DAAT · LEVEL 3 — MAGISTERIAL SYNTHESIS
Siman שע״ב
סימן שע״ב · דיני שותפי הדירות לעירוב
Recap & mnemonics for review
📑 Synthesis plan
- The central axiom of the siman
- The condensed key concepts
- Structure of the siman — from the one domain to the stack of straw
- Decision tree — two neighbouring courtyards and the eruv
- Using the wall or making it an opening — seifim ח to טו
- Mnemonic פתח
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Practical cases
- Final synthesis table
- The practical commandments
The seif numbers on this page are those of the Shulchan Aruch of the Mechaber (19 seifim). The Shulchan Aruch HaRav, studied in Level 4, has its own numbering (22 seifim): when it is cited, its name is given next to the number.
1. The central axiom
Siman שע״ב in one sentence.
The siman distinguishes vessels by the place where they rested. Those that rested on the roofs, in the courtyards and in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling pass from one place to another without a joint eruv: « גגין וחצירו׳ וקרפיפו׳ כולן רשות א׳ הם לכלים ששבתו בתוכה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:א) — except to a karpef larger than sasayim that was not enclosed for dwelling, which is a karmelis (seif ב). To permit also those that rested in the houses, two courtyards can make the eruv together (seif ג), and they can do so only on one condition: « אין שתי חצרות יכולות לערב יחד אא״כ יהא פתח ביניהם או חלון שיש בו ד׳ על ד׳ טפחים ויהי׳ קצתו בתוך י״ט הנמוכים לארץ » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ד). The rest of the siman examines, seif after seif, what joins or separates two neighbouring places: the window between two houses (seif ה), the wall and the breach (seifim ו and ז), what permits using the wall or makes it an opening (seifim ח to טו), the ditch (seifim טז to יח) and the stack of straw (seif יט).
The siman distinguishes vessels by the place where they rested. Those that rested on the roofs, in the courtyards and in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling pass from one place to another without a joint eruv: « גגין וחצירו׳ וקרפיפו׳ כולן רשות א׳ הם לכלים ששבתו בתוכה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:א) — except to a karpef larger than sasayim that was not enclosed for dwelling, which is a karmelis (seif ב). To permit also those that rested in the houses, two courtyards can make the eruv together (seif ג), and they can do so only on one condition: « אין שתי חצרות יכולות לערב יחד אא״כ יהא פתח ביניהם או חלון שיש בו ד׳ על ד׳ טפחים ויהי׳ קצתו בתוך י״ט הנמוכים לארץ » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ד). The rest of the siman examines, seif after seif, what joins or separates two neighbouring places: the window between two houses (seif ה), the wall and the breach (seifim ו and ז), what permits using the wall or makes it an opening (seifim ח to טו), the ditch (seifim טז to יח) and the stack of straw (seif יט).
2. The condensed key concepts
| Concept | Definition | In the seif |
|---|---|---|
| רשות א׳ | One domain: roofs, courtyards and karpefs, for the vessels that rested in them | Seif א; the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ג) gives the reason: « דכל אלו אין תשמישן מיוחד ותדיר לפיכך אין בהם חילוק רשות » (משנה ברורה שע״ב ס״ק ג) |
| כלים ששבתו | Vessels that were lying there while it was still day [before Shabbos], excluding those that rested inside the house (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ד) | Those of the courtyard go from one courtyard to another, even when the courtyard made its own eruv (seif א); those of the house do not (seif א; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ט״ז) |
| קרפף / כרמלית | The enclosure (karpef); the karmelis | A karpef of sasayim at most, or enclosed for dwelling, joins that one domain (seif א); larger and not enclosed for dwelling, it is a karmelis, and to another similar karpef (larger than sasayim, not enclosed for dwelling: Mishnah Berurah ס״ק י״ח, level 1) one carries nothing « כי אם שתי אמות בזה ושתי אמות בזה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ב) (seif ב) |
| פתח / חלון | The opening, or the window of four tefachim by four, part of which is within the ten tefachim nearest the ground | The condition for the joint eruv of two courtyards (seif ד); between two houses, the window serves even above ten (seif ה); a breach of up to ten amos, if the wall is not breached over its whole extent, counts as an opening (seif ז) |
| לערב יחד / כל אחד לעצמו | Making the eruv together, or each for itself | With an opening, as they choose (seif ד); a breach of more than ten amos (seif ז), a ditch full of earth and pebbles, or reduced by them below ten, along its whole length or over more than ten amos (seif טז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב): they must make the eruv together — below that, it is an opening, as they choose; with the plank laid over the ditch, likewise as they choose up to ten amos, and beyond that a single eruv (seif יז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח); a stack reduced below ten on a weekday over more than ten amos: they must make the eruv together; over less, as they choose (seif יט; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קל״ו) |
