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Laws of Eruvin Chapter 8 (Auto Translated)

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📋 Shiur Overview

Summary of the Shiur: Laws of Eruvin – Details of Eruv Techumin, Conditional Eruv, and Eruv on Yom Tov

Halacha 1–2: One Cannot Make Two Eruvin – You Cannot Make Two Eruvin for One Day

The Rambam’s Words: “One does not place two eruvin… for one does not make two eruvin on one day. Half the day going to two eruvin and it does not rest one day in the second eruv.” A person who said to two agents “Go and make eruvin in two directions” — “he walks according to the feet of both of them.” “One placed his eruv at a distance of one thousand amos to the east, and the second placed his eruv at a distance of five hundred amos to the west” — he can go west 1,000 amos and east 1,500 amos. If both eruvin are 2,000 amos in opposite directions — “he cannot move from his place.”

Explanation: A person cannot reside in two places on one Shabbos through two eruvin. One cannot say “in the morning my shevisa is here, in the afternoon there.” When someone mistakenly made two eruvin (through two agents), he can only go where both eruvin permit him — he gets the intersection of both techumin, not the benefit of both.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. “He walks according to the feet of both of them” — this doesn’t mean he gets the benefit of both eruvin, but the opposite: he is “stuck” with both. He can only go where both eruvin permit him. The eastern eruv limits him to the west, and the western eruv limits him to the east.

2. The extreme case — if someone made one eruv 2,000 amos to the east and one 2,000 amos to the west, he cannot move from his place (only four amos), because each eruv completely limits the other.

3. A question that is raised: How does this work “lechumra”? If one cannot make two eruvin, how are both chal? It is suggested that it is perhaps a safek — we don’t know which eruv took effect, therefore we give him the stringencies of both. The shiur leaves this open as a possibility.

Halacha 3–4: Conditional Eruv – One Can Make Two Eruvin with a Condition

The Rambam’s Words: One can make two eruvin on two sides with a condition: if I need to go east — “this is my eruv” and the other is nothing; if I need to go west — the opposite. “And if he needs both directions… to whichever he wishes he goes” — if he needs both, he can choose. “And if he did not make an eruv at all, or if he made an eruv and did not need either direction, no eruv helps him… rather he is like a resident of the city.”

Explanation: Through a condition one can give oneself “options” — one can make multiple eruvin in different directions, but only one can be active on a given day. The condition determines which eruv becomes chal according to what happens.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. The main chiddush: A person can make himself options — he makes multiple eruvin, and the condition determines which becomes active. This doesn’t contradict the rule that one cannot make two eruvin, because through the condition only one becomes chal.

2. If he needs both sides: He can then have a choice which eruv he wants to use — but only one, not both.

3. If he needs neither: When no condition is fulfilled, no eruv is chal, and he remains a ben ha’ir with 2,000 amos in every direction.

4. More than two: One can make even 5 or 6 eruvin with conditions — there is no difference in number, as long as it is with a condition.

5. Only once a day: One cannot switch back in the afternoon — once one has decided, it is fixed for that day.

6. Breira bederabanan: This implies yesh breira bederabanan — one can decide even on Shabbos itself which eruv to use. This becomes more explicit later.

Halacha: Breira — One Who Says to Five “I Am Making an Eruv on Whichever of You I Wish”

The Rambam’s Words: “One who says to five: I am making an eruv on whichever of you I wish… even though he decided after dark – he may go. For something that is not from the words of the Sages, there is breira.”

Explanation: Someone says to five people: I am making an eruv for whichever of you I will want. Even if he only decided after dark (already on Shabbos), that person can go, because in rabbinic matters yesh breira applies.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. The principle: “For something that is not from the words of the Sages, there is breira” — in rabbinic matters one can retroactively decide what one meant. Eruv is rabbinic, therefore breira works.

2. Connection to Chapter 6: The same principle as the halacha that if one was pleased erev Shabbos it is also good.

3. Practical application — mashgiach in camp: A mashgiach can place eruvin erev Shabbos, and later decide who may go where. But it is limited: the people must know about it — there is no such automatic benefit, because he remains according to the feet of the one making the eruv (it is an obligation, not just a privilege). But one can hang a notice in shul that an eruv was made, and whoever wants to go in that direction can use it.

Halacha: One May Make a Condition on His Eruv – Condition on Eruv for Which Shabbosos

The Rambam’s Words: “One may make a condition on his eruv and say: my eruv for this Shabbos and not for another Shabbos, for the coming Shabbosos, for Yom Tov and not for Shabbosos” etc.

Explanation: One can make a condition on one’s eruv — that it should only work for certain Shabbosos/Yamim Tovim and not for others.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. Why is this a chiddush? If one can make a condition on one Shabbos for two directions, isn’t it obvious that one can limit for which Shabbos it applies? The answer: The chiddush is that the eruv can physically lie there for several weeks, and one can decide that only certain Shabbosos it should work. One just needs to make sure that the food is still in existence (not burned or spoiled) when that Shabbos comes — as the Mishna Berura says.

2. The principle why conditions work: Eruv is not an automatic mechanism of the bread — it is all about intent. Because he thinks of the bread as his place of shevisa, he can determine when he has this intent and when not.

3. “For the coming Shabbosos” — even if he already made the eruv, he can use it for coming weeks, not just for the first Shabbos.

Halacha: Eruv for an Entire Year

The Rambam’s Words (in the name of Rebbi): “One makes an eruv for the Shabbos of the entire year… every Shabbos that he wishes” — he can go even two techumei Shabbos, and when he doesn’t want to, he stays in his place.

Explanation: One can make one eruv for all Shabbosos of an entire year, and each Shabbos decide whether to use it.

Chiddushim: The Mishna Berura says that one must make sure that the eruv is in existence (the food is still present and not spoiled). One can also do it through an agent.

Halacha 5: Eruv Techumin for Yom Tov and Yom Kippur — Introduction

The Rambam’s Words: “Just as it is forbidden to go outside the techum on Shabbos, so it is forbidden on Yom Tov and on Yom Kippur.” But: “On Yom Tov it is permitted to carry from domain to domain” — hotza’ah is permitted on Yom Tov (mitoch she’hutrah letzorech hutrah shelo letzorech). “Therefore one makes eruvin of courtyards and partnerships in alleyways for Yom Kippur like Shabbos, and one makes eruvin of techumin for Yom Kippur and for Yom Tov like Shabbos.”

Explanation: Techumin is forbidden whether Shabbos, Yom Tov, or Yom Kippur — therefore one needs eruvin of techumin for all. But hotza’ah from domain to domain is only forbidden on Shabbos and Yom Kippur, not Yom Tov — therefore one needs eruvin of courtyards only for Shabbos and Yom Kippur, not for Yom Tov.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. This is the only place in the laws of eruv techumin where eruv chatzeiros is mixed in — because the Rambam wants to give a complete introduction to Yom Tov laws regarding eruvin.

2. The Rambam’s position: Hotza’ah on Yom Tov is permitted even shelo letzorech — mitoch she’hutrah hotza’ah letzorech, hutrah also shelo letzorech. Therefore the entire matter of eruvin of courtyards falls away on Yom Tov.

3. The Rambam’s structure: He brings the Yom Tov matter as a continuation of two eruvin / conditional eruv, because with the two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora it often happens that one needs to make conditions and two eruvin for the two days. The Rambam feels that one needs an introduction before jumping into Yom Tov details.

