Ask Rabbi LJ

[gnomi]

E (3:58 PM) TA: The eiruv has been checked and repaired and is up for both Yom Kippur and for Shabbat He'ezinu.

I never remember year-to-year, and last year was Shabbat, anyway, so it was a moot question...what's the halacha about carrying on Yom Kippur? I know it's like Shabbat in some halachot and not like yom tov.

We've got an eiruv, but with the wind and rain we're having, I'm a bit nervous.

Can anyone remind me? Thanks!

Comments

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Yom Kippur is like Shabbat in terms of carrying, I think.

I even know of people who don't carry on Y"K even if they hold by the local eruv, because you should be stricter.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That was what I remembered, as well.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Y"K is like Shabbat for carrying.

Alas, that the Cambridge eruv is definitely down. Or perhaps, not as alas. Not easy for all the new moms, though (and I know there are at least 7).

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That was my recollection, as well.

Is the Cambridge eruv down due to weather or due to other issues?

[magid.livejournal.com]

Other issues: there's construction that has included taking down a wire. The eruv has paid to have it put back up before Shabbat each week, but that doesn't work mid-week, with active construction going on. At least it meant that they sent out an email well in advance, to give people time to figure out what they're going to do.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Ah. OK.

At least you had some warning, though. That's a good thing, indeed.

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

Yom Kipur has ALL the same halakhot as Shabbat, including the thing about carrying. In addition there are 5 other restriction (not eating, etc).

I'm one of the eruv checkers in Sharon and I checked my portion yesterday afternoon. After hearing the winds, I'm wondering if my checking was sufficient. We're asked to check between noon and noon to give the fixers time to do their job.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That was my recollection, as well.

Do you recheck in cases of weather like this?

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

Nope. We check once during the specified 24 hour period. If there is a risk of bad weather, our rabbi makes a confusing announcement, such as, if 3"+ of snow falls, consider the eruv to be down. Now, if we're not supposed to measure on Shabbat, how are we supposed to know? What about drifts?

Today's announcement is that there will be gusts of winds 30-40mph. Since 30mph winds are considered to be the limit of the eruv (just like 3" of snow), the situation is iffy. So the rabbi said to not carry if possible.

That's a little crazy for those of us who have kids under the age of bar/bat mitzvah. They need food even if we don't.

It's very confusing and I wish he'd just say "up" or "down."

There's a presumption that if it's up when checking before Shabbat / Yom Kipur, then you can rely on it even if it may be down, but our rabbi isn't frum enough to be mekel.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

ok, I've been reading this thread and getting more and more confused.

Is this something which can be explained to someone with a mild Jewish cultural background but not religious training at all, or would it take too long?

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

It takes as long as you want it to take. :)

In the Torah, work is forbidden on Shabbat. This prohibition is immediately adjacent to the work required for building the tabernacle. So, the rabbis extrapolated that anything done in building the tabernacle is prohibited on Shabbat. One of these prohibitions is carrying. There's a prohibition of carrying from one domain to another.

Without too many details, your house is a private domain and outside is a public domain. Walking outside with your keys would therefore be a problem.

There's a loophole. If the entire town is made to be a single domain, then carrying within the town is ok.

So, using posts and strings, a series of "doorways" are erected making a "walled city" - a single domain.

It's a legal fiction, but makes life a lot easier so people can push baby carriages, etc.

The problem is that trees fall on the string breaking down the "walls" during storms. So it needs to be checked before each Shabbat. Since Yom Kipur is like Shabbat, we also check for Yom Kipur.

May you be sealed for a sweet year.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

Ah! it all makes sense now, thank you.

Some of it I knew, but the whole "walled city" bit was new, and put this entire post into context for me.

[magid.livejournal.com]

(I'm sure Angwantibo will have more information)

An eruv is an enclosure to make a place a single private domain, within which one can carry things (keys, a siddur, push a stroller, and so on) on Shabbat. A walled city is one example of an eruv, showing the fence that it is.

In modern times, an eruv is usually mostly made up of a post and lintel system of verticals (existing utility poles, for instance) and horizontals (some kind of high-tension twine, a lot of the time). The space in between is considered a gateway... lots of gateways.

Each week before Shabbat, it's necessary to check that the verticals and horizontals are still in place, and make any necessary fixes. The problem is that sometimes weather is extreme enough after the time the eruv has been checked that there might be a presumption that something has broken, so it's no longer valid for Shabbat.

Hope this is useful.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Here (http://www.etzchaimsharon.org/laws_of_eruv.htm) is a synopsis of the laws put together by the group that oversees the eiruv for Sharon, MA.

Key differences between Yom Kippur and Shabbas.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

1) We have six aliyot instead of seven. Early kiddush club!

2) We have the five "afflictions of our soul" -- no eating, no drinking, no bathing, you must wear ugly white boat shoes, no funny business in the function room during the drash, and you can actually breath in the women's section (perhaps it is only four?).

3) I'm pretty sure you "only" get Karet instead of the death penalty. Go wild!

4) Increase in snuff use by congregants over 60.

5) N'ilah earlier than mincha erev shabbos -- come early for good parking spaces.

6) Auction kibbudim AND a yizker appeal. Good way to forget those Earthly distractions like davening and focus on what is really important -- displaying your financial wealth to the community in the guise of beddek habayit.

7) Rabbi's drash does not delay kiddush or lunch, but still delays nap.

8) Get to wear bathrobe to shul, provided it's white.

9) On shabbos, welcome two malachim. On Yom kippur, get to BE like malachim. This turns out not to be as much fun as welcoming malachim then eating.

10) This post now has sufficient answers to make a minyan.

Re: Key differences between Yom Kippur and Shabbas.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Hee!

Very nice. I'll have to remember this for next year.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

That should have been "Kol Nidreh" rather than N'ilah. Wishful thinking.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Still got giggles from me.

I definitely agree with 9 :-).

[doeeyedbunny.livejournal.com]

Yom Kippur is called "Shabbat Shabbaton" - so you anything you can't do on Shabbat you can't do on Yom Kippur. This came up in conversation w/ my dad when we heard the following joke:

Two cleaning ladies are chatting.
One says, "I just started working for a religious Jewish family and I'm so confused about all of their customs."
The other says, "Oh, it's not so confusing - they have three special days, each with their own customs. On the Sabbath, they eat in the dining room and smoke in the bathroom. Then in the summer, on Tisha B'av, the smoke in the dining room and eat in the bathroom. Finally, on Yom Kippur, they eat and smoke in the bathroom."

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heee! I'm gonna have to remember that one.