Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Metes and Bounds

August 22, 2024

Q Our shul is a mile down the country road from our bungalow colony, but there are some structures along the way. Do we need an eiruv tchumin, and if so, how do we make one?

A On Shabbos, one may not walk more than 2000 amos beyond his mekom shvisah (place of Shabbos residence)—his location at the onset of Shabbos. If that location is enclosed for residential use (e.g., a fenced-in bungalow colony) or it is located in an ir (city; see halachic parameters below), the entire area or ir is his mekom shvisah.

If there are houses—Jewish, non-Jewish, or even vacant—along the road, they extend the tchum, provided the gap between them is no more than 70.6 amos (O.C. 398:5,6; Mishnah Brurah ibid. 19).

According to some contemporary poskim, commercial buildings like offices, warehouses, and stores are like houses for this purpose if workers eat their meals there daily (Sheivet Halevi 1:59). Some require that there be a cafeteria (R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv; see Piskei Teshuvos ibid. n. 88). Others contend that only buildings with sleeping quarters count (Chazon Ish 110:28). Consult your rav about which view to follow.

This only applies to an ir; if a location is not an ir, houses along the road don’t extend the tchum. An ir is defined as an area that contains at least three chatzeiros (indoor or outdoor courtyards) within 70.6 amos of each other, each having at least two houses (Mishnah Brurah ibid. 38). According to other poskim, six houses, each with a private chatzeir, are sufficient (Piskei Teshuvos ibid. 19).

By placing an eiruv tchumin, your mekom shvisah shifts to the location of the eiruv, beyond which you may walk 2000 amos.

An eiruv tchumin comprises food for two meals for each person that will be using it (O.C. 407:7), even just sufficient liftan (condiments) for the requisite number of meals (ibid.). Many use peanut butter, as a small amount is sufficient for each meal.

The eiruv must be placed in the desired location on Friday afternoon before sunset. The location should be accessible both physically and halachically (e.g., not in a car) at the onset of Shabbos.

If the eiruv is lost or destroyed after tzeis hakochavim, it is still effective for the rest of Shabbos.