Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wired for Shabbat

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For SkyWatch Friday here is a nice combination of sky, moon, bird, and eruv.
It's close to the woods on the side of the hill, just across the street from my house.
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If you enlarge this photo, you can just about see the two wires emanating from the top of the pole. A red ribbon is tied to each wire.
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"What is an eruv?"
I was afraid you would ask.
All the rules which the rabbis have been making up for centuries, and are still making, is way beyond me (me being not formally religious).
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I'll have to rely on part of the Wikipedia explanation:
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"An eruv is an enclosure around a home or community. It enables the carrying of objects out of doors for Jews on the Jewish Sabbath that would otherwise be forbidden by Torah law (Halakha). Without an eruv, Torah-observant Jews would be unable to carry keys or tissues in their pockets or push baby carriages on the Sabbath, thus making it difficult for many to leave home.
. . . When an eruv is made to demarcate a contemporary Jewish neighborhood, a symbolic fence is typically constructed using poles and wires as well as any solid walls available. Thus, a modern eruv is commonly composed of a series of 'doorframes,' with the poles forming the doorposts (lechi, pl. lechai'in) and the wire forming the lintel (korah)."
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Got it?
So the term eruv in modern Jewish usage usually refers to the wire that creates a symbolic "walled courtyard."
In effect it expands the private domain out into the public domain, thus permitting very religious Jews to carry certain things on Shabbat.
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Every Jewish community in Israel, and many in other countries too, has its own eruv.
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11 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous blue sky. That couldn't have been today, at least down in Tel Aviv anyway. The sky here was completely and totally white from all the dust.

    PS Yes, there will be more Sarona photos in the days to come :).

    -----------------------------------
    My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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  2. Robin, you're right. The photo is from two weeks ago. Today we could see only dust.

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  3. Great sky watch Dina.
    Thank you for the information about the wire (eruv).

    Enjoy the weekend.

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  4. Looks like a beautiful day - Love that blue sky & that moon! WoW!

    happy swf

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  5. Wonderful blue sky! Same as here:-)
    Wish you a blessed weekend!

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  6. Yup really had to zoom into the picture to notice the ribbon hanging on the wire! Initially I thought it was a kite...

    Pixellicious Photos

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  7. Nice photo..enjoyed also you explaination of the Eruv...otherwise I would have never known.

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  8. Oh my! This is very interesting, Dina. I'm glad somebody thought of a solution to that problem.

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  9. I may be wrong but, during the British Mandate, wasn't 'The Eruv' intended also as the collective presence of the Jews in Palestine?

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  10. Sory, I took an Eruv for an Yishuv...

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  11. j'aime cette métaphore-pour étendre le domaine intérieur au domaine extérieur...
    It isn't as easy as it seems.

    merci. shalom.

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