An eruv (Hebrew for "mixture") is a symbolic halakhic enclosure, typically wire strung between poles read as a continuous line of doorposts and lintels, that merges separate private and public spaces such as streets and sidewalks into one legal domain, permitting observant Jews to carry ordinary objects, keys, tissues, medication, and to push strollers or use canes, outdoors on the Sabbath, which the boundary would otherwise forbid. A local rabbi typically inspects and repairs the physical eruv weekly, and eruvin now encompass large sections of cities from Manhattan to Tel Aviv.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItClergy or ordained officiants only 1 ConsecrationNot consecrated; an instrument, not a consecrated object 1 Identity
Category of Sacred ObjectA symbolic boundary, often a wire or string, that permits carrying on the Sabbath within an area treated as a single private domain. 1 Physical Form
MaterialWire strung between poles, or existing walls and fences 1 Status
Status TodayIn active religious use 2 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd editionMichael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.)
Related To
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition
Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Macmillan Reference USA, 2007s.v. eruvView the Source 2. Eruv (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia 'Eruv': present-tense 'is a ritual halakhic enclosure...to allow Orthodox Jews to carry objects outdoors'; checked 2026-09-27.View the Source The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
John Bowker (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1997on Sabbath law and the eruvView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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