Jewish tradition treats livelihood (parnassah) as a gift of God to be sought with honest work and prayer. When a Jewish family opens a shop, office or workshop, several customs mark the occasion and seek blessing on it: affixing a mezuzah to the doorposts, setting aside a share of income for charity, reciting the biblical passage of the manna as a prayer for sustenance, and hanging a business blessing. These are religious practices rather than magic, and they are inseparable from the duty of honest dealing. Those who keep Jewish law will want to consult their own rabbi on the details.

How to do it§

Prepare the premises. Before opening, ensure the place is clean and ready. Check that the mezuzah scroll is kosher: handwritten by a qualified scribe on parchment, not printed. A case alone is not a mezuzah.
Affix the mezuzah. Fix it on the right-hand doorpost as one enters, in the upper third of the doorpost, slanting with the top towards the inside where that is the local custom. Before affixing, the blessing "who has sanctified us by His commandments and commanded us to affix a mezuzah" is said; because opinions differ on whether every business requires a mezuzah, many rabbis advise affixing it on a business without the blessing, or saying the blessing over a doorway that clearly requires one.
Set out a tzedakah box. Place a charity box by the till or desk and give from the first income. Many observant Jews set aside a tenth of their earnings (ma'aser kesafim) for charity, and the Talmud (Taanit 9a) reads the verse "you shall surely tithe" as a promise that the tither will become wealthy.
Read Parashat ha-Man. Read Exodus 16:4–36, the account of the manna in the wilderness, which teaches that each person received what they needed day by day. Some recite it daily for livelihood; a popular custom reads it twice in Hebrew and once in Aramaic translation on the Tuesday of the week of the portion Beshalach.
Pray for sustenance. Add Psalm 23 or Psalm 145, whose verse "You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favour" is traditionally said with special concentration, and ask in your own words for an honest and sufficient livelihood. If you have a birkat ha-esek plaque, hang it where it will be seen and read.
Celebrate. Invite friends and family for a small gathering, make a blessing over wine or grape juice and food, and wish one another be-sha'ah tovah and hatzlachah, success.
Commit to honesty. Keep just weights and measures (Deuteronomy 25:13–16) and fair dealing. The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) says that the first question asked of a person in the world to come is "Did you conduct your business faithfully?"

Origins and history§

The mezuzah comes from Deuteronomy 6:9 and 11:20, "write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates". In the Talmud and later codes the obligation is defined in detail; the Shulchan Arukh (1565) treats which buildings require a mezuzah in Yoreh De'ah 286, and authorities have long discussed shops, warehouses and offices, where the duty is debated. Popular belief has also seen the mezuzah as protective, a view Maimonides criticised, insisting that it is a reminder of God's unity rather than an amulet.

Tithing income for the poor developed from the biblical tithes of produce and is discussed by medieval and early modern authorities, who encouraged giving a tenth of earnings. The practice of reciting the manna passage for livelihood has older roots: the Tur and the Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chayim 1:5) commend saying it daily, to strengthen trust that sustenance comes from God, but the special Tuesday custom is widely attributed to the Hasidic master Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rymanów (died 1815). Many prayer books include Parashat ha-Man after the morning service with a short prayer for sustenance.

Printed business-blessing plaques, often bearing a prayer that God send blessing and success to the work of one's hands, became common in Israel and the diaspora in the twentieth century, alongside hamsas and other popular Judaica. They belong to a long tradition of household texts that join prayer, folk custom and ethics.

Variations§

Sephardi and Mizrahi families may hold a seudah (festive meal) with blessings by a rabbi when opening premises, and some invite a scribe to check the mezuzot every few years. Hasidim may seek a rebbe's blessing before starting a business. Many place a Shir ha-Ma'alot or hamsa beside the till.

Safety and good sense§

Use a secure fixing for the mezuzah so it does not fall. Prayer and charity accompany good planning and honest accounts; they do not replace legal, tax or financial advice for a new business.

Sources and further reading§

Jewish Magic and Superstition — Joshua Trachtenberg, 1939
Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service — Reuven Hammer, 1994
The Authorised Daily Prayer Book — Simeon Singer, 1890
Jewish Law: History, Sources, Principles — Menachem Elon, 1994
To Pray as a Jew — Hayim Halevy Donin, 1980