| להשתמש | Using the wall: bringing objects up onto its top, or down from it | Seif ו distinguishes fruit that rested in the courtyards from fruit that rested in the house; some arrangements give only this use, without making an opening, notably the bench (seif ט): it gives use of the whole wall when it is on one side only (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״א), and is not an opening as long as it neither reaches the top of the wall nor stops less than three tefachim from it (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״ג); and the bench on a bench (seif יא) |
| כובדו קובעו | A ladder of fewer than four rungs whose side-poles and rungs are heavy | It counts, « שאז כובדו קובעו » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ח) (seif ח) |
| אשרה | The asheirah, a tree forbidden for any benefit | Made a ladder for the wall, it does not permit the joint eruv; the Rosh writes the reverse: the tree is not effective, and the asheirah is, provided it is dry (seif טו) |
| בטלו | The nullification of what fills the ditch | Straw and stubble not nullified: the ditch still separates; earth and pebbles, even without specification: the joint eruv, if they fill it, or reduce its depth below ten, along the whole length or over more than ten amos (seif טז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב); fruit, according to a view the Rema cites (seif טז); filling over four in width with something that nullifies it is like the plank (Rema, seif יז) |
3. Structure of the siman — from the one domain to the stack of straw
Seifim א and ב — one domain: roofs, courtyards, a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling, and a fitted mavoy, for the vessels that rested in them; even when a courtyard made its own eruv, its vessels go to another courtyard. A large karpef not enclosed for dwelling is a karmelis.
↓
Seifim ג and ד — the joint eruv of two courtyards: the eruv already made, carried into a house of the second courtyard, or even bread of one's own (Rema: if his courtyard made the eruv with him first, or does not need one); the second courtyard must have made its own; between them there must be an opening, or a window of four by four partly within the lowest ten tefachim.
↓
Seif ה — between two houses: the window, even above ten; the skylight between the house and the upper storey, even above ten and without a ladder. Rema: four by four; a lattice removes its status of a window.
↓
Seifim ו and ז — the wall and the breach: a house between two courtyards, that made an eruv with each, does not pass the vessels of the houses as long as the courtyards have not made one with each other; a wall of ten (or ground raised by five with a partition of five) prevents the joint eruv; the fruit on top of the wall; a wall ten high on one side only; a breach of up to ten amos, if the wall is not breached along its whole extent, counts as an opening.
↓
Seifim ח to טו — what permits using the wall, or makes it an opening: ladders, a removed course, a bench, an overturned basin, a bench on a bench, a ziz, stubble between ladders, notching, a tree and an asheirah.
↓
Seifim טז to יח — the ditch: ten deep and four wide, it separates, when full of straw and stubble, as long as it was not nullified; full of earth and pebbles, or reduced by them below ten, even without specification, along its whole length or over more than ten amos, they must make the eruv together (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב); the plank makes it an opening — up to ten amos; beyond that it is a breach, and they make a single eruv (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח); ten deep on one side only, or the same for both, it follows the rule of the wall.
↓
Seif יט — the stack of straw: ten high, each makes its own eruv; reduced below ten on a weekday over more than ten amos, the joint eruv; over less, as they choose (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קל״ו); as long as it is not reduced, one puts none of it into one's basket on Shabbos to feed one's animal; between two houses, it is permitted.
4. Decision tree — two neighbouring courtyards and the eruv
Q1: Where did the vessel rest? (seifim א to ג)
↓ In the courtyard, on the roof or in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling → one carries it without a joint eruv to another courtyard, a roof, the top of the wall between them, an adjoining roof, a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling, a fitted mavoy (seif א); not to a karpef larger than sasayim not enclosed for dwelling, which is a karmelis (seif ב). In the house → it does not pass to another courtyard that did not make the eruv with it, even if brought permissibly into its own courtyard (seif א; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ט״ז): to permit it, the two courtyards can make the eruv together (seif ג), if an opening joins them (seif ד).
Q2: Is there an opening between them? (seifim ד and ה)
↓ An opening, or a window of four by four part of which is within the lowest ten tefachim → if they wish they make the eruv together, and if they wish each makes its own (seif ד). Between two houses the window serves even above ten; the Rema requires there four by four, without a lattice (seif ה).
