By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

One of the 39 categories of forbidden activities on Shabbos is carrying in a public area. The Rabbis extended the prohibition to include carrying in certain other areas as well. It is possible to permit carrying in these other areas that are Rabbinically forbidden – if there is an Eruv.

There are actually four different types of areas in Halacha.

There is a reshus haYachid – a private domain which is at least 4 handbreadths by four handbreadths that is surrounded by a wall or fence that is at least 35.4 inches high.

There is a reshus haRabbim which is a public domain and its streets are at least 16 amos wide.

There is a makom ptur, literally an exempt area. which is neither a reshus hayachid or a reshus harabbim. A makom patur is a place in a reshus harabbim public domain that does not measure four handbreadths by four handbreadths and is three or more handbreadths off the ground. It may also be a pit that is not four handbreadths by four handbreadths and is three or more handbreadths deep, or a place that is not four handbreadths by four handbreadths and is surrounded by partitions that are three or more handbreadths tall.

There is also a karmalis which shares elements of a reshus harabim and a reshus hayachid.

TWO TYPES OF CARRYING

There are two prohibitions of carrying. There is the prohibition of carrying an item for 4 amos in a public domain. There is also the prohibition of transferring an item from a reshus hayachid to a reshus harabbim or vice versa. In addition, the Rabbis extended the prohibition of carrying from a karmalis to a reshus hayachid or a reshus harabbim.

TWO PARTS TO THE ERUV

An Eruv actually has two parts to it. One part is a series of walls and or doorways that completely surround the city. The second part to the Eruv is actually – food. The food is deposited in an area where everyone has access to it. It is owned by all members of the community and allows for everyone to jointly access this food. The word Eruv literally means mixing of properties. This is done by granting everyone permission to access the food.

MINIMUM DEFINITION OF A DOORWAY

The minimal definition of a doorway is called a Tzuras HaPesach. It is two side poles and a lintel. In Hebrew, the lintel is called a Mashkof – the top beam that is horizontal. This top beam does not need to be made out of wood. It can even be a string, as long as it is taut and does not droop. Most city Eruvs use a fishing line or string for this Mashkof. Also, the side posts do not need to physically touch the Mashkof. It is imperative that it be under the Mashkof. Wealthier communities use side posts, also known as “lechi”s that go all of the way up to the Mashkof itself. Other communities use side posts that are attached to telephone poles or electric poles that only go up three feet from the ground. They use a plumb line to ensure that the mashkof is directly over the lechi.

The doorways must be checked each week prior to Shabbos and as close as possible to Shabbos. Often a truck knocks down the Mashkof or a lechi gets knocked down. Sometimes a lechi is no longer under the Mashkof. At other times the lechi becomes surrounded by a fenced off area which also invalidates the side post according to many Poskim.

THE RENTING REQUIREMENT

There is another requirement that must be met when constructing an Eruv around the city. One must rent the area from the non-Jewish residents as well. One may rent it from their employee as well. Traditionally, many city Eruvs rent it from the mayor of the city.

THE FOOD

The food must have 6 to 8 egg size portions. Most communities use a box of Matzos to fulfill it because the box of Matzah will last from week to week. The Eruv food is kept in someone’s home or even in shul. It is important that everyone have access to the Eruv food. If someone goes away for Shabbos and because of that the food cannot be accessed – the Eruv is invalid. To alleviate this problem instructions as to how to access the Eruv food must be left. Some safer communities actually leave the door open. This is not recommended in larger cities.
The food should be gifted to the community by handing it to someone who will accept it on their behalf.

NOT IN A RESHUS HARABBIM

An Eruv cannot be constructed in a Reshus HaRabbim. There is a debate among Poskim as to whether or not there are two requirements that must be met in order for an area to be a reshus harabbim or just one requirement. Remember, if the area is a reshus harabbim – an eruv in it becomes invalid. Some Poskim say that if the streets are open and are greater than 16 amos – then it is considered a reshus harabbim. Others say that one requires 600,000 people traversing the area each day in order to qualify as a reshus harabbim. Most city eruvs that have streets that are greater than 16 amos in width rely on the view that a reshus harabbim requires 600,000 people as well. The Mishna Brurah writes that “Baal Nefesh – one who cares about his soul” should not rely upon this view. There is also a view that a public area must have a street that is mefulash – that it traverses the city from one side to the other in a straight line with no turns.

RAV FEINSTEIN’S VIEW

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l was of the opinion that the 600,000 people requirement does not apply to that one street alone. His view was that if there are 600,000 on the streets of that city alone – then that too would make it a reshus harabbim and would disqualify any eruv constructed there. It was his view that any Eruv that would be constructed in Brooklyn or in Manhattan would be invalid on this account.

CURRENT CONTROVERSIES

Nonetheless, some have constructed Eruvin in Brooklyn and Manhattan claiming that either Rav Feinstein’s views may be set aside or that nowadays new discoveries have been made that would even allow an Eruv according to Rav Feinstein. The family members and students of Rav Feinstein have not agreed with this, however. Their view is that these Eruvin are entirely invalid.

The explanation above serves as a very basic primer to the complex laws of Eruv. It is not complete and barely touches upon some issues and completely ignores others. Further study is strongly suggested.

The author can be reached at [email protected]