Eruvin 57 – Backyard

In describing the open area around the city of the Levites (and it is from here that the limitation of not walking past two thousand steps from one's residence on Shabbat is derived), the Torah said, "From the wall of the city and outward." The extra "and outward" tells us that we need to add the area of a backyard (about seventy steps) before the two thousand steps begin.

This, however, is only the opinion of Rabbi Meir. Other Sages had a different tradition about this law: while it is true that the concept of adding a backyard exists, it is only applicable to two separate nearby cities, as follows. Each city is given an additional backyard, and if these backyards intersect, then the cities are considered as one, and the two-thousand step techum is measured for them together.

Art: Vincent Van Gogh - Sien's Mother's House Seen from the Backyard