After being disrupted by construction on the 405 Freeway, the Los Angeles Community Eruv is back in operation, according to Howard Witkin, a community member who oversees the eruv’s maintenance.
This should be welcome news to observant Jews living within the eruv, which is roughly bounded by the 405 to the west, the 10 to the south, the 101 to the north and Western Avenue and the 101 to the east.
An eruv makes carrying items within its boundaries on Shabbat permissible for Jews, according to halachah (Jewish law). During the Shabbat that began on June 14, the Los Angeles Community Eruv (laeruv.com) was down because a few hundred feet of fencing had been removed due to 405 construction at the on- and off-ramps at Wilshire Boulevard. Any break in an eruv renders it non-kosher.
In Pico-Robertson, a neighborhood with a high concentration of observant families, some synagogues were noticeably emptier, and strollers were few and far between on June 15, when the eruv was down. A number of mothers did not go to synagogue, staying home with their younger children — pushing strollers on Shabbat is not permitted unless it is done within an eruv’s boundaries.
In advance of this coming Shabbat, Witkin told the Journal that the affected fencing will be routed around the construction and connected with the rest of the eruv.
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