Thursday, May 30, 2013

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

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

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)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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)

Sunday, May 26, 2013

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

Eruvin 76 – Window

Two courtyards are considered as two separated areas that must each make their own eruv (common food), and then they can carry in each courtyard. What happens if these two courtyards have a common wall, and in addition there is a window in this wall?

In this situation, the window can help both ways. If they want, they can consider the window as connecting the courtyards, making it in fact one courtyard, and then they can make a common eruv for all the residents in both courtyards, so that they can even pass things through that window. Or, if they prefer, they can say that the window does not matter, that the wall between them is a valid partition, dividing them into separate areas, so that each courtyard can make its own eruv.

This is all true, however, only if the window is at least four hand-breadths tall and four hand-breadths wide, and is within ten hand-breadths from the ground. If it is either too small or too high from the ground – they have no choice and must consider the courtyards as two completely separate areas.

Art: In the Courtyard by Wilson Henry Irvine 1869-1936

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Eruvin 66 – Giving away

If people live in a common courtyard, it is similar to a street, so as a reminder for the kids, the Sages told to collect common food, put it in one of the houses, and thus make everyone as one family – and that makes carrying things in the courtyard permissible.

However, even if they did not do so, there is still a device they can use: one of them, who has not joined the eruv, can give away his rights in the courtyard so that he does not prohibit the others to carry. Even if all did not join the eruv, they can all give their rights to one of them, and be permitted to carry.

However, Shmuel formulated three rules which sound like “if they forbid – they can make an eruv,” and which teach that giving away the rights is only a dispensation given when necessary and if, had the eruv been made, it would have been effective.

Art: A Spanish Courtyard by Enrique Roldan

Eruvin 64 – Nice law

Earlier we said that one who does not accept the law of the eruv ruins it for the other residents of the courtyard, making it prohibited for them to carry things in their own courtyard on Shabbat. However, there is a loophole: one can rent this person’s rights in the courtyard, and even from his servant. One can also become friendly with the person, do him some service, and be considered his servant for this.

On hearing this rule, Rav Nachman said, “How nice is it!” However, on hearing another rule, that one who drank wine (even 2-3 ounces) cannot render legal decisions, he said, “This is not nice. I, for one, cannot judge until I clear my mind with wine.” However, Rava quoted to him, “One who sees prostitutes will lose his wealth.” The word “prostitutes,” “zonot” in Hebrew, can be understood as “zo nae”, which means “this one is nice,” so allegorically one he says “this law is nice, this one is not” will lose his learning. Rav Nachman said, “I am convinced and change my mind .”

Art: A seated Peasant drinking in an Interior by Dutch School

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Eruvin 63 – Respect for one’s teacher

As a sign of respect, the student should not render decisions in matters of Torah law in the town or vicinity of his teacher, but should rather defer the question to his teacher’s judgment. This was especially applicable in the times of the Talmud, because often a student would receive all of his Torah knowledge from one teacher, rather than from a school or from multiple published books, and also because the Sages of the Talmud were on a very high level of personal integrity and actually fulfilled in their lives what they taught in their lessons.

As an example, when Eldad and Meidad were not selected into the Sanhedrin, they became prophesying that Moses will not enter the Land of Israel but will die in the desert, and that Yehoshua will lead the Jews. On hearing this, Yehoshua did not contain himself and said “My master Moses, lock them up!” Since this was a legal decision that Moses had to make, Yehoshua was punished by not leaving over any sons to carry on his name.

Art: A teacher and his student in an interior by (after) Pieter Aertsen

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Eruvin 62 – One who does not accept the laws of eruv

If one shares a courtyard with an idolater or with someone who does not accept the laws of the eruv, then the laws of the eruv do not apply, and one cannot carry in his courtyard. Why is that? Eruv (common food) makes everybody into one family, so that it is not many families living in this courtyard, but just one. If so, one can carry in this courtyard, because nobody is going to confuse this situation with carrying in a public street. However, one who does not agree with the rules of the eruv cannot join it.

What is to be done? The residents of the courtyard can rent the rights of carrying from the idolater by giving him money or food. They need his agreement for that, but even that of his wife or his servant will also suffice.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yakov adds the the idolater only restricts when there are at least two Jews in the same courtyard, and Rabbi Meir says that even for one Jewish resident it is a problem. What is their disagreement? Rabbi Eliezer is of the opinion that it is unusual for one Jew to live with an idolater, because he would be afraid to be killed – and the Sages never make their decrees for unusual situations. If so, what does Rabbi Meir reply? – He says that occasionally a Jew may be forced to live alone with an idolater, and thus the eruv limitation still applies.

