A short introduction to the institution of Eruv

Introduction: An Eruv creates a private domain for halachic (Jewish Law) purposes. Before further explaining what an Eruv is and its function, some background is required.

Background: Halacha prohibits work on Shabbat. On Shabbat, moving items between a private domain and a public domain, or within the public domain, is included in the category of "work" and is prohibited. This "work" includes pushing a baby carriage in the street or carrying keys in one’s pocket.

However, carrying within a private domain is permitted on Shabbat. Halacha provides parameters of structures that give an otherwise public area the status of a Shabbat private domain. Carrying within that area is then permitted.

What is an Eruv? The full name for the Eruv we are talking about is Eruv Chatzeirot, which literally means the blending of courtyards. In this article, we will refer to the Eruv Chatzeirot by its more common name, Eruv.

An Eruv is an enclosure which surrounds both private and public places and thus creates a large halachic private domain in which carrying is permitted on Shabbat. This makes the larger area the same from the perspective of Jewish Law as one’s house or any area enclosed by halachic “walls.” The simplest Eruv will be an area enclosed by a solid wall at least 10 tefachim (about 33 inches / 84 centimeters) in height. However, a depression of 33 inches or a very sharp cliff of at least 33 inches also constitutes a legal wall.

Most importantly, a gate is halachically a legal wall, as long as it has doorposts and a lintel, however thin.

In the case of our Eruv, the “wall” is partially made up of many “gates” into and out of the Eruv area. The gates are formed by cables that run between the poles they are strung from. Since the “lintel- upper beam” of the gate must be directly above the “doorposts,” various structures are added to the poles to accomplish this. The vertical pole forms the door post and the cables strung between the poles act as the lintel of the “doorframe.”

As such, much of the "wall" is actually a series of "gates." Added to that there are existing natural boundaries, such as the ravines etc. along various roads within the Eruv boundary.

Sharing of food: Another requirement to create an Eruv is the symbolic sharing of food. For an Eruv to be acceptable, in addition to the physical requirements, the Eruv must also be merged by the joint ownership of some food. In our case, there is some communal food housed at Bnai Torah. The communal food used is matzah, because it lasts a long time and doesn’t have to be replenished very often. It is changed every Passover Eve.

The food symbolizes that all the people who dwell within the Eruv are now sharing food, and are therefore one big happy family living in one private domain.

There is also a blessing said at the inauguration of the Eruv.

What you can carry and what you cannot: An Eruv does not allow the carrying of objects whose use is forbidden on Shabbat. For example, phones (unless needed for security or medical purposes) or wallets cannot be carried within the Eruv, since they cannot be carried on Shabbat.

The purpose of the Eruv is to allow Shabbat necessities to be carried, such as a tallit or a siddur, house keys, clothing which is removed on warm days, and reading glasses. It allows anything child- or elder- or medical-related to be carried.

Deeper meaning and implications: The Eruv unites the community and genuinely makes us part of one home and one family on this very central day to Judaism- the Shabbat. It also relates to the idea of taking the chaotic “outside” and synchronizing it with the orderliness and meaning that Judaism gives us – the “within” of this larger Jewish home that we create for all of us.

An Eruv is a necessary feature for most people who seek a Jewish community to make their home in. As such, it is not just essential for we who live here now, but also for our ability to attract Jewish families to come live in our wonderful area.

Maintenance: The Eruv needs to be checked weekly, and any breaks repaired before the coming Shabbat. If not repaired, the Eruv may not be kosher. This service is the main purpose of our fund-raising.

We acknowledge and thank the authors of the website of the Marouba Synagogue (Sydney, Australia). We have used their overview of the Eruv as a partial template for this introduction.