4 ms·
Since people seem to be completely misunderstanding what the point of this is, or why it's even a problem in the first place, let's start with two simple defini
by samuel_navi 1y ago
Since people seem to be completely misunderstanding what the point of this is, or why it's even a problem in the first place, let's start with two simple definitions of what's going on:
1. In Jewish law, the definition of "work that is prohibited on the Sabbath" includes "moving objects outside the private domain".
2. The definition of "domain" has three kinds: "public domain" (such as a house), "private domain" (such as a highway), and "vineyard" (a catch-all term for "hard to define whether it's public or private").
Turns out, most of an average city in the world is "vineyard". The Eruv's function is to change the domain within it from "vineyard" to "private domain". That's it. No "fooling God", no loophole, just a simple way to create a legal status. Public domain remains public, private domain remains private, and now the grey area in between gets resolved. And there's a bonus of "there's a nice symbolism in the creation of a unified community boundary".
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- M4v3R 1y agoI'm sorry but I fail to see how what you wrote makes it any different. The wire is nothing more than a hack, like a cheat in a game. The law prohibits work "outside" so let's redefine the meaning of "outside" so we can continue working there.
- Horffupolde 1y agoPerhaps what’s inside or outside is the intrinsic concept of private versus public, and cities without such a wire are incomplete?
- nashashmi 1y agoAah! Now I see the relevance to HN.
- bgwalter 1y agoA rabbi and a priest are sitting next to each other in a plane on the Sabbath. The priest notices that the rabbi keeps on his seat belt for the whole journey. Finally, overcome by curiosity, he asks: "Rabbi, why are you traveling on the Sabbath and why do you keep your seat belt on the whole time?" The rabbi answers: "I'm not traveling, I'm wearing the plane!"
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- transcriptase 1y agoI love this notion that apparently god shares an appreciation for going against the spirit of the law on technicalities.