The Use of Power/Telephone Wires for City Eruvin

A shiur delivered at

Yeshiva Ner Boruch-PTI of Passaic

in conjunction with its Eruvin Kollel

at a Yom Iyun

January 2, 2023

Marei Mekomos:

Reb Nachum J. Stone commented on the video:

I watched your video last night.

Excellent presentation of complex topics.

Regarding the lechi extensions:

I helped Rabbi Heinemann build the Baltimore eruv about 40 years ago (wow!).

At the time, his proof for the lechi off to the side [the side-top-wire lechi] was a Gemara in Menachos that allows for extension handles for the machtah [the pan for the ketores]. Obviously, it would have been added from the side [viz., lashed on to the original].

As to a lechi wrapping around a utility pole, we were using heavy rubber tubing split in half, which we ran up the electric poles. Sometime we would wrap around the pole: 1) to avoid obstacles; or 2) if we wanted/needed the wire to be on the other side of the pole, or 3) if the wire we were using was on the other side, but we didn’t have good access to it.

Rabbi Heinemann felt that as long as the tubing was contiguous, it was consider straight and a kosher lechi even if  it wrapped 270 degrees around the pole in the “third dimension.”

Rabbi Heinemann said that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein accepted both of his chiddushim, although it is said that when Reb Moshe was asked to verify this, he said something about she’as ha’dechak.