Monsey Eruv Assists in Initiation of Nationwide Eruv Conference for Industry Professionals
by M.C. Millman
Seventy eruv professionals from thirty-five cities from all over the United States and Canada got together for a first-of-its-kind City Eruv Conference in the U.S.
The two-day conference, organized by Rabbi Ezra Sarna, Director of Halacha Initiatives at the OU and the National Eruv Initiative's Rabbi Baruch Gore, took place at O.U. headquarters in New York on Sunday, October 22 and Monday, October 23. During the course of the event, participants learned about new technological advancements that can help them maintain and build their city's eruv. They also gained insights from leading poskim and others working in the field on developing and maintaining a city eruv in modern times.
The conference was also a way to network between the many eruv organizations, to share information, and to create awareness about legalities and complex halachas and practical ways to do things when it comes to building and managing an eruv.
"The idea was to bring together communities," Rabbi Chaim Meir Steinmetz, the Rav of the Monsey Eruv and one of the four prominent committee members who put together the conference, shares with Rockland Daily, "because most communities don't have big organizations. Instead, they have a few people working on their local eruv every week."
Rockland's eruv is the largest eruv in the United States when it comes to items. While other cities utilize and incorporate highway fencing, cement walls, or railroad fencing in their eruv, Rockland doesn't have that luxury.
"For instance," Rabbi Steinmetz explains for Rockland Daily readers, "60% of Toronto's eruv is composed of highway fencing. This saves a lot of physical work. For the Rockland eruv, we don't have highway fencing, cement walls, or railroad fencing. Instead, we have 4,000 poles, utility and otherwise, that we must have the manpower to physically check and repair as needed weekly in twenty-six different sections throughout Rockland."
While most city eruv's are just one big circle around a given area, Rockland is unique in that it has twenty-six completely different sections, each its own city, and kosher in its own right."
Attendees heard from leading poskim in the eruv field, learned about new technological advancements, and gained meaningful insights on how to approach the challenges of maintaining a city eruv in modern times. During the conference, the OU unveiled its new, free software developed for eruv administrators. The software inventories all the components and details of each eruv, tracks issues and repairs in real-time, and enables the eruv maintenance team to communicate quickly and effectively.
"Everybody enjoyed and benefited from the event," Rabbi Steinmetz shares, "as the information given over was valuable and apropos. It also gave the attendees a lot of chizuk and provided new ideas, guidance, and an entire support system to allow every represented city to continue doing the work they are doing for the klal with new and valuable connections forged."
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