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Tuesday, 16 Shevat, 5786
  |  February 3, 2026

“The Ambivalence to a City Eruv”

Watch: Chabad Dayan Levi Raskin of London explains why Lubavitch Chassidim tend to abstain from relying on a city Eruv. Full Story, Video

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Zohar on Eiruv from Sefaria
January 1, 2019 2:22 am

אֲדֹנָ”י יְהֹוָה. אִנּוּן עֲשָׂרָה עֲשָׂרָה אַרְבַּע אַרְבַּע. אַרְבַּע רָשֻׁיּוֹת דְּשַׁבָּת דְּלֵית זָר בֵּינַיְהוּ, וְאִנּוּן תְּרֵין דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא חַד (דף קכב ע”ב) לִימִינָא. וּדְכַר וְנוּקְבָא חַד לִשְׂמָאלָא. (שמות לג כג) וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ. י”א י”א יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהֹוָה אֶחָד, וְכָל שְׁמָא רָחְבּוֹ אַרְבַּע וְגָבְהוֹ עֲשָׂרָה וְסַלְקִין אַרְבַּע אַרְבַּע לְשִׁבְעִין וּתְרֵין, וְתַלְיָן מֵעֶשֶׂר. כְּגַוְנָא דָּא יוּ”ד הֵ”י וָי”ו הֵ”י. וְאִנּוּן יוּ”ד עֶשְׂרִין. ה”י ה”י תְּלָתִין. וָי”ו עֶשְׂרִין וּתְרֵין. סַלְקִין שִׁבְעִין וּתְרֵין. I’m אֲדֹנָ”י יְהֹוָ”ה. הֵם עֲשָׂרָה עֲשָׂרָה אַרְבַּע אַרְבַּע. אַרְבַּע רָשֻׁיּוֹת שֶׁל שַׁבָּת שֶׁאֵין זָר בֵּינֵיהֶם, וְהֵם שְׁנַיִם – זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה אֶחָד לְיָמִין, וְזָכָר וּנְקֵבָה אַחַת לִשְׂמֹאל. וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ. י”א י”א… Read more »

eli uminer
December 31, 2018 3:56 pm

to 17 thats actually what the rebbe advised us to do, when they were making sharei halocha uminhog the rebbe said they should not include any rumors as many of them are incorrect. and im not saying the rebbes answer is incorrect im disputing that is the rebbe answer, it hasnt been verified. and as i said i have the original letter the rabbonim gave out at the time and there is no mention of such a maina. are you suggesting that if i brought you a unverified maina of the rebbe that you could smoke cigarettes on shabbos, that… Read more »

Ummm..
December 31, 2018 10:29 am

Are you really going with the premise that the Rebbe’s answer is really not from the Rebbe but a fabrication?………

Eli uminer
December 30, 2018 11:32 pm

To 15 now that I have a anonymous comment from you, am I supposed to disregard the rebbe actual letter where he calls that anti eruv position apikurses?!! Am I supposed to disregard the rishonim??!

To #14
December 30, 2018 9:43 pm

I personally heard in 1987 from Rabbi Yitzchak Groner a”h about this answer of the Rebbe. It was later Published by Rabbi Faitel Levin. So much for your calling it a “Supposed maina”….

eli uminer
December 30, 2018 8:10 pm

to number 9 and number 5. its peculiar that you keep on mentioning this supposed maina from the rebbe, which only came out years after the fact, and was never verified, ie with a handwritten note from maskirim bshaita. the letter the melbourne rabbonim gave out at that time had no mention of this supposwd maina. also the melbourne eruv wasnt kosher, till years later harav feitel levine was able to make it kosher. im going to add here some sources from the rebbe actual letters in igros kodesh chelek tes page 43, regarding the manhattan eruv,where reb moshe and… Read more »