Halacha: Two Eruvin for Two Days — Yom Tov Adjacent to Shabbos / Two Days of Yom Tov of the Diaspora

The Rambam’s Words: “Yom Tov that falls adjacent to Shabbos, whether before it or after it, or two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora – he may make two eruvin in two directions, and rely on whichever of them he wishes for the first day, and on the eruv in the second direction for the second day.” “Or he makes one eruv in one direction, and relies on it for one of the two days.”

Explanation: When Yom Tov is adjacent to Shabbos (before or after), or with two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, one can make two eruvin in two different directions, and each day use a different eruv. Alternatively, one can make one eruv for one direction, use it only one day, and the other day remain in one’s regular place of shevisa.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. The principle why this works: Yom Tov and Shabbos (or two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora) are two different kedushos. He acquired shevisa erev Shabbos separately and erev Yom Tov separately, therefore he can use a different eruv each day.

2. Two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora — different reason: One day is al hakodesh and one day is al hachol — one of the days is actually chol, we just don’t know which.

3. Two days of Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana — different: We consider it as one day, as one kedusha, and therefore one cannot make two eruvin for two directions. The root: Rosh Hashana we kept two days even in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, when they sanctified based on witnesses — it is less a doubt and more a fixed enactment, therefore it is one kedusha.

Halacha: The Eruv Must Be There Both Nights — Two Kedushos

The Rambam’s Words: “One who makes an eruv for two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, or for Shabbos and Yom Tov, even if he made an eruv for only one of them in one direction – the eruv must be in its place on the night of the first and on the second night during all of bein hashmashos.” “Because they are two kedushos, and the establishment of eruv techumin for the first does not acquire an eruv for two days.”

Explanation: Even if he wants to go the same direction both days, the eruv must physically be in the place at both bein hashmashos times — both the first night and the second night. The eruv from the first day cannot automatically work for the second day.

Chiddushim and Explanations:

1. If the eruv was eaten on the first day — if the eruv was eaten on the first day, he only has an eruv for the first day and not for the second.

2. How does he do it — the practical instruction:

He brings it erev Yom Tov — he brings it to the place erev Yom Tov/erev Shabbos.

And it gets dark upon it — he stays there until bein hashmashos.

– If he doesn’t want to leave it there (because it is not a guarded place): he takes it in his hand — he takes it back home on the night of Yom Tov, because on Yom Tov one may carry (hotza’ah is permitted on Yom Tov).

And tomorrow he brings it to that same place and leaves it there until it gets dark — tomorrow he brings it back to the same place for the second bein hashmashos.

And he eats it — afterwards he can eat it: if it’s Shabbos, he eats it there in the place; if it’s Yom Tov, he can bring it home.

3. The distinction between Shabbos and Yom Tov is critical here: on Yom Tov he can carry the eruv back and forth, but on Shabbos he cannot.

Halacha: Eruv with His Feet the Second Day — “He Thinks in His Heart” vs. “And Says My Shevisa”

The Rambam: One who made an eruv with his feet the first day must go again to the same place the second day. The Rambam writes here “he thinks in his heart that he acquires shevisa there” — he should only *think* in his heart.

Explanation: He goes to the place and thinks that he is acquiring shevisa there.

Chiddushim:

1. The distinction of “he thinks in his heart” vs. “and says my shevisa”: Earlier with eruv with his feet the Rambam said “and says my shevisa” (one says it verbally). Here he says only “he thinks in his heart”. The distinction may be due to the prohibition of hachana from one Yom Tov to another — one may not say it explicitly because that looks like preparation from one Yom Tov for the other.

2. Made eruv with bread on the first — wants to make with his feet on the second: This is permitted, he just needs to go there and think that he is acquiring shevisa.

3. Made eruv with bread on the first — wants to make with bread on the second: “He must make an eruv with that same bread that he made an eruv with on the first.” The reason: taking a *new* bread and making it for an eruv is an act of preparation from one Yom Tov to another. But the same bread that is already lying there, he doesn’t need to do anything new — he just brings it there, and that is not called preparation. The distinction is not which bread, but the act of making a new bread for an eruv — that is preparation. Going alone, or using an already-existing bread, is not preparation.

Chiddush: “One Kedusha” — Shabbos and Yom Kippur

Great chiddush from the Rambam: The Rambam’s reasoning of “two kedushos” has a significant practical difference:

1. With Yom Tov of the diaspora (two days of Yom Tov) — it is two kedushos, therefore one needs two eruvin.

2. With Rosh Hashana — according to the Rambam it is one kedusha, therefore one needs only one eruv.

3. Shabbos and Yom Kippur that fall together (which can only happen when sanctifying based on witnesses, not in current times when lo adu Rosh) — the Rambam holds that Shabbos and Yom Kippur is one kedusha, and one needs only one eruv. The reason: Both have the same level of kedusha — both are forbidden in melechet ochel nefesh, both are forbidden in hotza’ah.

4. The chiddush in the concept “one kedusha”: One would have thought that “one kedusha” means it is literally one thing (like Rosh Hashana which is one yoma arichta). But the Rambam shows that “one kedusha” means that they have the same laws/level of kedusha — even when they are two separate days. Shabbos and Yom Kippur are two separate days, but because their laws are the same, it is called one kedusha. Conversely — the first day of Sukkos and the second day of Sukkos, although both are called “Sukkos,” are two kedushos because one is truly Yom Tov and the other is possibly chol.

Halacha: Two Eruvin in Two Directions — The Condition of “Possible to Reach”

The Rambam: “A person has permission to make two eruvin in two directions for two days, provided that it is possible to reach each of the two eruvin on the first day.” If he cannot reach the second eruv on the first day, “his second eruv is not an eruv, for the mitzvah of eruv is that it be a meal fit for him on that day.”

Explanation: One may make two eruvin in two different directions for two days of Yom Tov. But the second eruv must lie in a place where he can reach it on the first day. Because an eruv must be a meal fit for him on that day — he must be able to eat the eruv on that day.

Chiddushim — the Rambam’s example:

1. First eruv 2,000 amos east — on the first day he goes completely east. He has no amos west. Therefore he cannot reach a second eruv in the west — his second eruv is not an eruv.

2. First eruv 1,500 amos east — he still has 500 amos west from his house. If the second eruv lies within 500 amos west, he can reach it on the first day, and this is an eruv. On the second day he can go 1,500 + 2,000 west.

Halacha: One Does Not Make an Eruv on Yom Tov — Yom Tov That Falls on Erev Shabbos

The Rambam: “Yom Tov that falls on erev Shabbos, one does not make eruvin of courtyards or eruvin of techumin on it, but one makes eruvin on Thursday which is erev Yom Tov.”

Explanation: When Yom Tov is Friday, one may not make any eruv (not courtyards, not techumin) on Yom Tov itself. One makes the eruv on Thursday, erev Yom Tov.

Chiddushim:

1. Why may one not? — Eruv techumin is a kinyan reshus — he is acquiring the place for his shevisa. Such an acquisition is not done on Yom Tov. It is also mentioned that it may be a matter of hachana or metaken (fixing a domain). With eruv chatzeiros it is also such a type of acquisition.

2. Question from eruv tavshilin: If one already made eruv tavshilin (which permits cooking from Yom Tov for Shabbos, lighting candles, carrying), why shouldn’t eruv tavshilin also permit making an eruv chatzeiros/techumin? The answer remains somewhat open, but it is understood that eruv techumin is a special type of acquisition/fixing that eruv tavshilin does not cover.

