Eruvin 83 – Does one eat more or less on Shabbat?

The “eruv” in the sense of new residence area where one is allowed to walk, as we discussed before, can be made with any food. If he is making it for many people, then there should be enough for two meals for each. However, this does not mean complete food for two meals, but rather, if he uses, for instance, pies, there should be enough pies to go with two meals. This is true for every type of food.

How large is the size of a meal? Rabbi Meir says that we measure be average weekday meal, since on weekdays one eats less, and on Shabbat he eats more, due to the excellent taste of the food. However, Rabbi Yehudah says that we measure by Shabbat meals, since, on the contrary, on Shabbat one eats less, leaving room for the obligatory third meal of the day. We see that both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah intended to have less food required for the eruv.

The Talmud continues with other opinions on the measures of the volume of a meal. Some are expressed depending on how much flour one can buy given a specific flour price per pound. Others are based on measures of volume. All are tied to the amount of the manna that was given to the Jews in the desert daily. This is calculated to be the volume of 43.2 average eggs, and it is considered a healthy amount for one’s meal.

Art: Grapes by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin 1878-1939

Eruvin 82 – Communal residence area

We already saw a number of times that each person is given a limit of how far he can walk on Shabbat, and that is usually two thousand steps from his residence. If one wants to change this limit, he can place food some distance away from his residence, and this then becomes the center of his new residence area. The residence area (techum) is rectangular, measured from his city, from his house, or from his place if he is not in a house or a city.

What if all the residents of a city want to move the limits of their residence (techum) for a particular Shabbat? A messenger can be chosen to take a barrel of food to the new site and place it there, and he also has to acquire it on behalf of all the residents. Whoever of the residents accepts the new residence area on himself before dark, that person can use it, but it is not possible to affect this acceptance after dark when Shabbat has already started.

In addition, one can only change his residence area for the purpose of a mitzvah, such as going to a house of mourning or a wedding banquet.

Art: The wedding feast of Samson by Rembrandt Van Rijn

Eruvin 81 – Which food for eruv?

For the eruv (common food), which permits people to carry in their courtyards and in an alley on Shabbat, one can use any food that nourishes, except for water and salt – this is the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. As long as it is edible, food is considered uniting people. However, Rabbi Yehoshua says that it can be only bread, for otherwise people in the courtyard will not take it seriously. Moreover, it should be whole loaves of bread: a large broken piece cannot be used, whereas a small whole loaf can. Why? – Eruv is used to promote peace between neighbors, and there should be no jealousy, which may result if some people contribute pieces of bread, and some – whole loaves.

If one has a baker living in his courtyard, and he gives that baker a coin, asking him to contribute bread on his behalf, it is not valid. Why? – The Sages instituted multiple ways of acquisition but took away the power of money payment to acquire things, rather, the actual delivery has to take place, for fear that a seller may stop caring after receiving the payment. Therefore, his coin did not acquire bread for him, and not a part in the eruv. By contrast, if he gave money to a private person, asking to provide bread, this works. The private person would be willing to contribute bread even for free, and the money is regarded as a payment for his service.

Art: The Baker by Frans van the Younger Mieris (1689-1763)

Eruvin 80 – Food in an alley

In addition to collecting food from all residents in each courtyard, the different courtyards in an alley have to collect food for the common “alley eruv,” in order to allow carrying on Shabbat between courtyards. Practically, however, it may be too burdensome, so instead one can act as follows: he takes a barrel of his own food and declares, “Let this belong to all the residents of the alley.” The declaration alone won’t suffice though, since in every transaction there must be a recipient. Therefore, he asks someone independent of him, even a servant, but not a dependent child, to acquire the barrel on their behalf.

How much food does there have to be? Even the amount of two meals for one person is enough, since this is a significant amount of food, and every one of them can eat it. This amount of food is needed only at the beginning of Shabbat. Later on, if some of it was eaten or lost, it does not matter, as long as a little bit is still extant. Why this leniency? The whole purpose of the eruv is to remind children that carrying in the street on Shabbat is prohibited, as evidenced by the elaborate eruv procedure. Once this goal has been accomplished, some of the food can be eaten.

Art: Still life with food by Mary Ellen Best (1809-1891)

Eruvin 79 – Haystack

If two courtyards have between them a haystack which is ten hand-breadths high, then naturally it separates the two, and they must each make an eruv (common food) for their courtyard, to permit carrying there on Shabbat.

The residents of one courtyard can feed their animals from the haystack, and so can the residents of the other courtyard. Potentially, one might be concerned that the animals will eat the haystack up, making it less than ten hand-breadths in height, and in this way nullifying the partition. The rule above tells us exactly that: we should not be concerned about such a possibility since normally animals don't eat that much in the course of one Shabbat.

However, if the animals ate enough of the straw during the week before Shabbat, and the height of the haystack is lower than ten hand-breadths on a section that is at least ten amot (20 feet) long – the haystack no longer serves as a partition; the people in both courtyards have to join in a common eruv, and they can no longer use their individual eruv for each courtyard.

Art: Haystack At Sunset by Martin Johnson Heade 1819-1904

Eruvin 78 – Ditch

If two courtyards are separated by a ditch that is at least ten hand-breadths deep and four hand-breadths wide, then – since it is not convenient to step over such ditch – it separates the two courtyards into two, and they need to make a separate eruv (common food). This eruv will allow the residents of each courtyard to carry in it, but not into the other courtyard. Even if they fill the ditch with stubble or straw, it still separates them, because those materials will not remain there but will likely be removed. If, however, they fill the ditch with earth or pebbles, then – since those materials will likely stay n there – the ditch has been effectively closed, and they can make only one eruv for all of them.

If they put a board of at least four hand-breadths wide over the ditch, then now they have a choice. If they want, then can look at this board as a connector that allows them to join in a mutual eruv. Or, they can view this board as merely a bridge but not a connector, and create individual eruv for each of the two courtyards.

Art: Clearing a Ditch, 1839 by John Frederick Herring Snr 1795 - 1865

Eruvin 77 – Wall

If there is a wall between two courtyards, and this wall is at least ten hand-breadths high and four hand-breadths thick and, unlike the previous case, there is no window in that wall, then the residents of each of the two courtyards are considered separate from each other, and each courtyard should make an individual eruv (common food) so that they can each carry within their own courtyard.

If there are fruits on top of the wall, then the residents of each courtyard may go up on the wall and eat the fruit while being there. The wall is a separate private area; there is nothing wrong with going there, as well as nothing wrong with eating there. However, none of the courtyard's residents can bring the fruit down into his courtyard, because the wall is not part of an eruv, and he would be transferring from one private domain to another private domain – and that is exactly what the Sages prohibited, in order that the people living in courtyards have some reminder that carrying on Shabbat from a public area (street) to a private area (courtyard) is prohibited by the Torah.

Art: A basket of fruit by Jan Hendrik Aikes