Our Eruv
Marlowe, Noah
Dear Friends,
Last week we experienced a rare—but not uncommon—occurrence of Shabbat without an eruv. For me, the experience of hypervigilance about not walking around with items in my pockets or in my hands let to a Shabbat of greater mindfulness and presence and greater appreciation for the incredible eruv our community enjoys. Until recently, eruvin in cities and metropolitan areas were few and far between. Today, it is almost inconceivable that a city is without an eruv.
With this in mind, I ask that you make a contribution—in whatever capacity you can—to maintaining our eruv. Whether you can donate funds for the upkeep and maintenance of our eruv or whether you could join the group of weekly eruv checkers, achad ha-hamarbeh ve-achad ha-mamit, harei zeh meshubach, however great or small, it is praiseworthy.
If you would like to get more involved with the eruv, take a look at the eruv website for information (http://www.nceruv.org/index.html). If you are interested in joining the rotation of weekly eruv checkers, please reach out to Amy Robert (info...@nceruv.org) or Oren Weisberg (owei...@gmail.com).
More information will come out soon regarding an Eruv Checking Workshop for those interested in learning how to check the eruv. Even if you cannot commit to checking the eruv, it is a wonderful educational opportunity to learn more about a halakhic domain central to your life (although generally invisible to you eye).
All the best and shabbat shalom,
Noah
Rabbi Noah Marlowe
Orthodox Rabbi and Harvard Chaplain