Art: A courtyard in a town with a mussel seller and other figures... by Jan Jozef, the Younger Horemans (1714-1790)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Eruvin 61 – Two towns, a small and a large one

If there are two towns in the proximity of one another, then on Shabbat the residents of the large town can walk through the small town, but the residents of the small town cannot walk through the whole large town. Why?

Residents of both towns were measuring their techum (walking distance on Shabbat). The techum of the small town dwellers ended in the middle of the large town, and they were not allowed to go any further. However, the eruv of the large town dwellers overran the complete small town. In that case, the complete small town counts as if it was only 4 steps, and the residents of the large town thus gained a large distance (the complete size of the small town minus four steps) added to their eruv.

Had they placed their eruv food in the other town, they would always count the town as four steps, and in addition have two thousand steps beyong. Rabbi Akiva disagrees with this last rule. He said to the Sages, "Don't you agree that if one places the eruv in a cave, he only has two thousand steps around himself?" They answered, "Yes, but that it because the cave is not inhabited. By contrast, an inhabited city counts as only four steps, and you have two thousand steps around."

Art: View of a Small Town Square by Jan Van Der Heyden (1637-1712)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Eruvin 60 – The quandary of Abaye

The residents of a town of Kakunaei came to Rav Yosef, asking him to appoint someone to arrange an eruv for them, so that they should be permitted to carry in it on Shabbat. Rav Yosef appointed Abaye, telling him, “Make sure they don't complain.” He meant to do it right by properly observing the rules of exclusion.

Abaye saw in the town some houses that opened toward the river, without an opening toward the city. He said, “Let these houses be the ones excluded from the eruv.” However, he then reconsidered, saying that the rule stated  “excluded,” which means that they potentially could be included, and these houses cannot be included anyway, because their courtyards don't open into the city.

He then thought of asking them to make windows in those houses. However, then he reconsidered again, citing a different precedent with ditches separating neighborhoods which nevertheless joined in a common eruv. Then he reconsidered again, because in the precedent of ditches they could use roofs for connection, had they wanted to, but it was not so in the town of Kakunaei. Again he considered making windows. And then he remembered a case where a storehouse, where people did not even live, was used as an excluded area, and thus concluded that waterfront houses could be used to satisfy the exclusion rule. Then he said, “That is was Rav Yosef meant, saying that they should not complain – I could have forced them to make windows for no purpose.”

If one told his son to place his eruv to the east of town, for him being able to walk there on Shabbat, but the son placed it more than two thousand steps away – it is invalid, and he keeps the techum of his town.

Art: Windows by Henri Eugene Augustin Le Sidaner 1862-1939

Eruvin 59 – A city of one owner

Only an expert surveyor can be tasked with measuring the techum (Shabbat walking distance) of a city. If, nevertheless, he made mistake and his measurement was not a perfect rectangle, we accept the side with the longer measurement – because of the rule that in techum we follow the most lenient approach possible.

A town may be surrounded by a fence, common food may be placed in one of the houses, and this will create an “eruv” which will permit the people of the town to carry in its streets on Shabbat. Even so, one must leave an area of the town outside the eruv. This is needed mostly for the children: they will know that there is an area of town where carrying is prohibited, and will be reminded of the laws of not carrying on Shabbat and of the eruv. However, if the town belongs to one owner, one can include all of it in the eruv, and he does not need to leave a part outside an eruv. So too, if the town used to belong to one individual but grew, and now belongs to many, one can still include it all in one eruv, because of the town's prior history. On the other hand, if the town used to belong to multiple owners but now belongs to one, leaving a portion of it outside the eruv is required.

How large should be the portion outside the eruv? – As large as the town which used to be in Judea called “Chadashah,” with the population of fifty people. Some say, three courtyards with at least two houses each.

Art: Young Peasant Woman with Three Children at the Window by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller (1793-1865)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Eruvin 58 – The act of measuring

The techum distance that limits walking on Shabbat should be measured only with a rope fifty-amah (about 100 feet) long, no more and no less. Both surveyors must hold their end of the rope next to the heart. If one, for example, would measure next to the heart and the other next to the head, they would be shortchanging the eruv.

