Eruv
The Eastern Suburbs Eruv now extends to Maroubra.
To check if the Eruv is up, please call the following number after 4pm just before Shabbat or festival days.
9990 4982
The Eruv
Introduction
In short, an eruv creates a private domain for halachic purposes. Before further explaining what an eruv is and its function, some background is required.
Background
Halacha prohibits work on Shabbat. On Shabbat, moving items between a private domain and a public domain, or within the public domain is included in the category of ‘work’ and is prohibited. This ‘work’ includes pushing a pram in the street or carrying keys in one’s pocket.
However, carrying within a private domain is permitted on Shabbat. Halacha provides that in certain circumstances an area can have the status of a private domain and carrying within that area is permitted on Shabbat.
What is an Eruv?
The full name for the eruv we are talking about is eruv chatzeirot, which means the mixing of courtyards. In this article, we will refer to the eruv chatzeirot by its more common name ‘eruv’.
An eruv is an enclosure (of sorts) which surrounds both and public domains and thus creates a large private domain in which carrying is permitted on Shabbat. In theory, an eruv will be a solid wall – like the walled old city of Jerusalem.
In practice, the eruv is not a wall. In the case of our eruv, the ‘wall’ is punctuated by literally hundreds of gates into and out of the eruv area. The gates are formed by a conduit on either side of the existing Optus cable making the form of a doorway, or gate. The vertical conduit forms the door post and the Optus cables strung between the poles acts as the lintel of the doorframe.
As such, the entire ‘wall’ is actually a series of ‘gates’. Added to that there are some existing natural boundaries, such as the cliffs off Coogee beach and fences.
Sharing of Food
Another requirement to create an eruv is the symbolic sharing of food. For an eruv to be kosher, in addition to the physical requirements, the eruv must also be merged by the joint ownership of some food.
In our case, there is some communal food housed at Coogee Synagogue. The communal food used is matzah, because it lasts a long time and doesn’t have to be replenished very often.
The food symbolizes that all the people who dwell within the eruv are now ‘sharing’ food, and are therefore one big happy family living in one ‘private’ domain.
There is also a blessing said at the inauguration of the eruv.
What you can carry and what you cannot
An eruv does not allow the carrying of objects whose use is forbidden on Shabbat. For example, it is forbidden to carry an umbrella since opening or closing it is forbidden on Shabbat. Therefore, an umbrella cannot be carried anywhere on Shabbat regardless of whether it is within the eruv or not. Similarly, phones or wallets cannot be carried within the eruv, since they cannot be carried on Shabbat.
The purpose of the eruv is to allow Shabbat necessities to be carried, such as a tallit or a siddur, house keys, clothing which is removed on warm days, and reading glasses.
And it allows the pushing of a pram along with food and nappies.
Maintenance
The eruv needs to be checked weekly and any breaks repaired before the coming Shabbat. If not repaired, the eruv may not be kosher.
The levy raised by Maroubra (and Coogee) shul will be used to pay for suitably qualified checkers (and drivers) to check the route each week and for the cost of tradesman to carry out any repairs necessary.