Q3: Does a wall separate them? (seifim ו and ז)
↓ A wall of ten, or ground raised by five completed with a partition of five → they cannot make the eruv together (seif ו). A breach of up to ten amos, if the wall is not breached over its whole extent → like an opening; of more than ten → one courtyard, and they must make the eruv together (seif ז).
Q4: Was the wall fitted out? (seifim ח to טו)
↓ See section 5: according to its measurements, the arrangement makes an opening for the joint eruv, or only permits using the wall.
Q5: Does a ditch separate them? (seifim טז to יח)
↓ Ten deep and four wide → it separates, even full of straw and stubble, as long as it was not nullified; full of earth and pebbles, or reduced by them below ten, along its whole length or over more than ten amos → they must make the eruv together (seif טז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב). A plank across, four wide, or along it over four → an opening (seif יז) — up to ten amos; beyond that it is a breach, and they make a single eruv (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח). Ten deep on one side only, or the same for both → the rule of the wall (seif יח).
Q6: Does a stack of straw separate them? (seif יט)
↓ Ten high → each makes its own eruv; reduced below ten on a weekday over more than ten amos → they must make the eruv together; over less → as they choose (seif יט; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קל״ו).
→ At the slightest doubt: consult your Rav.
5. Using the wall or making it an opening — seifim ח to טו
A wall of ten separates the two courtyards (seif ו). Seifim ח to טו say what, against that wall, permits using it or makes it an opening; seif ט names the two effects together: « אם יש בה ד׳ אורך במשך הכותל ובולטת ד׳ מועיל להשתמש בכל הכותל אבל אינו חשוב כפתח לערב יחד עד שיגיע לראש הכותל » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ט). summary: the table condenses each seif; its full text and translation are in Level 1.
| Seif | Arrangement | What it achieves, according to the seif |
|---|---|---|
| ח | A ladder four wide against a wall ten high, and likewise opposite it in the other courtyard | An opening, even if the ladders are not opposite each other, if there are not three [tefachim] between them — ladders that reach the top of the wall, or stop less than three tefachim from it (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ס״ג); three apart, still an opening if the wall is four wide, otherwise not. It must be a ladder of four rungs; fewer, no — unless its side-poles and rungs are heavy. |
| ח | On a wall only ten high, a ladder seven high and a little, four along the wall | Both using it and making the eruv together, since less than three remains to the top; the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ע״ד) explains: using it, when the ladder stands on one side only; making the eruv together, when ladders stand on both sides. |
| ח | A course removed from the top of the wall, to reduce it below ten | If it extends over four: an opening for the joint eruv if the whole thickness of the wall was reduced; use of the whole wall, for the one on whose side it was reduced, if it was reduced on one side only (Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 12 of its numbering, Level 4); otherwise, neither: one uses the wall only opposite the reduced place. |
| ט | A bench against the wall, four long and projecting four | Use of the whole wall (when it is on one side only: Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״א); an opening only if it reaches the top of the wall, or stops less than three tefachim from it (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״ג); without four by four, not even use opposite it. The Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ע״ט): a bench not attached to the ground before Shabbos does not reduce the wall. |
| י | A basin (ספל; the Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק פ״ה, reads ספסל) overturned, four by four, attached with clay | The Mechaber writes: « מותר להשתמש כנגד המיעוט ובלבד שיחברנו בטיט » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:י). See the box below. |
| יא | A bench on a bench (the lower four by four; or, if not, the upper four by four, with not three tefachim between them) | Use of the wall, but not an opening for the joint eruv. |
| יב | A ziz (projection) of four by four, with a ladder placed on it | Use of the wall, under the conditions of the seif: the lowest rung less than three from the ground, less than three between rungs, the ladder placed on the ziz and not leaned beside it; as long as the wall is not twenty high, one ziz in the middle suffices; at twenty, two zizim, one within the lower ten and one within the upper ten, not opposite each other. The Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק צ״ו): it is not an opening for the joint eruv, unless the ziz is less than three tefachim from the top and the other courtyard does the same on its side. |
| יג | Two ladders set apart, with stubble between them | Neither use of the wall nor the joint eruv; the ladder in the middle and the stubble at the side: both — for the joint eruv, if the ladder reaches to less than three tefachim from the top and the same was done in the second courtyard (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ק״ו, which extends to the whole siman the condition that the same was done in the second courtyard; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 16 of its numbering, Level 4). |
| יד | Notching the wall | Beside a ladder less than four wide, to complete it to four: notching to a height of ten suffices, the ladder itself reaching the top of the wall or stopping less than three tefachim from it (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ק״ח). Without a ladder, rungs notched into the wall: four wide over its whole height (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ק״י), and it serves both for use and for the joint eruv — for the joint eruv, if the same was done in the second courtyard (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ק״ו; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 17 of its numbering, Level 4). |
| טו | A tree, or an asheirah, made a ladder for the wall | The tree: if they wish, they make a single eruv — the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ק״ו) writes that throughout the siman the joint eruv assumes the same was done in the second courtyard; the asheirah: no, because it is forbidden to climb it by Torah law, since it is forbidden for any benefit. The Rosh writes the reverse: « והרא״ש ז״ל כתב בהיפך דאילן אינו מועיל ואשרה מועלת והוא שתהא יבשה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:טו). |
What the Mishnah Berurah and Level 4 note on these seifim:
- The overturned basin (seif י): the Mishnah Berurah writes that everything there follows the rule of the bench of seif ט, and that « הסכימו האחרונים דמה שכתב כנגד המיעוט ט״ס הוא וצ״ל אפילו שלא כנגד המיעוט » (משנה ברורה שע״ב ס״ק פ״ו); the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (seif 14 of its numbering, Level 4) writes that it « מוֹעִיל לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּכָל הַכֹּתֶל כְּמוֹ אִצְטְבָא, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁעָתִיד לִטְּלוֹ » (שו״ע הרב שע״ב:יד).
