NY Times Still Fascinated By Eruv; Plus, the "Feldmania" Connection

Ordinarily, when I use a Hebrew word, I like to define it in parentheses, because--as some of you know all too well--not everyone knows Hebrew. But sometimes Hebrew words are more than just words--they're concepts, or names given to a Talmudic loophole that permits behaviors that were otherwise not permitted. And those kinds of things defy a one word parenthetical.

Take the eruv, for example (to this day, one of the search terms--along with Ellen Degeneres and Marzipan rugelach--that most frequently brings people to this blog). Seriously: in a Google search, this blog (and in particular this entry) pops up as the #11 reference.

Wikipedia has an extensive entry, but here's the essence:

The eruv chatzeirot, or "mixed [ownership of] courtyards/domains", operates so that all the residents treat the entire area as their common "home". In other words, it is a religious-law mechanism that transforms an enclosed shared living area (e.g. a courtyard) into a common one. In order to be enclosed, the area must be surrounded by a wall, fence, or tzurot ha-petah, "doorframes". Otherwise carrying is still prohibited in accordance with the earlier prohibition, as above.

No eruv? Can't carry your keys to or from synagogue, so better put them in a fake rock in your yard or tie them to your belt or into the laces of your shoes, so they count as "clothing," which you're not "carrying," but "wearing." Pretty easy when it comes to your keys, but not as easy when it comes to carrying your children.

I admit, it's not the Jewish law that I best relate to. don't know from one week to the next whether the eruv is up or down. I once heard that as an island, Manhattan itself is one big eruv, or that Central Park in itself as a contained area, was de facto "eruvized" on its own, but that you couldn't bring things from inside that zone outside, or vice versa.

But the NY Times loves itself some eruv...In June, it was a "translucent wire in the sky." In August it's now "a slender thread to knit a neighborhood." Both of those are apparent poetic upgrades from "Jewish Ritual Fence" (a description of the battle in a London neighborhood to establish the city's first eruv). And who knows why the NY Times is so riveted to "curiosity" stories like this one; it's like, "look at those wacky Jews and their crazy demarcation strings!" Which to an extent, I guess, is fair.

If only there were a way to link this to the discussion over "Orthodox Paradox" and to its author Noah Feldman, maybe by finding an article in which Feldman discusses eruv and calls his high school experience "wonderful"...oh, wait! Here you go... Thanks, Jewish Week!

Comments

[harley]

"Wacky Jews Obsess Over Imaginary Strings!" would make a great article title tough. And Imaginary Strings would make a great name for an all-percussion rock band.

[Esther Kustanowitz]

Harley, you are correct. And they could go on tour with Blue Fringe.