Halachot and Customs
I Heard There Is a Problem with Closing Openings in the Home. Is That True?
Question
Hello, Rabbi.
There is a balcony on the first floor, covered with an awning and a shutter that closes the balcony into two rooms. One room has a door to the balcony as well as a separate window, and the second room has a window to the balcony, which is the only window for that room. Is it permitted to seal the doorway opening from one room with blocks and to extend the window all the way down with shutters so that there will be more light and to remove the outer shutters so that it will be an open balcony? I heard there is a problem with closing openings in the home. Is that true? Thank you in advance.
Answer
A respectful greeting,
Indeed, it is written in the Testament of Rabbi Yehuda HaChassid (entry 20, and in some editions entry 23) that a person should not completely seal a window or doorway, so that the spirits will not be harmed, because they are accustomed to exiting through it; rather, one should make an opening in it. This is cited in Ben Ish Chai (Year 2, Parashat Pinchas, entry 17) and in Kaf HaChaim, Yoreh Deah (siman 116, entry 122). And it is permitted to seal or cover the opening with anything that can be removed immediately (see Shmirat HaGuf VeHaNefesh, part 2, siman 219, subsection 4).
Much success,
Hillel Meirs
