Q & A: A Downed Eruv (Part I)

Question: The eruv at a facility was discovered to be breached on Shabbat and was repaired without everyone residing there being told anything at the time. Some people learned about it only after the repair. What is the halachically proper manner of dealing with such a situation? If an eruv is breached on a Shabbat, is its repair permitted? If permitted, how is this to be done ideally? Is there a need to announce the breach?

Zvi K.
Via E-mail

Answer: The Mechaber (Orach Chayyim 374:2) states: “[I]n a courtyard whose walls [or as is common in eruvin today, rope and beams that form its tzurat ha’petach, its archway] were breached on the Sabbath, whether it be adjoining a reshut harabbim (a public domain) or a carmelit (not a legal public domain yet not a reshut hayachid, a private domain, either) – it is forbidden to carry.” (The Maggid Mishneh to Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat ch. 14:5, explains the word carmelit as ke’armelit – like a widow, neither married nor a maiden.)

This is a very relevant question, especially as it applies to people in summer situations such as bungalow colonies and hotels, where the whole purpose of the facility is to provide an outdoor country respite from the grind of the city. In many instances, these facilities provide lodging in one area or building and dining in yet another area or building and a shul in yet another building, making it virtually impossible for anyone with infants and small children as well as those who are elderly or infirm to travel from one location to the other without a proper eruv in place. Additionally, many communities enjoy year-round eruvim.

It would seem from the above cited halacha that if an eruv was damaged on Shabbat, there is no solution on that particular Shabbat and all further carrying would be forbidden. In many instances this would cause great hardship.

We see that the Mechaber also states the following (supra 276:2): “Amira le’eino Yehudi – saying to a gentile to perform a labor on the Sabbath [which is normally prohibited] is permitted if it is for a devar mitzvah, namely, [if] it is needed to perform a mitzvah.” The Mishna Berura (ad loc. 276:s.k.25) explains that if an eruv was damaged and needs repair, a gentile may perform the repair in order that the rabbim, the public, will not be exposed to a stumbling block and thus unknowingly violate Shabbat by carrying without a valid eruv.

The Mishna Berura cites the 12^th-century Sefer HaIttur as the source for the halacha of overriding a biblical prohibition of labor on Shabbat – that for the sake of the public, a gentile may be summoned to make the necessary repairs.

In your specific case (based on our conversation), the eruv, which was not directly connected to another reshut hayachid – and it was not between such two domains that the eruv structure fell – is not subject to the leniency of the halachic rule the Mechaber alludes to (supra 374:1, based on Eruvin 17a): “Keivan shehutra, hutra” – since it was originally permitted [to carry], it remains permitted for the balance of the Sabbath. That rule only applies to the aforementioned case; but if the eruv domain faces a public domain or a carmelit, that rule does not apply.

[Interestingly, there is a lenient view in this regard by Rabbi Shlomo Kluger (Teshuvot Ha’Elef Lecha Shlomo 153, 162, and 172), who permits carrying if it was impossible to find a gentile to repair the eruv. However, according to the opinion of Rabbi Neuwirth that we will cite infra, a Jew may make the repairs – thus why rely on keivan shehutra?]

The only solution in your case is the need to follow the rule of tzorech rabbim – a public need – and then figure out who may make the necessary repairs. Biur Halacha (Mishna Berura, Orach Chayyim 362:3 s.v. “mechitza shena’aseit b’Shabbat …”) states in regard to the repair that notwithstanding the public need, it is far better if the gentile repairing the eruv rope or string performs only the rabbinical labor of tying a loop or a slip-knot. It is obvious that if such will not suffice, either due to the quality of the string where a slip-knot will easily come loose, or where it is windy, then even a knot, a biblically prohibited labor, will be permitted.

Rabbi Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth (Shemirat Shabbat K’Hilchata ch. 17:24 note 107) states that if a gentile is not available, a Jew may make the necessary repair, albeit only by tying a slip-knot, and thus not violating a labor that is biblically prohibited on Shabbat.

Your query addresses the lack of an announcement in this regard by the rabbi or the gabbai of your bungalow colony along with other relevant announcements made in the synagogue. This is particularly important since it concerns a potential public violation of Shabbat – though in your case it was barely relevant since the eruv was repaired and was operating almost immediately. There are differing views regarding disclosing information about a downed eruv as we shall explain further.

(To be continued)

To regenerate means to restore, renew, or bring back to life. This term is often used in the context of biology, where it refers to the process of growing new tissue or organs to replace damaged or lost ones. Regeneration can also refer to the renewal or revival of something that has been damaged or deteriorated.

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