The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, welcomed a decision this week by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York upholding the constitutionality of the recently constructed eruv around Westhampton Beach on Long Island.
The Court ruled that the Long Island Power Authority did not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing lechis, or plastic strips that designate an eruv, to be placed on the town’s utility poles. The Court further held that a state entity assisting to construct an eruv is an accommodation to religious freedom condoned and protected by the U.S. Constitution.
An eruv is a religious demarcation of area that allows Orthodox Jews to freely exercise their religious liberty to observe the Sabbath. According to Jewish law, an Orthodox Jew may not convey moveable items from private property to public property (and vice versa) on the Sabbath without a symbolic demarcation of the area allowing him/her to do so. Such a demarcation can be accomplished by utilizing existing utility poles and wires, with minimal additions unrecognizable to the casual observer. The demarcation, or “eruv,” allows parents of young children to be able to push strollers or the elderly or disabled to use wheelchairs and attend synagogue on the Sabbath and participate in communal prayers.
Certain community members of Westhampton Beach have fought the establishment of the eruv since 2008, voicing fears that the town would become “overrun” by Orthodox Jews, according to reports.
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“. . . without a symbolic demarcation of the area allowing him/her to do so. . .” A symbolic demarcation? Hardly. Using that term perhaps denagrades halachah and turns a Torah reality in a trivial, senseless symbol. Rather it should read, “a demarcation which is, in accordance with Jewish law, considered a wall or doorway, thus leagally enclosing what would otherwise not be a private domain, and thus permitting the movement of objects and people freely in the enclosed area. Yes, I know that HaRav S. R. Hirsch refers to the symbolism of many mitzvos, but he never says mitzvos are merely symbolic. There are many hidden symbols within each mitzvah, but they express truths about HaShem’s world.