Editorials

Shalom Raleigh Jewish Community,

On behalf of Beth Meyer Synagogue and Congregation Shaarei Israel/Chabad of Raleigh, we are proud to announce the founding of the Louise and Nathan Schwartz Raleigh Eruv. This is a joint project to build and maintain a sizable, halakhically-certified eruv supervised by a Chabad-ordained expert,  Rabbi Shneur Roth. We are in the early stages of our work, and we expect it will take us several months to complete.

What is an eruv? In short, an eruv is a boundary that allows observant Jews to carry needed things in public on Shabbat. Generally, an eruv covers the area that is a reasonable walking distance to a synagogue. To learn more, click here.

Our first step is to establish the eruv map. Broadly speaking, the eruv will cover the following area: south of I-540, north of Spring Forest Road, east of Six Forks Road, and west of Litchford Road.  However, there are various halakhic (Jewish law) and practical issues which will impact the final contours of the map.

We recognize that many in our community will be concerned about having their residences included in the eruv. Therefore, we wish to offer this opportunity for Raleigh Jewish community members to share their opinions about the map’s size and location. More specifically, if you or your loved ones are Shomrei Shabbat (Shabbat observant) and wish to be included in the eruv, but worry that the map will not include your residence, we would like to hear from you. Please send an email to raleigheruv@gmail.com that includes your name, address, and a brief explanation as to your concern about being included in the eruv.

We will make every reasonable effort to honor requests, however, the final map will take into consideration many factors including maintenance, financial costs, and halakhic approval by Rabbi Roth.  While we may not be able to accommodate all requests in this version of the eruv, it is possible that the eruv could expand in the future. 

We thank you for your understanding and support. God willing, we will soon be able to celebrate having a beautiful eruv that will help strengthen our community’s observance of Shabbat.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Eric Solomon
Rabbi Mendy Wilschanski