4 ms·

Anything will sound dumb if you dumb it down enough. In actuality A) the eruv only works on a specific case. A public domain needs to have a very wide street wi

Anything will sound dumb if you dumb it down enough. In actuality A) the eruv only works on a specific case. A public domain needs to have a very wide street with 600,000 people who pass through it every day, which places with an eruv don't have. Technically as per biblical law you can carry even without an eruv, it's only as per rabbinic prohibition that you're not allowed to carry unless you have an eruv. In addition B) the eruv used in most modern communities is the weakest possible form of eruv and not everyone holds by it. My rabbi would only carry in a walled community. Here a great english language article explaining the laws is the following: https://www.halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Introduction_to_the_Modern_Eruv https://www.halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Introduction_to...

andrepd 5y ago
Well all these convoluted rules and workarounds are “dumb” from an objective point of view, in that there is no objective reason for their existence. Then again people are free to live by whatever self-imposed rules they desire, as silly as it looks to someone else.
boublepop 5y ago
Some people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on maintaining a fishing line around Manhatten. This isn’t “dumbing it down”, it’s just literally the facts of what is going on. Explaining that there are tons more you could dig into about these peoples beliefs around the holy powers of this fishing line and exactly when they do and do not work doesn’t escape the fact that it is dumb. If someone is wearing a tinfoil hat, his lengthy explanations about the capabilities of American and Russian intelligence agencies capabilities doesn’t make it sound less dumb.
- viciousvoxel 5y ago
  While I agree with you that it does seem particularly wasteful and silly, I think you would benefit from some introspection into your own "dumb" culturally-motivated behaviors, or those of "normal" secular society. As just one instance, aren't engagement and weddings rings expensive and dumb by your measure?
  - andrepd 5y ago
    > As just one instance, aren't engagement and weddings rings expensive and dumb by your measure? Yes...? When the time comes I'll not spend money which could otherwise buy several unforgettable vacation trips on a shiny overpriced rock, due to cultural pressure.
    - viciousvoxel 5y ago
      Great, I honestly think that's awesome, but I meant it as more of an illustrative example that we all have cultural biases and we shouldn't be so quick to label others' practices as "dumb" just because we don't understand them or practice them ourselves. If it was actively harming anyone then that would be another ethical rabbit-hole, but it's not as far as I can tell, and it's their money to spend/waste as they please. Now if we're talking about illegal eruvs (eruvim) such as steel cables or chains at ground-level that have killed motorcyclists in the past...I obviously think that's a good thing...
  - schwartzworld 5y ago
    I paid $20 for my wedding ring. My best friend paid almost $1000 for his. You could switch them and nobody would know.
    - andrepd 5y ago
      Funny thing is 1000$ is "cheap" for an engagement ring

andrepd 5y ago

Well all these convoluted rules and workarounds are “dumb” from an objective point of view, in that there is no objective reason for their existence. Then again people are free to live by whatever self-imposed rules they desire, as silly as it looks to someone else.

boublepop 5y ago

Some people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on maintaining a fishing line around Manhatten. This isn’t “dumbing it down”, it’s just literally the facts of what is going on. Explaining that there are tons more you could dig into about these peoples beliefs around the holy powers of this fishing line and exactly when they do and do not work doesn’t escape the fact that it is dumb. If someone is wearing a tinfoil hat, his lengthy explanations about the capabilities of American and Russian intelligence agencies capabilities doesn’t make it sound less dumb.

viciousvoxel 5y ago
While I agree with you that it does seem particularly wasteful and silly, I think you would benefit from some introspection into your own "dumb" culturally-motivated behaviors, or those of "normal" secular society. As just one instance, aren't engagement and weddings rings expensive and dumb by your measure?
- andrepd 5y ago
  > As just one instance, aren't engagement and weddings rings expensive and dumb by your measure? Yes...? When the time comes I'll not spend money which could otherwise buy several unforgettable vacation trips on a shiny overpriced rock, due to cultural pressure.
  - viciousvoxel 5y ago
    Great, I honestly think that's awesome, but I meant it as more of an illustrative example that we all have cultural biases and we shouldn't be so quick to label others' practices as "dumb" just because we don't understand them or practice them ourselves. If it was actively harming anyone then that would be another ethical rabbit-hole, but it's not as far as I can tell, and it's their money to spend/waste as they please. Now if we're talking about illegal eruvs (eruvim) such as steel cables or chains at ground-level that have killed motorcyclists in the past...I obviously think that's a good thing...
- schwartzworld 5y ago
  I paid $20 for my wedding ring. My best friend paid almost $1000 for his. You could switch them and nobody would know.
  - andrepd 5y ago
    Funny thing is 1000$ is "cheap" for an engagement ring