Eruv is a Hebrew word meaning
"mixture", and refers to any of three procedures
which allow certain activities in Jewish law which
would otherwise be forbidden. In colloquial usage,
it most often refers to the eruv for carrying
(Hebrew: עירוב חצרות, eiruv chatzeirot), but it can
also refer to the eruv for cooking (Hebrew: עירוב
תבשילין, eiruv tavshilin) or the eruv for traveling
(Hebrew: עירוב תחומין, eiruv techumin) as explained
below.
The Talmud devotes an entire tractate to the subject
of eruv titled Eruvin which addresses the eruv
chatzeirot, "mixed [ownership of] domains", and eruv
techumin, "mixed borders" (discussed below). It does
not address the eruv tavshilin, which is covered
elsewhere in the Talmud.
In Judaism, an "eruv" unspecified normally refers to
an eruv for carrying, which consists of a fence --
either real or symbolic -- that surrounds an area
containing anything from a single private home and
its yard, to an entire Jewish neighborhood,
permitting carrying within its boundaries. This
fence is technically a shituf mevo'ot (Hebrew: שיתוף
מבואות, lit. Sharing [of the] alleyways), and this
geographical sharing is required in order to
effectively engage in the process of eruv hatzerot
("mixing [of] courtyards.") In Judaism, "an eruv"
for carrying, means this symbolic "fence," (actually
"doorframe/s") rather than the eruv itself.
(Hebrew: עירוב, also spelt Eiruv or
Erub, plural: Eruvin) |