3. Eruv with his feet/with thought — is this an acquisition? One can make an eruv with his feet or even with thought alone — what kind of acquisition is this? The answer: it is not a real acquisition, but because it is similar to an acquisition, one does not do it on Yom Tov.

Halacha: Forgot and Did Not Make an Eruv — Condition with Eruv Chatzeiros (Not Techumin)

The Rambam: “And if he forgot and did not make an eruv, he may make eruvin of courtyards on Thursday [=Yom Tov] and erev Shabbos, but not eruvin of techumin.”

Explanation: If he forgot to make an eruv erev Yom Tov, he can make eruv chatzeiros with a condition on Yom Tov itself — but eruv techumin he cannot make even with a condition.

Chiddushim:

1. Why is eruv techumin stricter? — Eruv techumin is more of a kinyan shevisa (acquiring a shevisa), a stronger acquisition, and one does not do it on Yom Tov even with a doubt/condition. Eruv chatzeiros is a lesser acquisition. (Brings from Maginei Eretz and Ilana.)

2. A practical reasoning that is rejected: Eruv chatzeiros is so that one may carry (hotza’ah), but on Yom Tov one may carry anyway, so eruv chatzeiros is not so necessary on Yom Tov. In contrast, techumin applies also on Yom Tov. But the commentators do not say this simple explanation.

3. The condition how it works: On Thursday (first day of Yom Tov, when Friday is also Yom Tov) he says: “If today is Yom Tov” — I do nothing (because on Yom Tov one does not make acquisitions), “and if not” — I make an eruv (because then today is chol and tomorrow is Yom Tov, and he is making an eruv erev Yom Tov). On Friday (tomorrow) he repeats and makes an eruv — he makes an eruv chatzeiros again with the same condition: “If today is Yom Tov” — I need not do anything, because I already had an eruv from yesterday; “and if there is nothing in yesterday’s words” — if yesterday was the true Yom Tov and today is a weekday — I now make the eruv.

4. Two days of Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana — no condition: The entire law of conditions applies only to regular two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, where there is a doubt which day is the true Yom Tov. But Rosh Hashana — where both days are “one kedusha” (like one long day) — one cannot make a condition, because it is not a doubt between two days, but one kedusha.

With this we conclude the study of Laws of EruvinBlessed is the Merciful One who helped us.


📝 Full Transcript

Laws of Eruvin: Laws of Two Eruvin, Conditional Eruv, and Eruv on Yom Tov

Introduction: Completion of Chapter 27 and the Patron of the Shiur

Speaker 1: We have completed Hilchos Eruvin Chapter 27, the last chapter in Hilchos Eruvin. He brings here an expression of gratitude for the donors, Rabbi Yoel Wertzberger, who is the donor patron of the shiur.

Speaker 2: Yes, I want to say about the patron of the shiur, next year we will meet as far as I will catch it. One can make an eruv or one thinks of something or there is a loaf there. So however one turns it, or one thinks of the shiur, of the essence of the shiur, or the loaf that lies behind it. Okay, one must thank for both of them. Eruv beraglo is the main thing, but also the wealthy can fulfill their obligation with chicken cutlet. That’s how it works out.

Overview: What We Have Learned and What We Will Learn

Speaker 1: Anyway, we have learned the main laws of eruv, how one makes eruv techumin, how one makes eruv beraglo which we learned in Chapter 7. Now we will learn… or Shabbos, yes, etc. Now we will learn essentially details, more distinctions in the laws of eruv. That is, in Chapter 1 one speaks of eruv bepat. I see that the Rambam also calls it pat, so I’m not the one who is crazy for saying pat. But although ostensibly all the laws also apply to eruv beraglo, nevertheless there are distinctions. In any case, we will learn more details in this.

The main focus of this chapter speaks of two topics. One is, if one makes more than one eruv, or makes it with a condition, or other ways. And the second is regarding Yom Tov. And the truth is it’s very connected, because Yom Tov also sometimes requires making a condition if it’s two days of Yom Tov. So one can say that the entire chapter revolves around the laws of two eruvin, or two conditions in an eruv, two options in an eruv.

Law 1: One Cannot Place Two Eruvin — One Cannot Make Two Eruvin for One Day

Speaker 1: So he says as follows, first of all what one certainly cannot do: One cannot place two eruvin. A Jew cannot make two eruvin. That is, he places an eruv in the east, and he says “I want to go in the morning here and in the afternoon there.” That is, two at once is obviously impossible. But when he says “one cannot place,” he doesn’t mean that it’s like one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Yes, how so? Half the day one walks to two eruvin, and one does not remain one day in the second eruv. One cannot say “in the morning I reside here, therefore I can go that way, and in the afternoon I reside there, I can go there.” For one does not make two eruvin in one day. One cannot in one day reside in two places, make two eruvin. This is the basic law.

Discussion: How Does This Work Stringently?

Speaker 2: What mistake was made here? Imagine, it’s very interesting, that is, ostensibly one cannot, but stringently it appears that one can indeed. Here he means an am ha’aretz, he didn’t know that one cannot make an eruv in two directions. “Go and make eruv in two directions,” come you and be me’arev in two directions. It occurred to him that one can indeed. Or another way that it can happen that in practice a person made two eruvin in two places, is “that he made them through two people without his knowledge”, he told two people the right, and he didn’t tell them where. If he had told them where, they would only have been able to do where he said, but he gave them the right to make an eruv wherever they want. “One made eruv for him to the north and one made eruv for him to the south.” The law is “he walks according to the feet of both of them.” That is, stringently it means that he resides in both, and therefore “he walks according to the feet of both of them” doesn’t mean that he can go far two thousand amos from both, he may only go within the two thousand amos, as long as he is within the two thousand amos from both sides. He is stuck with both eruvin, not that he benefited from both eruvin, he is stuck with both eruvin. And the next law will explain it, yes? He will give the details.

Speaker 1: Which idea, so he brings from one, that it’s in doubt? I don’t know, more interesting. A doubt? One doesn’t know.

Speaker 2: Behold this is his place, does he have his four amos?

Speaker 1: Yes. But his place, what does four amos mean? Or, is he a reshus hayachid?

Speaker 2: On… don’t know.

Speaker 1: Yes, he is in a city. Can he go the whole city, whatever. Okay, so that is the main law that one should not do. It seems to me that one cannot make it real. The walking, regel shenayim, is more like a doubt? Or a class, or a doubt? Such a kind of thing.

Law 2: Details of “He Walks According to the Feet of Both of Them”

Speaker 1: “How does he walk according to the feet of both of them? What is the reason? Because he can only walk in a place where both of them can walk.” He can only go where both can go. For example, “one placed his eruv at a distance of one thousand amos to the east, and the second placed his eruv at a distance of five hundred amos to the west”, yes? The other went five hundred amos to the west, “this one who made eruv for him can walk to the west only one thousand amos.” He can go to the west only one thousand amos. That is, another five hundred further from that person’s eruv, but not further, because he must be careful about his eruv from the east which is indeed two thousand amos away, “according to the feet of the one who made eruv for him in the east.” The same thing in the east, he cannot go the full two thousand amos, “and he walks to the east one thousand five hundred amos”, because the other is five hundred more away, it comes out to two thousand, “according to the feet of the one who made eruv for him in the west.”

