From “The Daily Show” to Rabbinic and City Hall Debates, Eruvs Still Generate Controversy.
It divides private and public, sacred and secular, work and Sabbath. And you might live in one without knowing it.
The eruv is one of the most fascinating, though little understood and sometimes controversial concepts in Jewish life. Now, for the first time, it’s the subject of an exhibition – It’s a Thin Line: The Eruv and Jewish Community in New York and Beyond – at Yeshiva University Museum in Manhattan.
Jewish Art Salon members Ben Schachter and Yona Verwer are participating in the visual art exhibit.
Jewish Art Salon members Ben Schachter and Yona Verwer are participating in the visual art exhibit.
Symposium: The Mystery and History of the Eruv, October 28, 10 am - 3 pm
Preview of the exhibit, followed by an exploration of the surprising history and communal dynamics.
Preview of the exhibit, followed by an exploration of the surprising history and communal dynamics.
Acclaimed author and Fordham Law Professor Thane Rosenbaum will be among the speakers of a symposium, “The Mystery and History of the Eruv,” which also includes renowned scholars Prof. Charlotte Fonrobert, Prof. Jeffrey Gurock and Prof. Lawrence Schiffman, and artist Elliott Malkin, among others.
Free. Reservations required. Call 212‐868‐4444.
More info on the exhibit: http://yumuseum.tumblr.com/
This installation shows details of Lower East Side synagogue interiors, which cannot regularly be seen by many in the community, because there is no eruv.
More info on the exhibit: http://yumuseum.tumblr.com/
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| Yona Verwer. Acrylic on Canvas, LCD Monitors, Steel Cable |
Yona Verwer's installation explores the impact that the lack of an eruv on the Lower East Side has on families with young children and the infirm. It draws attention to the fact that, for many, not having an eruv significantly detracts from the attractiveness of living in the neighborhood.
Having spent many a Shabbat on the Lower East Side, she is aware that the physical boundary of the eruv has become a spiritual boundary, as well. It excludes women from fully participating in Jewish life and creates a male-dominated synagogue community.
Video monitors inside the structure feature quotes by LES residents addressing this issue.
The eruv is not just a concept. It’s also a physical creation that powerfully affects the lives of observant Jews. Without an eruv, parents couldn’t even carry their children on the Sabbath. It’s a Thin Line traces the history of the eruv and its adaptation into New York’s urban environment, and raises provocative questions.
How far should and do civic authorities go to accommodate religious practices? How does the creation of an eruv
impact community, and affect the demographics and character of a
neighborhood? And where do you draw the line between public and private?
From a notorious segment on The Daily Show about the proposed Westhampton Beach eruv to city hall debates around the world, eruvs are still a hot-button issue.
As a means for offering separation while integrating into city life, the eruv also provides a potent symbol of Jewish life in America.
With 130 artifacts spanning over five centuries, It’s a Thin Line vividly illustrates how an ancient Biblical precept has been creatively interpreted and applied – especially in and around New York City. Objects range from some of the first Hebrew books ever printed to century-old images of New York life to contemporary tools and recent eruv artifacts to eruv-themed works by contemporary artists.
Even people who don’t know about eruvs live within their boundaries. And as high-profile cases have illustrated, eruvs can still rankle neighbors. With that in mind, a film produced especially for this exhibition will spotlight different opinions and interpretations of eruvs in the broader New York metropolitan area in the last 30 years, and the eruv’s impact on the community.
With its main focus on New York City, New Jersey,
and the surrounding communities, the exhibition also provides a vivid
picture of local urban history through the stories of individual
communities, religious figures and debates. An array of unique artifacts
in widely different media, dating back to the 15th century, brings the story of the eruv to life.
Among them: Light poles and an aluminum gate from the current Manhattan eruv; a 1986 guide to the Kew Gardens, Queens eruv with foreword by then-borough president Donald Manes; printed objects and photographs of the 3rd Avenue elevated train, one of the eruv boundaries for the first half of the 20th century; a film on the history and surprising technical history of eruvs
in the region; and a museum-produced interactive that invites visitors
to investigate a host of issues associated with New York-area Jewish
communities and eruvs today.
The exhibition will also feature eruv-themed,
New York-centered works by contemporary artists, reflecting the recent
interest in the ritual outside its religious context. The vibrant
artistic life of the eruv will be the focus of three related
shows running simultaneously at Yale University and organized by
Professor Margaret Olin, called “Shaping Community: Poetics and Politics
of the Eruv.” More about Yale’s exhibition here
What is an eruv?
An Eruv is a border, usually made out of
string or wire stretched on top of or on telephone or light poles,
which symbolically encloses a neighborhood or a city. It
allows Jews to accomplish one of the most basic activities on the
Sabbath, which Jewish law otherwise prohibits on the Day of Rest:
Carrying. An eruv makes it possible for people to carry keys, push a baby carriage or hold a baby, or bring food to someone’s home.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS (at the Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th St)
Symposium: The Mystery and History of the Eruv, October 28, 10 am - 3 pm
Acclaimed author and Fordham Law Professor Thane
Rosenbaum will be among the speakers of a symposium, “The Mystery and
History of the Eruv,” which also includes renowned scholars Prof.
Charlotte Fonrobert, Prof. Jeffrey Gurock and Prof. Lawrence Schiffman,
and artist Elliott Malkin, among others.
Women and the Eruv, Autumn 2012
Celebrated writer and thinker Blu Greenberg (On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition) will take part in a program, co-presented by the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, focusing on the impact of the eruv on the lives of women and families within the Jewish community.
The Eruv and Free Speech, early 2013
The YU Museum will partner with Yeshiva University’s Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Cardozo Law School and the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought to present a panel discussion among top legal scholars using the eruv as a window into church-state issues and the relationship between law and community building.
Special Tours
A series of in-depth tours will be offered during the run of the exhibition, featuring Zachary Paul Levine, curator of It’s a Thin Line, and Rabbi Adam Mintz, one of the foremost historians of the eruv in America and the exhibition’s academic adviser.
More info here.
More info here.
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