Eruvin 88 – Balcony over water

If a balcony protrudes over a body of water, this water is neither a public area (people don’t walk there), nor a private one (it is not surrounded by fences). The Sages called such area a “karmelit”  and prohibited carrying from it to the private domain on Shabbat. Therefore, one cannot draw water to his balcony. To permit this, he must create a fence, a partition either above or below the balcony. The walls of the partition will be considered as if going down to the water level, making this part of the water into his private area, where carrying is permitted.

If one’s courtyard is small, smaller than four by four steps, then he should not pour refuse water into it, because the water will inevitably run outside, and he will have caused it to go from his courtyard into the street. If he makes a cesspool, containing at least 2 se’ah (6 liters) of water, then pouring is allowed. It can be assumed that an average person won’t use more than this amount of water, so it will not flow out. Another way to permit pouring into the courtyard is by building a covered passageway for the water, flowing into the street. In this case, it can be assumed that the water will be absorbed into the ground in the passageway – and if not, its flow into the street will still be unintended, which the Sages did not prohibit.

Art: Venetian Balcony by William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)