From a review of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union:
"Much of the plot hinges on the arcane knowledge of Itzik Zimbalist, 'the boundary maven' who patrols Sitka’s eruvim. --Emily Barton, 1 May 2007, The New York Observer
boundary for the Jewish Sabbath: in some Jewish communities, a physical boundary within which some relaxations of the rules concerning the Jewish Sabbath are allowed. It may consist of the walls of a town, a natural barrier, or a special construction*.
(Early 18th century. < Hebrew 'ērūbh "mixture")
*: that "special construction" aspect has led to no small amount of controversy.
In modern times, when housing is not typically organized into walled courtyards, rabbinic interpretation has permitted this requirement to be met by creating a continuous wall or fence, real or symbolic, surrounding the area to be aggregated. The fence is required to have certain properties and consist of structural elements such as walls or doorframes. When the fence is symbolic, the structural elements are often symbolic "doorframes" made of wire, with two vertical wires (often connected to utility poles) and one horizontal wire on top connecting them (often using utility wires). The use of symbolic elements permits an eruv to make use of utility poles and the like to enclose an entire neighborhood of a modern city within the legal aggregation.
The installation of eruvim has been a matter of contention in many neighbourhoods around the world, classic examples are Barnet, England; Outremont, Quebec; Tenafly, New Jersey and Westhampton Beach, New York .
Because it is a property-owner as the owner of the public streets and sidewalks and the utility poles on which symbolic boundaries are to be strung, some authorities have interpreted Jewish law as requiring the local governmental entity to participate in the Jewish-law aggregation of property as one of the property owners by agreeing to creation of the eruv, and to give permission for the construction of a symbolic boundary on its property. In addition, because municipal law and the rules of utility companies generally prohibit third parties from stringing attachments to utility poles and wires, the creation of an eruv has often necessitated obtaining permissions, easements, and exceptions to various local ordinances. These requirements that government give active permission for an eruv have given rise to both political and legal controversy.
From a review of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union:
"Much of the plot hinges on the arcane knowledge of Itzik Zimbalist, 'the boundary maven' who patrols Sitka’s eruvim.
--Emily Barton, 1 May 2007, The New York Observer
boundary for the Jewish Sabbath: in some Jewish communities, a physical boundary within which some relaxations of the rules concerning the Jewish Sabbath are allowed. It may consist of the walls of a town, a natural barrier, or a special construction*.
(Early 18th century. < Hebrew 'ērūbh "mixture")
*: that "special construction" aspect has led to no small amount of controversy.
In modern times, when housing is not typically organized into walled courtyards, rabbinic interpretation has permitted this requirement to be met by creating a continuous wall or fence, real or symbolic, surrounding the area to be aggregated. The fence is required to have certain properties and consist of structural elements such as walls or doorframes. When the fence is symbolic, the structural elements are often symbolic "doorframes" made of wire, with two vertical wires (often connected to utility poles) and one horizontal wire on top connecting them (often using utility wires). The use of symbolic elements permits an eruv to make use of utility poles and the like to enclose an entire neighborhood of a modern city within the legal aggregation.
The installation of eruvim has been a matter of contention in many neighbourhoods around the world, classic examples are Barnet, England; Outremont, Quebec; Tenafly, New Jersey and Westhampton Beach, New York .
Because it is a property-owner as the owner of the public streets and sidewalks and the utility poles on which symbolic boundaries are to be strung, some authorities have interpreted Jewish law as requiring the local governmental entity to participate in the Jewish-law aggregation of property as one of the property owners by agreeing to creation of the eruv, and to give permission for the construction of a symbolic boundary on its property. In addition, because municipal law and the rules of utility companies generally prohibit third parties from stringing attachments to utility poles and wires, the creation of an eruv has often necessitated obtaining permissions, easements, and exceptions to various local ordinances. These requirements that government give active permission for an eruv have given rise to both political and legal controversy.