center consisting of learned IDF rabbis who merited to be teachers, and they give halachic answers on various topics, including the matter of donated religious items."