One sees it comes out that a person can become truly stuck. “If they made eruv for him these two eruvin together, ah, one at a distance of two thousand to the east, and one at a distance of two thousand to the west”, he made in total two thousand amos, one to the east one to the west, behold this is his place, he may not move from his place, he is out of place he is out of, he is at the extreme of that one, he is the two thousand of that one.

Speaker 2: If I don’t understand here, if he cannot make two eruvin, how does this work stringently? That one can indeed, but one should not. That is one can indeed… or perhaps… we are concerned, and we don’t know which of them is, which of them took effect first, or what? And at least we give him the stringencies of the place? Or what did he make clear both? No. More interesting. Yes. He says, which idea, so he brings from one, that it’s in doubt? I don’t know, more interesting. A doubt? One doesn’t know. Behold this is his place, does he have his four amos? Yes. But his place, what does four amos mean? Or, is he a reshus hayachid? On… don’t know. Yes, he is in a city. Can he go the whole city, whatever.

Speaker 1: Okay, so that is the main law that one should not do. It seems to me that one cannot make it real. The walking, regel shenayim, is more like a doubt? Or a class, or a doubt? Such a kind of thing.

Law 3: Conditional Eruv — One Can Make Two Eruvin with a Condition

Speaker 1: But now we can learn that one can in practice indeed, find a way to make two eruvin, not that in one day he will be able to use both, but he can give himself options. A person can make himself options, that he will be able to go whichever way he will want, but tomorrow he must decide, or erev Shabbos he must decide, or erev Shabbos first time it is a person can indeed make two eruvin on two sides, but he makes a condition, he makes a condition, he says thus, he sees thus, he sees thus, if there is a matter of a mitzvah, if he received a mitzvah or mitzvah or urgency. If he thought one can only make it, he must go, if he thought to himself, I must go here, this eruv takes effect and the other eruv is nothing, he says then I am here, the other is not there. If the opposite, and if I need the other direction, need to go to the west, this eruv takes effect and the other eruv is nothing. And what will be if I will need to go both? “And if he needs both directions, he may rely on whichever eruv he wishes, to whichever he wishes he shall go”, so he will be able to go, he will then be able to choose. That is, he should not make it conditional that if there will be a need it will automatically become that, he wants to leave himself options. He says, if I will have a need for both sides, I will decide then which I want to go, and then I will only be able to go in that way, and the other eruv will be nothing.

Law 4: If He Did Not Make Any Condition

Speaker 1: “And if he did not make eruv at all, or he made eruv and did not need either direction, no eruv helps him, and he does not rely on either of them, but behold he is like a resident of the city, and he has two thousand amos in every direction outside the city.” That is, he was not decisive, he thought, he was not decisive the entire erev, if he is not decisive, he is a resident of the city, and he needs nothing.

Summary: The Rules of Conditional Eruv

Speaker 1: So the condition one can make, and one can make even more than two eruvin, even five and six, there is no difference. He says on each one that he will only use it on condition that he needs it. As long as it’s with a condition he can make it. But if he doesn’t make any condition, then he remains stuck, because both take effect. But with a condition, when the condition is that if he uses this eruv, the other eruv is nothing. And one can only do this once a day, one cannot switch back in the afternoon.

This is all basically the laws of conditions, and we will learn explicitly, the Rambam doesn’t say it here, but we will learn explicitly that this means that according to the Rabbanan yesh breira, that he can also decide on Shabbos. Here it doesn’t yet state clearly that he can decide it on Shabbos, but it states later clearly that one can decide it on Shabbos. And not only that, it states even later that one can make it for a whole year. If one knows that during the year it happens that he needs to go, he can make an eruv, and he says, whichever Shabbos I will need, my eruv will be there, and I will rely on that eruv. One can make it for an agent and for other people as well.

Law 5: Introduction to Eruv on Yom Tov — Techumin and Hotza’ah

Speaker 1: So until here is the law of two eruvin. Now we will learn it, first the Rambam will say the rule that one needs Yom Tov and Yom Kippur also an eruv, and therefore there will be various detailed laws that only happen on Yom Tov, because Yom Tov can be two days, in doubt, the two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, so one must know what is the law of an eruv. Whether one can make, how it works, first of all how it works, whether one must make two eruvin for the days or not, afterwards if one can make two other eruvin for the two other days, etc. So first he makes an introduction.

“Just as it is forbidden to take an object outside the techum on Shabbos” – it’s something presumably agreed upon by the scribes that they mean, I don’t know why this doesn’t come in here, which Yom Tov one will learn which eruv techumin of Yom Tov, this comes in, because he wants to say the details.

“Just as it is forbidden to take an object outside the techum on Shabbos” – one may not go outside the techum on Shabbos, “so it is forbidden on Yom Tov and on Yom Kippur”, both Yom Tov, and Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is indeed like Shabbos in all its matters. Yom Tov is more permitted regarding ochel nefesh, but outside the techum one may not go. But it may be that there is a distinction. “Just as one who takes out from domain to domain on Shabbos is liable” – one may not do hotza’ah on Shabbos, “so on Yom Tov and on Yom Kippur one is liable”, on Yom Kippur he is also liable. “But on Yom Tov it is permitted to take out from domain to domain”, on Yom Tov there is no prohibition of hotza’ah. That is, one must come to the laws of Yom Tov and see, although according to the rule the rule is that only ochel nefesh is permitted on Yom Tov, but the Rambam says certainly that hotza’ah is permitted even not for need, because since hotza’ah was permitted for need it was also permitted not for need.

The Only Law That Mixes Eruv Chatzeros with Eruv Techumin

Speaker 1: It comes out thus, this is the only law in the laws of eruv techumin where the laws of eruv chatzeros are also mixed in, because it makes sense, the laws of eruvin. That is, yes, there is no other law here. Therefore it comes out thus: “One makes eruv chatzeros and partnerships in courtyards for Yom Kippur like Shabbos”, if Yom Kippur one must make eruv chatzeros and shitufei mevo’os exactly like Shabbos if one wants to carry. “And one makes eruv techumin for Yom Kippur and for Yom Tov like Shabbos”, and besides this, eruv techumin one must make for every Yom Tov if one wants to go, or for, yes, also for Yom Tov, not only for Yom Kippur, but also for Yom Tov. But all these things will make distinctions in the details of what happens, and one will see all these laws that we are learning.

Reason for the Introduction: Why the Rambam Brings This Here

Speaker 1: Yes, so on Yom Tov one may carry. That is, what is the special stringency of Shabbos, not to carry from reshus harabim to reshus hayachid etc., on Yom Tov is not relevant, because the entire hotza’ah is permitted. So the Rambam says thus: First of all, there is a way that one can on Yom Tov, since Yom Tov or Yom Tov is close to Shabbos, or even two days of Yom Tov which is two separate kedushos, one can make two eruvin essentially, and then one can indeed make, that is, on this Yom Tov he will be able to go both ways, because he can make the same breira, he can make that one day he goes here and one day he goes there. Interesting.

So basically he continues the topic of two eruvin, and now he wants to say regarding Yom Tov two eruvin. But he feels that it’s not appropriate to give a jump into Yom Tov, therefore he gives such a little introduction that there is Yom Tov. Regarding eruv there is Yom Tov, regarding eruv there is no Yom Tov. No, eruv chatzeros, I go he won’t mention it afterwards.