- The tree and the asheirah (seif טו): the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק קט״ז) reports that the Eliyah Rabbah leans, for the halachah, to the first view, that of many poskim; the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (seif 18 of its numbering, Level 4) brings only this first view, with its reason.
6. Mnemonic פתח
What joins two courtyards is the opening. Three letters, in the order of the seifim:
פ — פתח ביניהם: two courtyards make the eruv together only if there is between them an opening, or a window of four by four partly within the lowest ten tefachim (seif ד); a breach of up to ten amos, if the wall is not breached along its whole extent, counts as an opening (seif ז).
ת — תשמיש הכותל: being allowed to use the wall does not yet make it an opening — the bench of four by four permits using the whole wall (when it is on one side only: Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״א), but is an opening only if it reaches the top, or stops less than three tefachim from it (seif ט; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״ג); a bench on a bench — the lower four by four, or, if not, the upper, with not three tefachim between them — gives use only (seif יא); a ziz of four by four with a ladder placed on it permits use of the wall (seif יב).
ח — חריץ: a ditch ten deep and four wide separates the two courtyards, when full of straw and stubble, as long as it was not nullified; full of earth and pebbles, or reduced by them below ten, even without specification, along its whole length or over more than ten amos, they must make the eruv together (seif טז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב); a plank four wide makes it an opening (seif יז) — up to ten amos; beyond that it is a breach, and they make a single eruv (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח).
7. Pitfalls to avoid
Pitfall 1: Thinking that, since the courtyard made its eruv, everything in it may pass into the neighbouring courtyard. Seif א permits it for the vessels that rested in the courtyard: « ולא חיישינן שמא יטלטל גם כלים ששבתו בבית לחצר אחרת או לגג וקרפף » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:א); the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ט״ז) infers that vessels that rested in the house, even brought permissibly into that courtyard, do not go to another courtyard that did not make the eruv with them.
Pitfall 2: Thinking that every karpef joins this domain. « קרפף יתר על סאתים שלא הוקף לדירה הוי כרמלית » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ב): to another similar karpef one carries nothing « כי אם שתי אמות בזה ושתי אמות בזה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ב).
Pitfall 3: Carrying one's own bread into the other courtyard without condition. The Rema requires « והוא שעירבו בני חצירו עמו תחלה » (רמ״א או״ח שע״ב:ג), or that they need not make the eruv (siman 370); and the Mechaber, « והוא שעירבו בני חצר השנייה לעצמה » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ג) (seif ג).
Pitfall 4: Requiring of the window between two houses what seif ד requires between two courtyards. Between two courtyards, part of the window must be within the lowest ten tefachim (seif ד); between two houses: « חלון שבין שני בתים אפילו הוא למעלה מעשרה אם רצו מערבין יחד » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ה) (seif ה). The Rema nevertheless requires there four by four, and writes that a lattice removes its status of a window.
Pitfall 5: Thinking that a house open to two courtyards, which made the eruv with each, joins them. As long as the courtyards did not make it with each other: « אין לטלטל כלים ששבתו בבתים מחצר לחצר ע״י בית זה שביניהם » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ו).
