Allan Baumgarten Video 1

Allan Baumgarten Video 1

Judaism, St. Louis Park Eruv Neighborhood

An eruv is a symbolically bounded space with roots in Jewish Talmudic tradition relating to the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). For observant Jews, Shabbat (which occurs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday) is a day of rest, with strict laws preventing any work from being done. The interpretation of work includes 39 categories, which proscribe such basic actions as turning on or off any electrical device or motor vehicle, cooking and, importantly, transferring objects from one domain to another. Basically, this means that no object can be transferred outside an enclosed space (the home). The eruv is a means of converting a non-home space into an extension of the home under Halachic (traditional Jewish) law using preexisting boundaries, allowing such objects as keys, prayer books and baby strollers to be carried on Shabbat. Today this generally means the use or following of power lines, walls and other bounding objects fitting extremely precise requirements; in the case of power lines, for example, a string is often raised along existing lines[1]. Eruvim exist in Orthodox communities across the United States and the world; several metropolitan areas such as New York, Houston and San Francisco have multiple eruvim. Eruvim are also maintained at several American college campuses such as Yale University, Brandeis University, the University of Maryland and the University of Pennsylvania[2]. Eruvim are especially important for families due to the difficulty of transporting infants without a stroller or other carrier .

Jacob Cohn

Religion Department (Carleton College)

3/19/12

video

.mov

SLP_AllanBaumgarten01.mov

Saint Louis Park, MN