Eruv Techumin on Yom Tov – Two Eruvin, Conditions, and Breira

Law: Eruv Techumin on Yom Tov – The Distinction Between Shabbos and Yom Tov

Speaker 1:

But all these things will make distinctions in the details of what happens, and one will see all these laws that we are learning. Yes. So on Yom Tov one may carry, that is what the stringency of Shabbos was not to carry from reshus hayachid to reshus hayachid etc. on Yom Tov is not relevant because the entire hotza’ah is permitted.

Law: Two Eruvin in Two Directions on Yom Tov and Shabbos

Speaker 1:

So the Rambam says thus, first of all there are ways that one can on Yom Tov, since Yom Tov or Yom Tov is close to Shabbos or even two days of Yom Tov, it’s two separate kedushos, one can make two eruvin at once, and then one can indeed make, that is on this Yom Tov he will be able to go both ways, because he can make the same breira, but he can make that one day he goes here and one day he goes here.

Interesting, so basically he continues the topic of two eruvin, now he wants to say regarding Yom Tov two eruvin, but he feels that it’s not appropriate to give a jump into Yom Tov, he must give such a little introduction that there is Yom Tov. Regarding eruv there is Yom Tov, regarding eruv there is no Yom Tov. No, eruv chatzeros, I go he won’t mention it afterwards.

The Language of the Rambam

Speaker 1:

He says thus, Yom Tov that falls adjacent to Shabbos, it comes out Yom Tov is close to Shabbos, one day with Shabbos, whether before it or after it, or two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, which is sometimes two days of Yom Tov, he may make two eruvin in two directions, he can make two eruvin for both ways, and rely on whichever of them he wishes for the first day, and on the eruv in the second direction for the second day, he can say the first day Shabbos or Yom Tov or one day of Yom Tov I will rely on this way, and the next day that way. So he made initially both eruvin, and when each day comes he decides which he wants to use. What is different from Shabbos where one cannot, but here it’s indeed two other days, two other kedushos, one day this, one day that, this one can indeed do.

This is one thing. Or one can simply thus, or he makes one eruv in one direction, and relies on it for one of the two days, that is or he can say I go the other way, or the other day, which is the second day, he acquires residence in the eruv according to the law of eruv. That is, exactly as we saw earlier that people can go or which eruv, or that I don’t want any eruv at all.

Condition: Only by Two Days of Yom Tov of the Diaspora or Yom Tov and Shabbos

Speaker 1:

But this has a condition. As we saw earlier, that two days of Yom Tov one can go two other directions, this only works on two days of Yom Tov of the diaspora, or by Yom Tov and Shabbos.

Speaker 2:

Yes, or Yom Tov and Shabbos, that is also two Yom Tovs one can also.

Eruvin for Two Days of Yom Tov – Two Kedushot, Conditions, and Laws of Eruv on Yom Tov

Halacha: Eruv for Two Days of Yom Tov – Because They Are Two Kedushot

Speaker 1:

Yes, true. Because Yom Tov and Shabbat one can, because they are two different types of pleasure, they are two different kedushot, therefore it’s not relevant. He acquired shevita (rest) on Erev Shabbat, and he acquired shevita on Erev Yom Tov.

Or when it’s the two days of Yom Tov of the Diaspora, there’s another reason why one can make the condition, which he’ll say later, because one day is on the holy and one day is on the weekday.

Two Days of Rosh Hashanah – Different

Speaker 1:

But the two days of Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah, we’ll come to that sugya, there’s an explanation why it’s two different kedushot, each day of Yom Tov is two different kedushot. But the two days of Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah are considered like one day.

Speaker 2:

Ah, but one can judge it like one day, and like one day of Shabbat one cannot.

Speaker 1:

Very good. Why is one me’arev (makes an eruv) for both of them? That is, that there are two kedushot, what makes them two kedushot? Because today, according to the fact that today is Yom Tov, yesterday is not Yom Tov. But Rosh Hashanah, from where do we derive, it’s all kiddush hachodesh (sanctification of the month), essentially the root of the matter, why Rosh Hashanah is different. But Rosh Hashanah means less doubt, because we do it even in the time of the Beit Hamikdash, even in the time when they sanctified based on witnesses, whatever the reason, it comes out that we consider it as one kedusha. Therefore one cannot make an eruv, two eruvin for two different days, because this is being mechalel (desecrating) once, not twice.

Speaker 2:

Yes?

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Halacha: Matneh Adam Al Eruvo – Conditions on an Eruv

The Language of the Rambam

Speaker 1:

The Rambam says further, “And likewise,” that is, not only can one make an eruv on one day for two directions, one can make another type of condition. Matneh adam al eruvo, that is, this is simple essentially. Matneh adam al eruvo ve’omer, eruvi leshabbat zo velo leshabbat acheret. (A person may stipulate regarding his eruv and say, “My eruv is for this Shabbat and not for another Shabbat.”)

Discussion: What Is the Novelty?

Speaker 2:

I don’t understand why this is a novelty. That is, if one can make on one Shabbat, one Yom Tov, for receiving guests, one can do so. The Shabbat is not next week.

Speaker 1:

Yasher koach. But how does it work? When he places down the eruv, will he put food for two weeks, or something that will stay fresh for two weeks?

Speaker 2:

But it shouldn’t be burned, we learned if it’s not there it’s not good.

Speaker 1:

It’s not there is not good. The eruv that he placed should not always when it becomes Erev Shabbat one should reckon with the food that’s lying there, rather this Shabbat one should reckon and this Shabbat not, or vice versa, veshabbat acheret (and another Shabbat) according to this is perhaps a greater novelty, that even if he made the meal next week he can use it, o leshabbatot haba’ot, o lefukert, leyom tov velo leshabbatot, (or for coming Shabbatot, or vice versa, for Yom Tov and not for Shabbatot,) in short, one can make a condition.

I understand, because the power of the verse is not that automatically the verse, when the verse has power, the verse does something, he cannot make conditions, but it’s all da’ata (intent) that because he has the bread there he thinks of the bread as a makom shevita (place of rest), he can say when he has the da’ata and when not.

Speaker 2:

Yes?

Speaker 1:

Yes. Very good, one can make a condition.

Halacha: Breira – Ha’omer Lachamisha Hareni Me’arev Al Eize Mikhem She’ertze

The Language of the Rambam

Speaker 1:

Right, the novelty is essentially the main topic of breira (retroactive clarification) which he’ll say next. Right, let’s continue. “Ha’omer lachamisha Yidden,” (One who says to five Jews,) he says to five Jews, “hareni me’arev al eize mikhem she’ertze,” (I am making an eruv for whichever of you I will want,) she’ertze or she’ertze?

Speaker 2:

She’ertze, yes, that I will want.

Discussion: How Does the Breira Work?

Speaker 1:

What is the… how will he decide? And how will you know afterwards what you can or cannot go according to how I decided on Erev Shabbat bein hashemashot? Not Erev Shabbat, “im ratziti elech,” (if I wanted I will go.) you will go. What? Or when he will make the… Erev Shabbat, not necessarily bein hashemashot. “Im ratziti,” when I will want, it’s… he goes…

Speaker 2:

Wait, I just want to understand, and on what is he deciding? What is his conclusion? I want some conclusion, yes? So it’s like, okay, “im ratziti elech, lo ratziti lo elech.” (If I wanted I will go, if I didn’t want I won’t go.)

