What is an eruv area?
An eruv is an area within which observant Jews can carry or push objects on the Sabbath, (which lasts from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday), without violating a Jewish law that prohibits carrying anything except within the home.
How does a eruv work?
An eruv is a symbolic boundary created with a string of fishing wire typically hung from a series of utility poles or other structures. The eruv creates a safe space for Orthodox Jews to carry certain items they otherwise would be forbidden to carry while outside the home on the Sabbath.
Where is the Manhattan eruv?
The eruv on the lower east side of Manhattan. Rabbi Tauber’s job is to keep tabs on the Manhattan eruv, a precisely designated zone that zigzags from 126th Street in Harlem to the bottom of the island and from the Upper East Side to the Lower East Side.
How high is an eruv?
As stated, eruv was established to increase peace among us. The Talmud states that three commandments have a common denominator – height. 22 The height of a sukkah, eruv or light of the Chanukah menorah cannot be higher than twenty cubits since the eye will not notice them above that height.
Is there an eruv in the Upper West Side?
In June 2007, the East Side portion of the internal Manhattan eruv was completed, offering an eruv within Manhattan to Orthodox Jews living on the East, Upper East, and Upper West Sides.
Can you leave the house on Shabbat?
“Behold, the Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days; each man shall stay put, and not leave his place on the seventh day” (Exodus 16:29).
What does keep kosher mean?
“Kosher” is a term used to describe food that complies with the strict dietary standards of traditional Jewish law. For many Jews, kosher is about more than just health or food safety. It is about reverence and adherence to religious tradition.
What is an eruv and why does it matter?
Actually, an eruv, in modern terminology, is a technical boundary that allows Jews to carry in public areas on Shabbat. It is one of those traditions which has blossomed from a basic Torah principle into a highly complicated legal matter.
What is not allowed in an eruv?
An eruv does not give one a license to carry everything. It does not allow the carrying of objects whose use is forbidden on Shabbat (See The Shabbat Laws for more on this topic).
How often should the boundaries of an eruv be checked?
The boundaries of an eruv must be checked regularly. If the boundary is not complete and contiguous in every element ( i.e., one of the elements of the boundary is missing or broken), no valid eruv can exist that Shabbat, and carrying remains prohibited.
How do you build an eruv?
The eruv likewise needs openings, consisting of crossbeams resting or passing directly over the top of the doorpost (lehi). Many communities construct their eruvim by using lighting (or utility) poles to fulfill the requirement of doorposts and a continuous cable, string, or wire to represent the crossbeam.