Eruvin 45 – Residence area of a traveler

As we will learn later, a traveler can mentally designate his residence area for Shabbat, or techum, even if he will reach it only on Shabbat. What if he sat down to rest while he still was on the road on Friday afternoon, and once he arose after dark, he saw that there was a city nearby where presumably he would like to be on Shabbat? Rabbi Meir says that intentional designation of a techum is required. Since our traveler did not do so, he cannot enter the city. However, Rabbi Yehudah says that since his presumed intention would be to enter the city, we count it as a real intention, and he may enter – and travel two thousand steps around it.

What if the traveler fell asleep on the road, while Shabbat was approaching? Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says that he nevertheless acquired a techum around himself, for the two thousand steps – but the Sages says that he can only move four steps about. What is the argument? One explanation is that a sleeping person is treated like an inanimate object, and they really argue about inanimate objects – do they also acquire a techum or no.

If two people are stuck on Shabbat, and each has only four steps to move about him, but their techum's overlap – they can bring food and eat together, provided that one does not take food into his four steps area and away from his friend's area. This presumes that food acquires the techum of the owner, however small.

Art: Italian School - A sleeping man