Speaker 1:

Ah, I understand, he’s here like the owner let’s say, he makes an eruv for five people, he says, I don’t yet know for which of you I’m making the eruv, which of you I want to use my eruv, that I’ll decide later.

The Law of Breira in Rabbinic Matters

Speaker 1:

“Af al pi sheratzah mishechasheicha, (Even though he decided after dark,) even if the decision he made already on Shabbat, yelech,” (he may go,) that person can go. Why? “Davar she’eino midivrei sofrim yesh bo breira.” (In a matter that is not from the words of the Sages there is breira.) Since it’s midivrei sofrim, that is, eruv is derabbanan (rabbinic), there’s a principle, yesh breira (there is breira). Yesh breira means retroactively one can retroactively decide that this is what I meant, that person’s eruv, because I made an eruv for that person.

We already had such a halacha actually in Chapter 6, that if one became willing on the eve it’s also good. The matter, because divrei sofrim…

Speaker 2:

Ah, safek derabbanan lekulah (a rabbinic doubt is ruled leniently).

Speaker 1:

Here it’s speaking that he is deciding, but it could also be that they are deciding, because they need to decide, they are acquiring, and they can decide if they want on Shabbat.

Halacha: Me’arev Leshabbat Shel Kol Hashana Kula

Speaker 1:

And likewise, the same thing people can do like this, me’arev leshabbat shel kol hashana kula, (one makes an eruv for the Shabbat of the entire year,) yes, he wants to go again, he makes an eruv for a whole year. Rebbi omer, ratziti le’eruv, lo ratziti le’eruv, elech levnei iri. (Rebbi says, if I wanted for the eruv, if I didn’t want for the eruv, I will go to my city.) And when he needs it, kol shabbat sheyirtze, (every Shabbat that he wants,) and on Shabbat he will want, he will go even shtei techumei Shabbat (two Shabbat boundaries), that means that Erev Shabbat the bread became an eruv. Yes, one needs to check, says the Mishna Berura, one needs to make sure that the eruv is intact.

Practical Application

Speaker 1:

This halacha is a very practical halacha. Now there are mashgichim (supervisors), dealing with boys, they’re not allowed to leave camp. The mashgiach can on Erev Shabbat put down a few [eruvin], and he can decide who may go where, and he will prohibit through the law of techumei Shabbat, if one can.

Speaker 2:

Yes, if I learn this practically, one can make an eruv, but the eruv one loses, that is, he won’t be able to go the other way. He says, if I will decide to walk this way, I will use this eruv.

Speaker 1:

Walk or place down an eruv, either way which way he does it.

Speaker 2:

No, I mean to say that when he says to take an eruv, does he mean that he will actually need to place in several places a bread, and only decide which bread is for whom?

Speaker 1:

No, no, wait a moment. I don’t believe that at a regular camp one cannot decide for so-and-so, I also don’t know if one can for that person. We’re talking here about placing an eruv.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that one can make an eruv from everywhere, or one can make for another, and he announces that he means that each one should decide later if he wants to use it.

Speaker 1:

It’s very practical.

Discussion: The Law of Zechuta and Modaa

Speaker 2:

Okay, now we’ll learn a bit more complicated topics. What happens with the second day of Yom Tov? What happens with the second day of Yom Tov? When does one make the eruv first of all for the second day of Yom Tov? Wait a second, the reason of the law of zechuta (acquisition on behalf) perhaps one can acquire things. The halacha seems to me very final, that essentially, when he wants to arrange and knows that Jews stumble with techumei Shabbat, one can apparently do so. Or perhaps not, only if the person decides? Only if the person agrees?

Speaker 1:

No, they need to know about it. There’s no such acquisition, there’s no acquisition, but there’s an obligation, because he remains keraglei hame’arev (like the feet of the one who made the eruv). He needs to know. But one can hang a sign in shul, I made an eruv, and if someone will want to go in that direction, he will be able to use it.

Speaker 2:

Ah, yes, one can do that.

Speaker 1:

Ah, apparently, interesting. People do so, I mean, yes.

Halacha: Hame’arev Lishnei Yamim Tovim – The Eruv Must Be There Both Nights

The Language of the Rambam

Speaker 1:

He now says, one needs to see when one needs to make the eruv for the second day of Yom Tov. That is, two days of Yom Tov are two different kedushot, they have nothing to do with each other. It doesn’t work. He says, let’s learn. Hame’arev lishnei yamim tovim shel galuyot, (One who makes an eruv for the two days of Yom Tov of the Diaspora,) one wants to make an eruv for the two days of Yom Tov, the Jews in chutz la’aretz (outside the Land) have two days of Yom Tov, o leshabbat veyom tov, (or for Shabbat and Yom Tov,) the same thing, afilu she’eruv le’echad leruach achat mishneihem, (even if the eruv is for one direction for both of them,) even if he doesn’t want to go to two different places, he doesn’t want to go to two places, it’s obvious that he needs to reckon the second day extra. But he wants to go the same way, the same eruv, both days. Im ken, tzarich sheyehe ha’eruv bimkomo motzaei beleil rishon uveleil sheni kol bein hashemashot. (If so, the eruv must be in its place going out on the first night and on the second night all bein hashemashot.) Each day is an extra kedusha, so he must have that the eruv should be there bein hashemashot both the first day and the second day.

Keitzad Hu Oseh?

Speaker 1:

Says the Rambam, keitzad hu oseh? (How does he do it?) What can he do? The whole day it doesn’t need to be there, it’s like every eruv, it only needs to be there bein hashemashot. But bein hashemashot it must be even the second day. So what should he do? Molicho be’erev yom tov o be’erev Shabbat, (He brings it on Erev Yom Tov or Erev Shabbat,) that is the first Erev Shabbat, umachshich alav, (and it gets dark upon him,) he stays there. That is, if he doesn’t want to leave there, perhaps it’s not a makom hamishtamar (guarded place), he doesn’t want to leave there the eruv a whole thing, then notlo beyado uveyado imo leil yom tov. (he takes it in his hand and in his hand with him on the night of Yom Tov.) On Yom Tov one may carry, on Shabbat one may not carry, but on Yom Tov he may carry, he can take it back home the eruv. Ulemachar molicho le’oto makom umanicho sham ad shetechshach. (And tomorrow he brings it to that place and leaves it there until it gets dark.) Tomorrow night he needs to bring it back to the same place, because it must be in the same place, ve’ochlo im eruv leshabbat, (and he eats it if it’s an eruv for Shabbat,) if it’s Shabbat he can already eat it then right at the place, o mevi’o uma’aleh leyom tov, (or he brings it and takes it up on Yom Tov,) he can bring it home.

The Reason: Mipnei Shehen Shtei Kedushot

Speaker 1:

Why? Why does he need the first halacha? One needs to have the eruv also the second night! Why? Mipnei shehen shtei kedushot, (Because they are two kedushot,) they are two extra kedushot the second Yom Tov, or Shabbat and Yom Tov. Ve’ein kiyum eruv techumin al harishon koneh eruv lishnei yamim, (And the establishment of an eruv techumin on the first does not acquire an eruv for two days,) one cannot acquire an eruv from Erev Yom Tov for the second day of Yom Tov. Therefore one needs extra to make sure, or to make sure. It could be, the Rambam says that it’s an interesting case that he goes back there, but it could be if he knows that it’s preserved there, whatever, he can rely on it. But here he means that he needs to make sure that it’s there actually the second night of Yom Tov also.