Chutzpah
December 30, 2018 8:03 pm

I am one hundred percent sure that anyone writing genius comments on this amazing website does not know as much shulchan aruch as Dayan Raskin. So everyone please keep your halachic opinions to your self. Thanks

eli uminer
December 30, 2018 4:27 pm

with all due respect to harav raskin the idea that you can use a eruv while the gate is open on shabbos and you have no tzuras hapesach is hepech the alter rebbe, and while there are other poskim that are takke matir it, by chabad we pasken like the alter rebbe. as far as the gzeira mdrabannan that we need dlosos even when its not a rshush harabim because of mechitzas habatim, and its not mefulash mshar lshar, that is a blatant mistake in the alter rebbe and the tzemach tzedek. the alter rebbe says explicity that the only… Read more »

Comments 1 & 3
December 30, 2018 11:12 am

The Shiur is written up and linked above.

Your – disrespectful – comments are addressed in that article.

Shlomo Hamelech
December 29, 2018 11:33 pm

Shlomo Hamelech did *not* make life easier, he made it harder. He did *not* institute the “eiruv” that turn the streets into reshus hayochid. On the contrary, he was the one who decreed that even in your own yard, where you could always carry before, if there is more than one household using it you cannot carry there without first making an eiruv chatzeros!

Rebbe's answer to Melbourne
December 29, 2018 10:58 pm

מפורסמת דעתי שבדורנו זה איש או ארגון שמתחשבים אתי העושה עירוב ויודע שסוף סוף יתפרסם הדבר – הרי זה תקלה איומה, כי אי אפשר שלא יארע שבת קודש אחד והעירוב פסול – וע”פ טבע שיתרגלו פעמים אחדים בהוצאה בשבת קודש לא תועיל כל הכרזה והודעה שהעירוב נפסל ואסור וכו’ שיפסיקו להוציא
ואין לעשות עירוב אלא בסודיות.

Just saying
December 29, 2018 10:00 pm

There is a very clear answer of the Rebbe about this!

Beautiful
December 29, 2018 8:40 pm

Love seeing this harbutzas haTorah in the London Lubavitch community.

Chabad practice
December 29, 2018 5:18 pm

As far as chabad practice goes, we try not to use the eruv. Everyone has to grow at their own level. Not everyone is also at the level to learn Rambam every day, for example. Ok maybe that person is working on other areas of chassidishekeit. It is still the chabad thing to do…hopefully everyone will get to everything eventually!

Read this CAREFULLY!
December 28, 2018 5:21 pm

מפורסמת דעתי שבדורנו זה איש או ארגון שמתחשבים אתי העושה עירוב ויודע שסוף סוף יתפרסם הדבר – הרי זה תקלה איומה, כי אי אפשר שלא יארע שבת קודש אחד והעירוב פסול – וע”פ טבע שיתרגלו פעמים אחדים בהוצאה בשבת קודש לא תועיל כל הכרזה והודעה שהעירוב נפסל ואסור וכו’ שיפסיקו להוציא
ואין לעשות עירוב אלא בסודיות

Eiruv
December 28, 2018 1:23 pm

The Arizal purposely carried his tallis and chumash to prove that the Eiruv is good, it was instituted by shloma hamelech to bring peace in the world, the Rebbe contributed to the construction of different eiruvin made by r’ gabriel zinner!

Really
December 28, 2018 7:55 am

Rabbi Raskin there are so many holes in your definition of a “Rishus Harabim” all major poskim deal with this and you are definitely incorrect (see both igros moshe and Mishnos Halachos) and none of them define it as you do. That being said none of them hold 600k Living in the town has any effect on the definition of a actual Rishus Harabim rather 600k passing through in a given day.

B"h a londoner
December 28, 2018 6:51 am

Very nice.Wishing london, much hatzloch in everything. LONDON ROCKS!!

Here we go again
December 28, 2018 12:10 am

This is proof yet again that, “Lubavitch Chassidim tend to abstain from relying on a city Eruv,” because they have preconceived ideas about eruvin, and don’t want to be confused with the facts. He simply conflates d’Oraysas with d’rabbanans.

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