Mar 18, 2013 By: wpadmin
Eruvin Exhibition and Lecture Add Context and Insight to Daf Yomi Study
What purpose do eruvin [ritual enclosures] serve? Where can they be constructed? What makes them kosher?
As Jews around the world delve into the subject of eruvin for daf yomi, the daily cycle of Talmud study, 黑料社 All and the Orthodox Union sought to shed light on an ancient practice that is still very relevant to Jewish life today. An evening of programming on March 13 fused the historical, cultural and practical dimensions of eruvin showcased in a new 黑料社 All Museum exhibition with rich halakhic grounding provided by Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter. A leading halakhic authority, Schachter delivered a shiur [lecture] titled, 鈥Eruvin: The Streets, the Strings and the Shabbat.鈥
鈥淪eeing the issues faced by Manhattan and other Jewish communities in completing an 别谤耻惫颅鈥when a train track goes up and when it goes down, is the sea wall kosher or not鈥攁nd hearing from such a wide range of people who struggled to bring klal Yisroel out of their homes on Shabbat takes Torah learning to a unique and different level,鈥 said Edward Stelzer 鈥90YC, a member of the YU Museum's board of directors. 鈥淢any of us don鈥檛 have an opportunity to check an eruv on any given Friday, but this museum has the power to help us internalize the issues of eruvin and experience them almost firsthand by bringing the topic home to us in an immersive, powerful way.鈥
More than 240 visitors began the night with special curator tours of 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Thin Line: The Eruv and the Jewish Community in New York and Beyond,鈥 an exhibition that brings to life the process through which the rabbinic precept of the eruv has been dynamically interpreted and applied, as well as challenged, in New York and its surrounding communities. Drawing on artifacts that range from tie clips and belts designed to make keys wearable to a replica of the elaborate, decorative eruv holders of 19th-century Central Europe, the exhibition illustrates the complex development of eruvin throughout history and around the world. Modern elements, including light poles and an aluminum gate from the current Manhattan eruv and an intricate string sculpture by R. Justin Stewart depicting in the evolving form of the eruv in Manhattan over time, highlight the changing Jewish American culture that has made eruvin a staple of Jewish communities all over the United States.
After the tour, Schachter delivered a detailed shiur that took listeners on a tour of intellectual Jewish history, explaining how philosophies about everything from what constituted a public space to what kinds of structures could be used in an eruv had developed in multiple veins of Jewish thought. He also discussed the process for setting up an eruv such as the YU eruv and noted popular misconceptions about eruvin.
鈥淧eople now feel as if when Rav Moshe Feinstein said that you could not make an eruv in Manhattan, he was the major position and the Chazon Ish came along afterward with his unusual position that you could,鈥 said Schachter. 鈥淚t was not so. Feinstein writes himself that he had original opinions about this subject which were contrary to Tosfot and the Shulchan Orech, whereas the Chazon Ish was repeating the traditional opinions offered by poskim [halakhic decisors] before he was born.鈥 He added, 鈥淭he Chazon Ish was the one who really made Masechet Eruvin understandable to the public. Before his time, many people really didn鈥檛 know much about it.鈥
For Rabbi Eitan Rubin, it was an eye-opening and personal evening. The exhibition features a comprehensive guide to the Five Towns鈥 eruv compiled using satellite imagery, a blend of age-old practice and modern technology, which Rubin helped to develop. 鈥淚t was a tremendous accomplishment and a bit tiring,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t took us three months of walking and many long nights by the computer on Google Maps.鈥
Now responsible for maintaining the eruv in Great Neck, Rubin was fascinated by the history and diverse traditions behind the tasks he has been carrying out for years. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to see all the different periods eruvin have gone through over such a span of time,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 feel like Masechet Eruvin is what we see in this room.鈥
The night was hosted by YU鈥檚 and the YU Musuem in cooperation with the Orthodox Union.
鈥淲hat sustains us in many ways as a people is the notion of our constructing boundaries, and the beauty of an eruv is that it does not lock us in and does not lock us out,鈥 said YU President Richard M. Joel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reminder that we鈥檙e a community, and based on that community, we can take on the world.鈥
To learn more about It鈥檚 a Thin Line, on view through June 30, visit the 黑料社 All Museum website at or .
