August 11, 2008

 

Town of Markham

101 Town Centre Blvd.

Markham, Ontario

L3R 9W3

 

Attention:  Deputy Mayor Mr. Jack Heath

                SUBJECT:  Markham “Eruv”

 

Dear Mr. Heath

 

As per our recent conversation, I am following up with an explanation of an “Eruv”; what it is and what it does.

 

The Sabbath as you know is one of the Ten Commandments.  For observant Jews it is very involved, and makes Saturday a very special and different day. There are a number of prohibited activities on this day.  One of these, is the prohibition of carrying in a “public place” from sunset Friday until nightfall on Saturday.  One may not carry anything in their pockets, in their hands or even push a stroller or wheelchair.  It gives the Jewish community great pride in keeping G-d’s law passed down for 3300 years, and for each observant Jew it is an integral part of their life.

 

Yet, while on the one hand it is a source of pride, it can also be very limiting.  For example, one may not carry the baby outside, to a friends or family’s home or to Synagogue.  One may not carry a cane or crutches needed for walking outside.  Anyone who needs to keep medication with them (heart medication or an Epi-pen) cannot venture out. Often young mothers, children, and the elderly are limited to staying inside the house Saturday, even on a beautiful summer’s day.

 

In many Jewish communities around the world, including Canada, they solve the “public place” problem by enclosing the neighborhood with a combination of existing walls and wires and closing the remaining breaches with a simple piece of string. According to Biblical law, this changes the area from a public area into a private area, and all carrying is then permitted.  This is called making an Eruv. The little piece of string acts as a series of doorways around the neighborhood that changes life for the observant Jewish Community.  Running the string from trees and poles, above the height required by trucks, it is out of reach, and the blue string that we use blends into the sky. 

 

Toronto/Vaughan has an Eruv. There is a city proclamation endorsing it and a team of volunteers are involved weekly with its upkeep. Their website, I strongly recommend you visit: www.torontoeruv.org.  It will give you links to 50 other cities that have Eruvs -from Halifax to Vancouver, from New York to LA, from England to Australia.

 

In our area we are fortunate that most of the Eruv is already in place, due to the pre-existing highway walls/fences and hydro wires that run around the Thornhill section of Markham, where majority of the observant Jewish community live.  To complete the Eruv, however, all that is required is to run a piece of string from Leslie and the Rail Road Tracks to Leslie and John St. The string would be 15 feet off the ground between the light posts as shown below in map A.  We would also need to extend an existing fence for a few feet as shown in map B. 

 

This small act will make life immeasurably better for the Jewish Community of our area and makes the town more attractive to live and visit.

 

 Your assistance in this matter will be very much appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Rabbi Avraham E. Plotkin 

 

 

 

Map A

MapB