The Los Angeles Community Eruv was up this past Shabbat and was not expected to be down anytime soon, even after an emergency request for funds earlier this month indicated that it could be in jeopardy, according to Howard Witkin, who oversees operations for the eruv.
“We’ll keep going. My guess is, we will stay alive forever,” Witkin said in a phone interview. “We’ve raised enough money for the temporary problem. We raised over $50,000, enough to cover the budget for three to five months.”
As previously reported, the L.A. Community Eruv, the largest in the country, was threatened during the weekend of Sept. 23 due to lack of funds. A push for donations that began Sept. 9, however, resulted in approximately 300 families contributing toward the operation of the eruv, Witkin said.
An eruv provides a halachic perimeter that transforms a public area into a private domain for Shabbat. Without an eruv, observant synagogue goers cannot walk with or carry items such as baby strollers, food, books or even a prayer shawl to synagogue.
The Los Angeles eruv’s boundaries go from the 405 Freeway in the west to the 10 in the south and the 101 in the north, eastward to Western Avenue. The eruv is made up of chain-link fence along the highway walls and wire that runs alongside the on- and off-ramps.
According to a Sept. 9 post on laeruv.com, the annual budget of the eruv is approximately $120,000; the eruv’s leadership ran $30,000 short of its budget this year and is looking to replace its 45-year-old lift truck at a cost of $70,000.
The annual budget finances a three-person rabbinic crew that drives around and inspects the eruv every week, a repair crew and insurance, as well as additional maintenance and repairs. Unexpected problems can arise that impede with the operation of the eruv, such as a fallen tree that needs to be removed from a fence or car accident that has resulted in damage to the fence.
Communities from across the spectrum have supported the eruv in the past, including Conservative congregations with members who don’t necessarily require an eruv to carry items on Shabbat as well as Chasidic communities that may not use an eruv because its members don’t believe in carrying items on Shabbat unless necessary.
“The whole idea of an eruv is it’s supposed to be a blending of communities. It’s nice to see a donation come in from a rabbi of a Conservative synagogue and a donation to come in from the head of a Chasidic synagogue,” Witkin said.
This is not the first time the eruv funding has come up short toward the end of the Jewish year. Synagogues contribute to the eruv when they collect dues from their members, but members pay dues around the High Holy Days and often pay late, Witkin said.
“Most of our annual budget comes in right after the holidays. No one pays their holiday seats on time and the reason we ran short is some shuls didn’t send in last year’s dues,” he said.
Pico-Robertson resident Shlomo Walt updates the status of the eruv on his Facebook page every Friday. He said there are those who believed the latest fundraising pitch, which came with a warning that the eruv might be inoperable if funds aren’t raised, was fearmongering.
“A lot of people wonder if it’s a fear tactic for the holidays,” he said. “I can’t put my opinion into that.”
Witkin, who also lives in Pico-Robertson, dismissed the allegations. The member of Aish HaTorah and Anshe Emes said the pitches are based on “reality,” not “threats.”
The eruv has been down two weeks since its inception 14 years ago, Witkin said.
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries has been a major contributor, Witkin said.
Despite the success of the latest fundraising effort, Witkin said he would like a more structured fundraising model, in which synagogue communities that benefit from the eruv are contributing more regularly. Currently, 10 synagogues contribute, and Witkin hopes 14 additional synagogues that benefit from the eruv will create a system in which notices sent to members for collecting dues for the High Holy Days will feature a check box allowing for additional eruv donations.
“We have not been as stringent or diligent about creating a solid financial structure,” Witkin said. “Now the idea is to have synagogues within the boundary of the eruv to have community dues from their members on an annual basis, to identify 100 to 120 families who make a modest contribution a year,” he said. “People donate and we hope for the best is the current budget model.”
Young Israel of Century City Rabbi Elazar Muskin was among local Orthodox leaders who made a pitch to his congregants to support the eruv in response to the latest fundraising challenges.
“An eruv to an Orthodox observant Jew is like the DWP [Department of Water and Power] bill. You’ve got to pay for your water and electricity, got to pay for the eruv, and that is exactly my pitch,” Muskin said. “This is not a charity. This is something we want and we all benefit from it, and it has to be supported.”
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.