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eruv
him seem disgraceful, Erter seeks to stress his accusations by
way of irony. Assuming an air of innocence, he is apparently
surprised and shocked at the various reports of deceit and ignorance
which are conveyed to him by the characters which
inhabit the shadow of his sketches. His style is most important
in the shaping of his satire. Using biblical phraseology
extensively, he highlights the disparity between the sublime
and the ideal in the original biblical source from which that
phraseology is drawn and the ugly and the ridiculous state of
the contemporary world which it describes. He also parodies
traditional legal sources and adapts for his purpose some traditional
sayings and proverbs. His idiom reflects the elaborate
Hebrew style of the period and does not lack a certain rhetorical
symmetry. A new edition of Ha-Ẓofeh le-Veit Yisrael
was published in 1996.
Bibliography: J. Chotzmen, in: JQR, 3 (1891), 106–119; idem,
Hebrew Humour and other Essays (1905), 127–39; M. Lovitch, in:
HUCA (1904), 224–34; M. Weissberg, in: MGWJ, 62 (1928), 184–92;
Waxman, Literature, 3 (19602), 187–94; S. Bernfeld, Sefer ha-Shanah,
2 (1935), 134–42; Klausner, Sifrut (19522), 321–49. Add. Bibliography:
M. Peli, Darkhei ha-Sippur shel Erter ba-Satirah Gilglul Nefesh
(1973); N. Orland, “Aufklaerung, Emanzipation und Zionismus,” in:
Veröffentlichungen aus dem Institut Kirche und Judentum, 5 (1977),
36–41; J. Vilian, “Ḥasidut ve-Ḥokhmah le-Yiẓḥak Erter,” in: Dappim
le-Meḥkar be-Sifrut, 5–6 (1989), 277–86; S. Werses, “Gilgul Nefesh shel
Erter be-Tirgumo le-Yiddish,” in: Ḥuliot, 2 (1994), 29–49; S. Werses,
“Tofa’ot shel Magiyah ve-Demonologiyah ba-Aspaklariyah ha-Satirit
shel Maskilei Galiẓiya,” in: Meḥkarei Yerushalayim ba-Folklor ha-Yehudi,
17 (1995), 33–62; Y. Friedlander, Introduction to Ha-Ẓofeh le-
Veit Yisrael (1996).
[Samuel Werses]
ERUV (pl. Eruvin; Heb. בּורע), ֵ term applied to various symbolical
acts which facilitate the accomplishment of otherwise
forbidden acts on the Sabbath and festivals. The literal meaning
of eruv is “mixing” and it probably connotes the insertion
of the forbidden into the sphere of the permissible (cf.
Maim., Yad, Eruvin, 1:6). Thus, though it is forbidden (biblically,
according to some authorities, rabbinically, according
to others) to walk further than 2,000 cubits from one’s town
on the Sabbath or festivals, one may “mix” the forbidden and
permitted areas by establishing an eruv teḥumim (boundary
eruv). This is accomplished by placing sufficient food for two
meals (also called eruv teḥumim) less than 2,000 cubits from
the town, thus establishing another “residence” from which
one can again walk the permissible distance in any direction.
This ordinance is evidently ancient since its existence is assumed
in tannaitic sources (cf. Er. 3–5; Tosef. Er. 3–7; et al). It
is discussed extensively in the Talmud (cf. Er. 26b–61b; TJ, Er.
3–5) and by later authorities (e.g., Tur, Sh. Ar., Oḥ 408–16).
A similarly old statute (attributed to Solomon in Er. 21b)
is that of eruv ḥaẓerot (domain eruv). While carrying between
private and public domains is forbidden on the Sabbath, the
rabbis also forbade carrying between two private domains.
For example, if several houses opened onto one courtyard, an
object could not be removed from one house to another, nor
from a house to the courtyard (the latter is considered private
property, owned by all the residents, if it is surrounded by a
wall at least ten handbreadths high). To facilitate such carrying,
a loaf of bread (called eruv ḥaẓerot) owned by all the
residents is placed in one of the houses, thereby symbolically
creating mutual ownership of all the dwellings. The houses
and courtyard are thereby “mixed” together into one private
domain. The sources indicate that eruv ḥaẓerot was already
practiced in the time of the Second Temple; the details are
elaborated in rabbinic literature from tannaitic times (Er. 1:10;
2:6, et al.; see also Er. 17b; 61b–82a, et al.) down to the later
codes (cf. Tur, Sh. Ar., Oḥ 366–95).
To “mix” private and public domains in order that an individual
may carry from one to the other or within the latter,
an eruv is erected around a given settled district. According
to most early authorities, this eruv consists of a minimum of
four poles at least ten handbreadths high, connected by other
poles from top to top, forming the shape of a gate. The accepted
practice among Jewish communities for generations
has been to erect such an eruv by connecting poles (of the
required height) with iron wires. A minority opinion among
the authorities, based on a disagreement of interpretation of a
talmudic section (Er. 11a–b; cf. Tur, Sh. Ar., Oḥ 362), holds that
the poles must also be no more than ten cubits apart.
No eruv, however, can permit carrying within what rabbinic
law considers as falling under the biblical definition of
public domain (cf. Shab. 6b; Er. 6). According to most authorities,
such a domain is defined as an area crossed by at least
600,000 people (the number of Jews who fled Egypt) every
day, and this definition is accepted in law. Since such public
domains exist only in the largest cities, an eruv is effective in
most areas. Some consider the minority opinion, which finds
a biblically defined public domain in most settlements. While
individuals refrain from carrying in such areas, the authorities
admit that this practice is not required of everyone by law (cf.
Shab. 6b; Tos. to Shab., s.v. Kan; Tur, Sh. Ar., Oḥ 303, 345).]
According to rabbinical decree, in order to cook for the
Sabbath during a festival immediately preceding it, one must
establish an eruv tavshilin (cooking eruv). Before the festival,
bread and a cooked food (some feel the former is unnecessary)
are put aside for the Sabbath. Since the preparation of food
for the Sabbath begins before the festival, it may be continued
during the holidays. The preparation of food for the festival
and that for the Sabbath are thus “mixed.” The food prepared
before the holiday is “mixed” with that prepared within the
day, and the use of both is permitted. The term eruv tavshilin
is applied both to the act of setting aside the food and to the
food itself. This practice also evidently dates from an early period,
since a controversy is recorded between the schools of
Shammai and Hillel regarding one detail: Bet Shammai held
that not one but two cooked dishes must be set aside. Eruv
tavshilin is made by every householder, although, in principle,
one man’s eruv (e.g., that of the rabbi) can dispense the whole
congregation or city. The making of the eruv is preceded by
the standard benediction “Blessed art Thou … Who hast sanc-
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