And if it’s clear, nochal ha’eruv barishon, (the eruv was eaten on the first,) if the eruv was eaten up the first day, kana eruv larishon ve’ein lo eruv lasheni. (he acquired an eruv for the first and he has no eruv for the second.) He has no eruv the second night.

Eruv Beraglov for Two Days

What about eruv beraglov (eruv with his feet)? What does he need to do? The same thing. Erev beraglov barishon, tzarich le’arev beraglov basheni. (If he made an eruv with his feet on the first, he needs to make an eruv with his feet on the second.) He needs to go there the second day again. How? What does he need to do? Sheyeilech veya’amod be’oto makom, (That he should go and stand in that place,) he should go stand in the same place, veyachshov belibo sheyikneh sham shevita. (and think in his heart that he should acquire rest there.) He should acquire there an extra shevita on the second day.

You see, here he says… earlier he said “ve’omer shevitati” (and says my rest), here he says “yachshov belibo” (think in his heart). Very clear. Right. Because it says earlier clearly that one doesn’t need to. He says that perhaps there’s a question, one may not say because it’s a question of hachana miyom tov lachaveiro (preparation from one Yom Tov to another). This is certainly in the next halacha, but here I don’t know.

Erev Bepat Barishon – The Difference Between Beraglov and Bepat

Erev bepat barishon, (If he made an eruv with bread on the first,) if he made an eruv the first day bepat, it’s like this: im rotze le’arev beraglov basheni, harei zeh eruv. (If he wants to make an eruv with his feet on the second, this is an eruv.) He only needs to go there and think that he is acquiring shevita there. Aval im rotze le’arev bepat, (but if he wants to make an eruv with bread,) if he wants to make bepat the second day, tzarich le’arev be’ota hapat atzmah she’erev bah barishon. (he needs to make an eruv with that same bread that he made an eruv with on the first.)

It’s very interesting. This means, as I’ve seen here on this page, it’s about the topic of hachana. If he makes a new eruv, one sees clearly that he takes the bread and he makes it for an eruv for tomorrow. This one may not do from one day of Yom Tov to the next. If it’s the same bread, he doesn’t need to do anything, he only needs to bring it there, then he may. Because if not it’s a question of hachana miyom tov lachaveiro.

This is how the Rambam brought it. Because not what is the difference which bread, but because Yom Tov is not fit to use to make a new bread. Making it fit itself doesn’t mean preparation, as they learned regarding Shabbat. Or going itself doesn’t mean. One doesn’t see that he’s doing something. Or there’s a need, but to say the problem is the making, the taking a new bread, and saying that it’s an eruv or making it into an eruv.

Novelty: Kedusha Achat – Shabbat and Yom Kippur

The Rebbe says now his novelty. As we’ve now learned, you see apparently the two days of Yom Tov of the first, comes out a lot according to the Rebbe, and one only needs the first day, as long as it’s one kedusha, according to the Rebbe, and it goes without saying to the community. You see one only needs an eruv on the first day, on the first day of Yom Tov, when it goes already to the second day without saying.

The Rebbe says like this, and not only that, I have a novelty. Yes, and he already said earlier, explicitly, when there’s a novelty, it wasn’t stated. Ah, in practice not two kedushot. Yes, it’s… um… the Rav gave a distinction, I didn’t say it explicitly. But the Rebbe said, that why do two days need an eruv on the second day also, because it’s two kedushot. It’s a comparison from the Rebbe, that Rosh Hashanah for example which is one kedusha, that we only need one eruv.

Then the Rav asked, and one didn’t ask, that the Rav says that it has nothing to do with, that what one says that Rosh Hashanah the two days of Yom Tov, that one Yom Tov is only all stringencies, one doesn’t say as if that it would only need one eruv for Rosh Hashanah.

The Novelty of Shabbat and Yom Kippur

But the Rav has not only that, not only Rosh Hashanah, and he gives another novelty. The Rav says, let’s take a case if it happens Erev Shabbat and after that Shabbat. What does he mean until people get in a situation? Because today he until people get in a situation? Because in current times it never happens! It’s never made that Yom Kippur should be Friday or Sunday, because they make the witnesses of Rosh Hashanah rules, when it comes out that Yom Kippur cannot be Friday or Sunday.

But in the times in the desert, it could be that Yom Kippur should be Shabbat or Sunday, first, Friday or Sunday, comes here a Shabbat next to Yom Kippur, yes and the Mishna has laws for such a case and the Gemara, a Gemara doesn’t make, says the Rambam, we have, take me out, beautiful kiyum echad (one establishment), the kedusha is one it is. Why? Because Shabbat and Yom Kippur have the same level of kedusha. Both one may not carry, both one may not do any melechet ochel nefesh (food preparation work).

So, the Rambam holds, since it’s the same level of kedusha, one could have made an eruv on Erev Shabbat and relied on that also for Yom Kippur. Why? It’s an interesting reasoning.

The Concept of “Kedusha Achat” – Similar Laws

That they have similar laws already makes it a kedusha achat. It’s not that kedusha achat means not something that it’s one thing, but it’s something similar enough, so it’s also a kedusha achat. It’s two days of Yom Tov, two kedushot simply, because if today is Yom Tov yesterday is not. But it seems that Shabbat and Yom Tov, but there’s a difference because they have two different levels.

Therefore, the Rambam argues – it’s interesting – a person would have thought that the first day of Sukkos and the second day of Sukkos is one kedusha achas (unified sanctity), and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a different kedusha. But no, the kedusha that we’re talking about here is that they have the same halachos. In terms of learning, but it’s a different problem, because it’s actually chol (weekday). To the extent that today is kodesh (holy), tomorrow or yesterday is chol. But it’s very interesting, the Rambam thought that kedusha achas, if it’s the same din (law), Shabbos and Yom Kippur is called kedusha achas. It’s very interesting, yes.

Halacha: Two Eruvin in Two Directions – The Condition of “Efshar Lehagi’a” (Possible to Reach)

Okay. Now the Rambam says, so, what have we now learned? That one can make two eruvin for two days of the two-day Yom Tov. Yes, first of all there is here, in this he adds a condition. “A person has the right to make two eruvin from two directions for two days”, this is specifically “provided that it is possible to reach each of the two eruvin on the first day”. The second eruv must be close enough that he can reach there on the first day. “But if it is impossible to reach the second eruv on the first day”, if the second eruv is so far – he’ll give an example in the next halacha precisely – that he cannot reach it on the first day of Yom Tov, even though on the second day he will be able to because he made his eruv there, “his second eruv is not an eruv”. Why? “Because the mitzvah of eruv is that it should be a meal that is fit for him on that day”. An eruv must be a meal that one can eat during the day. “And this one, since he cannot reach it within four amos”, why can’t he reach it? Because he goes out of his techum. And he is on that day, meaning it is not ro’eh bayom hadin (visible on that day), therefore he cannot make his eruv. He cannot have the second eruv from the other side.

