Thursday, April 11, 2013

Eruvin 34 – Eruv too low or too high

If one placed his eruv food at the bottom of a pit, even hundreds feet deep, he eruv is still accessible to him and is therefore valid. Why do we need to be told this, it is obvious?! If the pit is in the private area – why, the pit is also a private area, and it goes all the way down and all they way up; thus, to get his eruv he does not need to transfer from a private to a public domain, and there is no prohibition in that. Rather, it must be that the pit is in the public area. But then he would not be allowed to get the food out, and the eruv would not be valid. Rather, it must be that the pit is in an area that is neither public nor private, and such transfers are prohibited only by the decree of the Sagse – which does not apply on Friday with the twilight, when the eruv takes effect! Thus, he can get his food at this time, and the eruv is valid.

If he placed his eruv food atop a reed or a pole, even hundreds of feet high, it is valid – provided that the reed was uprooted and later stuck back into the ground. Why being uprooted makes a difference? – In trying to remove his food from the reed's top, he may accidentally break off a piece, and in doing so he will perform the labor of reaping. This is prohibited even at twilight, when the eruv should have taken effect, and thus it never becomes valid.

Art: Niko Pirosmanashvili - A Boy Carrying Food

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