Baltimore City’s Board of Estimates agreed yesterday to lease about a five-mile perimeter to Eruv of Baltimore Inc. for $1 for the next 20 years. The wire perimeter encloses several neighborhoods, including Charles Village, Guilford, Remington, Keswick and parts of Hampden.
The new Eruv, which is already up and is expected to be usable this Shabbos, cost about $15,000 to erect. This Eruv is the second one for Baltimore; the first is in Park Heights and was established established in 1978.
Explaining the Eruv to members of the news media, R’ Binyamin Marwick of the Orthodox Union of Baltimore said, “It is the type of thing that anyone who doesn’t need it won’t notice. For those who need it, it will make a world of difference.”
R’ Marwick added that he hopes the Eruv will draw a larger Jewish community to the Hopkins area.
“It is a way for the city to reaffirm the commitment to the Jewish community in Baltimore,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon, who accepted a silver dollar for two decades of rent from R’ Marwick at a City Hall ceremony. She immediately handed it over to her finance director, Edward J. Gallagher.
The Orthodox Union raised $15,000 for construction costs.
(Source: Baltimore Sun)
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6 Responses
Maybe someone can explain to me who lives in those areas..there are no frum people there and certainly not a community..I am familiar with the cities..know many people and areas in the community and can’t think of one person who lives there..strange??
BY – Rav Marwick said he hopes it will bring more people to the Hopkins area. An eruv would certainly help that.
It sounds like it’s in the downtown area near hospitals like Hopkins. It’s great for people that have to stay in the area for Shabbos to be with hospital patients. I think it’s a wonderful idea.
Perhaps there are a few Shomer Shabbos Jews living near Johns Hopkins, Loyola, and the other schools in that area.
There is a community of frum students who live there–undergraduate and graduate. There are also some people in the area who are traditional who are very excited. Hopkins hospital is not included but Union Memorial is included.
The Orthodox Union sponsored this Eruv as part of their Jewish Learning Intiative on Campus which places Rabbonim like Rabbi Marwick and his family on college campuses with the mission to create the infrastructure necessary to be frum on campus–ie.kosher food, eruv, Bies Medrash, shiurim.