If, while measuring, they reached a valley or a stone fence which are less then fifty steps wide, they pull the rope straight over these obstacles, and continue measuring. This is called spanning the mountain. If the hill is very high, they can use poles to pass the rope over.

If the hill or mountain is large, they "pierce through it" by walking up the hill, with one of them holding the rope at his heart and the other – at his feet, in such a way that the rope is always parallel to the horizon. In no event are they allowed to leave the area of the techum while measuring, for if they do, the onlookers might think that the techum reaches to the place where they were.

Spanning and piercing the mountains are a leniency, because they allow for longer distances. By contrast, in measuring for the laws of the city of refuge, where accidental killers run, and the decapitated calf, which atones for an unsolved murder case by burning the calf and washing the hands – for these laws one measures along the walking path, which results in a shorter distance.

Art: Albert Bierstadt - Mountain Landscape

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

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

Eruvin 56 – East and west

When one draws the rectangular techum boundary around a city, he aligns it with the directions of the world, north, south, east, and west. For this, he can use the stars: Taurus will point out the north, and Scorpio – the south. If he does not know how to find these constellations, he can use the sun. On the longest day of the year the sun rises and sets in two points which together indicate the north, and on the shortest day of the year he can determine the south. The Talmud continues discussing the constellations and their influences on the world.

In measuring the rectangular area of the techum (or a square for a round city), one makes sure to include the corners, thus gaining more walkable distance. When there is a possibility of drawing the techum in two different ways, he should prefer the one that gives more room. In general, the law of the techum follows the Sage with the most lenient opinion. That is because the two thousand steps limitation on walking on Shabbat and Festival is only a safeguard around the fifteen thousand limit prescribed by the Torah.

Art: Sir James Thornhill - Constellation of Taurus,  from Atlas Coelestis

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Eruvin 55 – How Moses taught

In order to completely understand the next portion of what later became the Talmud, Moses first learned it four time from God. Then Aaron would enter the tent of Moses, sit right across him, and Moses would teach him the portion. Then Aaron would sit to the side of Moses, the two sons of Aaron would enter, and Moses taught them. Then the rest of the Sages would come in, and Moses taught them. Then the rest of the people were taught by Moses.

By now, Aaron has heard it four times. Moses would leave, and now Aaron teaches everybody. Then Aaron leaves, and his sons teach. The the sons leave, and the Sages teach. Thus everybody gets a chance to hear the lesson four times. Why would not Moses teach all the time? – To give that distinction to the others.

Rabbi Preida had a student to whom he would have to repeat the lesson four hundred times before he understood it. One day, Rabbi Preida had to go to do a mitzvah, so he taught the student the usual four hundred times and was preparing to leave, when the student told him that he did not understand it this time, since every minute he was saying to himself, “Soon my teacher will leave.” Rabbi Preida said, “Sit and I will teach you,” and taught him another four hundred times. A heavenly voice asked him, “Do you want that four hundred years be added to your life, or that you and your generation merit the life in the World to Come?” Rabbi Preida chose the World to Come, but God himself intervened and said, “Give him both.”

The residence area (techum) around a city is drawn as a rectangular, following the city's outlines. Houses that protrude beyond the rectangular shape of the city itself add to the techum, since measuring begins from them.

Art: Gerrit Dou - The Bible Lesson

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Eruvin 54 – How to retain one's learning

One should always enunciate what he is reading. Why? – “For they (the words of learning) are life to those who find (motzaehem) them,” which can also be read as “motziehem,”pronounce them out loud.”

It also says, “They (the words of learning) are like a necklace on your neck.” What is the lesson? Just as the necklace, one must be pliable and agreeable with people. And just as a necklace is sometimes seen but mostly not seen, so too one should mostly stay at home engrossed in his studies.

The Proverbs say, “She (meaning, your study) is a lovely hind who effuses charm.” Just as a hind, whose womb is narrow, and therefore she is beloved to her mate every time as the first time, so too the words of one's learning give one pleasure every time he reviews them.

The same proverb continues, “Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; may you always be insane in her love.” What is this comparison? Just as a baby who touches the breast and always finds milk, so too those who repeat their learning always find pleasure in it. And they should be “insane” to the point of forgetting their daily needs. They say about Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat that when he was studying in the lower part of the market in Tzippori, he would forget his cloak in the upper part of the market.

Art: Jacobus Frederik Sterre De Jong - A sunlit interior with a mother sewing by a baby