The Rambam’s Example

In short, the Rambam explains: If he placed his eruv at a distance of two thousand amos from his house to the east, he has two thousand amos in total on the east side, and it is designated for the first day. Now, on the second day he wants to make an eruv the other way, “he should not place the second eruv at a distance of one amah or one hundred but to the west, and designated for the second day”, if he can divide it all up, he can, because tomorrow he goes that way. But today he cannot move. “For on the first day he has only four amos, and he cannot walk on that day even one amah to the west”, because his eruv is entirely in the east, “for he has nothing to the west”. It turns out that he cannot reach his eruv on that day, and the eruv must take effect on that day, not when it becomes night.

But when can he? “But if he placed his eruv at a distance of one thousand five hundred amos from his house to the east”, only fifteen hundred amos east, “and designated it for the first day, and placed the second eruv distant from his house to the west within five hundred amos”, yes, only within five hundred amos, “and designated it for the second day, this is an eruv, for it is possible that he can reach it on the first day”. Therefore tomorrow he will be able to go that five hundred plus another two thousand that way. Very good. This is the halacha of one who makes two eruvin for two days of Yom Tov.

Halacha: One Does Not Make an Eruv on Yom Tov – Yom Tov That Falls on Erev Shabbos

Now we’re going to learn what it is with a Jew, whether one may make an eruv on Yom Tov at all. That is, a minute ago we learned that one makes an eruv on Yom Tov, but we clearly learned not a new eruv, rather an eruv from yesterday one makes, the same bread one can make again. It seems that this doesn’t mean making an eruv on Yom Tov.

But simply Yom Tov that is erev Shabbos, the Rambam says, one may not make any eruv. Yom Tov that falls on erev Shabbos, one does not make an eruv on Yom Tov. Lechatchila (initially) one does not make any eruv on Yom Tov, not eruv chatzeiros which one needs for Shabbos and not for Yom Tov, and also not eruv techumin. And when does one make the eruv? “But one makes an eruv on Thursday which is erev Yom Tov”. That is, one must put it down, because it’s going to work for Shabbos, as we learned earlier, he needs to return on Shabbos and make sure that there is an eruv, but one must make it erev Yom Tov. Eruv chatzeiros one doesn’t need to go back, one makes it erev Yom Tov and that’s it.

Discussion: Why May One Not Make an Eruv on Yom Tov?

Speaker 1:

And if it falls, ah, there is another halacha that also stands regarding eruv chatzeiros, yes? And if it falls, because eruv chatzeiros is also something like a kinyan (acquisition). I don’t know why one may not make it on Yom Tov. Either because it’s a hachana (preparation), or because it’s… hachana apparently, no? Because one made eruv tavshilin, it should have helped.

Speaker 2:

He’s speaking in a case when one has already made eruv tavshilin? A regular Jew makes eruv tavshilin. He writes, tavshilin one makes only actually if one wants to cook something, if one has everything prepared for Yom Tov.

Speaker 1:

He’s speaking without eruv tavshilin. Eruv tavshilin is a hachana, it would also permit this, no? I don’t know. Interesting. It permits other things too, not just cooking, it permits lighting a candle and hotza’ah (carrying out).

He says actually that here in eruv techumin it is a kinyan reshus (acquisition of domain). What is a kinyan? That is, he is koneh reshus (acquires domain). We see that one can be me’arev with his feet or even with his thought. With his thought he acquires the place? I don’t understand. Not that he actually acquires, it’s a kind of… because it’s similar to a kinyan, one doesn’t do it on Yom Tov. Is this something like metaken (fixing)? Metaken the place? Metaken reshus, in short. In short, one cannot do it on Yom Tov, one doesn’t do it on Yom Tov.

Halacha: Forgot and Did Not Make an Eruv – Condition by Eruv Chatzeiros (Not Techumin)

Now, what if he forgot? And if he forgot and did not make an eruv, it is thus: He makes eruv chatzeiros on Thursday and erev Shabbos which is Yom Tov. He must make a condition, we’ll soon see how he makes this condition. But not eruv techumin. Eruv techumin he cannot make with this condition.

Why Is Eruv Techumin Different?

Why is eruv techumin different from eruv chatzeiros? Because, interestingly, he brings that eruv techumin is more connected to shevisa (resting), and one doesn’t do it on Yom Tov even with a doubt, even with this condition. I don’t understand why. Not a need, a need of Yom… this eruv chatzeiros is less of a kinyan than eruv techumin, so he brings from the Maginei Eretz and Ilna.

How One Makes This Condition

Let’s see what this condition means. He makes a condition built on the doubt of two days of Yom Tov. As the Rambam writes, on Thursday, Thursday-Friday is Yom Tov, he comes on Thursday and he says thus, if today is Yom Tov, once you’ve considered that I’m doing nothing, on Yom Tov one doesn’t do any kinyanim, and if not, he is me’arev, he makes an eruv. This is erev Yom Tov, and Friday is Yom Tov, on Shabbos he is permitted in the eruv, or Yom Tov.

And the next day he does the same thing on Friday, he returns and makes an eruv, he makes an eruv again, that is eruv chatzeiros.

Condition in Eruv Due to the Doubt of Two Days of Yom Tov of the Diaspora — Conclusion of Hilchos Eruvin

Halacha: Condition in Eruv Chatzeiros on the Second Day of Yom Tov of the Diaspora

He makes a condition built on the doubt of two days of Yom Tov, right? As we learned, if Thursday, Thursday-Friday is Yom Tov, he comes on Thursday and he says thus: if today is Yom Tov, my words are nothing — I’m doing nothing, on Yom Tov one doesn’t do any kinyanim. And if not, right? It is erev Yom Tov, and Shabbos is not Yom Tov, and on Shabbos he uses the eruv, certainly? Or Yom Tov.

And the next day, he does the same thing, on Friday, he returns and makes an eruv, he makes an eruv chatzeiros again, that is eruv chatzeiros, eruv techumin they say one may not. And he says if today is Yom Tov, if today is Yom Tov, I’m doing nothing, because I don’t need to anymore, I already had an eruv. And if my words today are nothing, because it was then Yom Tov and today is chol, right? So he makes an eruv, because the time is now Friday, a weekday.

Distinction: Only the Second Day of Yom Tov of the Diaspora, Not Rosh Hashanah

And further, this halacha works only for Yom Tov, regular second day of Yom Tov of the diaspora, and when do we speak of regular second day of Yom Tov of the diaspora? But the second day of Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah, purely as one day, is reckoned as one kedusha, one day, and one does not make an eruv on it — on Yom Tov one cannot make this condition of two kedushos. Why? Because it is reckoned as one kedusha and not as a doubt.

Question: Why Eruv Chatzeiros Yes, Eruv Techumin No?

Why may one make eruv chatzeiros, and not make eruv techumin on it? He brings that it means more of a kinyan, eruv techumin is something truly from the Torah, eruv chatzeiros is one mixes together the whole world, it’s a unifier, not clear.

Perhaps it’s a greater need? Perhaps one can think such a thing? Eruv chatzeiros there is no issue of hotza’ah, because it’s Yom Tov, so there’s no problem, one may carry anyway. One already has no techumin, one may not on Yom Tov either, so I don’t need to think about erev Yom Tov. I would have thought practically, but the commentators don’t say this practical explanation.

Conclusion of Hilchos Eruvin

Anyway, this is the end, baruch Rachmana desayan (blessed is the Merciful One who has helped us). Until now we have learned Hilchos Eruvin.

✨ Transcription automatically generated by OpenAI Whisper, Editing by Claude Sonnet 4.5, Summary by Claude Opus 4.6

⚠️ Automated Transcript usually contains some errors. To be used for reference only.