Pitfall 6: Treating all the fruit on top of the wall alike. On a wall ten high on both sides, fruit that rested in the courtyards is brought up and down, whether the wall is four wide or not; for that of the house: « אבל פירות ששבתו בבית אם הכותל רחב ד׳ אסור להעלות לו ולא להוריד ממנו ואם אינו רחב ד׳ מותר » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ו) — with the reservation of the parenthesis in small print, without the word הגה: « ובלבד שלא יחליפו » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ו), which the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק מ״ט) reads as the language of the Rema.
Pitfall 7: Thinking that a breach always joins the courtyards, or never obliges them. « נפרץ הכותל עד עשר אמות הרי הוא כפתח והוא שלא יהא נפרץ במילואו ואם נפרץ ביותר מעשר חשוב כחצר אחת וצריכים לערב יחד » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:ז); the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק נ״ט) adds, on the last case, that if each made its own eruv they forbid each other, and that a tzuras hapesach made at the place of the breach makes it like an opening.
Pitfall 8: Thinking that what permits using the wall makes it an opening. The bench permits using the whole wall (when it is on one side only: Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״א), but is an opening only if it reaches the top, or stops less than three tefachim from it (seif ט; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק פ״ג); a bench on a bench permits use, not the joint eruv (seif יא).
Pitfall 9: Completing two narrow ladders with stubble. It serves neither for use nor for the joint eruv, « שמקום מעמד הרגלים הוא באמצע הסולם ואין ראוי לעלות בקש » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:יג) (seif יג).
Pitfall 10: Thinking that a filled ditch is no longer a ditch. Full of straw and stubble: « אין יכולין לערב יחד אפילו מלא תבן וקש כל זמן שלא בטלו » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:טז); full of earth and pebbles, even without specification, they must make the eruv together (seif טז), if it is filled, or merely reduced below ten, along its whole length or over more than ten amos (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב). For fruit, the Rema cites a view: « י״א דאם מלאם בפרות סתמא בטלו לה דדרכן לעשותו שם אוצר » (רמ״א או״ח שע״ב:טז); the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק קכ״ה) reports that the Magen Avraham has doubts about this rule, and that the Vilna Gaon agrees with him.
Pitfall 11: Taking from the stack on Shabbos for one's animal. « ובעוד שלא נתמעט אסור לשום א׳ מהן ליתן מן התבן לתוך קופתו בשבת להאכילה לבהמתו » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:יט); and even standing the animal there so that it eats is forbidden, unless he can stand in front of it so that it has no way to turn except there (seif יט; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 22 of its numbering). Between two houses: « אבל גדיש שבין שני בתים מותר להאכיל בהמתו ממנו בידים » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ב:יט).
Pitfall 12: Mixing the two numberings. Levels 1 to 3 follow the Shulchan Aruch of the Mechaber (19 seifim); Level 4 follows the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (22 seifim), whose division differs: the overturned basin of the Mechaber's seif י is there in seif 14, the tree and the asheirah of seif טו in seif 18, the stack of straw of seif יט in seif 22.
8. Practical cases
| Situation | Analysis | Conduct |
|---|---|---|
| Passing an object from one's courtyard into the neighbouring one, without a joint eruv | Vessels that rested in the courtyard, yes; those that rested in the house, no, even brought permissibly into a courtyard that made its own eruv (seif א; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ט״ז) | Pass only what rested in the courtyard, on the roof or in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling (seif א) |
| Two neighbouring courtyards wish to make a single eruv | The eruv already made by one courtyard is carried into a house of the other, which must have made its own; or one's own bread, under the Rema's conditions (seif ג); between them there must be an opening, or a window of four by four partly within the lowest ten tefachim (seif ד) | The validity of the joint eruv is a question for the Rav in charge of it |
| The shared wall has partly collapsed | Up to ten amos, if it is not breached over its whole extent: like an opening; beyond: one courtyard (seif ז) | Beyond ten amos, they must make the eruv together (seif ז); a given breach is a question for the Rav |
| A ladder set up against the shared wall | Seif ח sets out, among others, these conditions: a width of four, four rungs or a heavy ladder, a ladder on each side, less than three tefachim apart, or more if the wall is four wide; and the ladder must reach the top of the wall, or stop less than three tefachim from the top (seif ח; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק ס״ג, level 1) | The question is for the Rav |
| A ditch between two courtyards, covered with a plank | A ditch ten deep and four wide separates (seif טז); a plank across, four wide, or along it, over four, makes it an opening (seif יז); the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק קכ״ח) counts it as an opening only up to ten amos | The courtyards then make, if they wish, a single eruv, and if they wish, two (seif יז) — up to ten amos; beyond that, a single eruv (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח; for the plank laid along the length, Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 20 of its numbering, Level 4, provided one does not intend to remove it later) |
| A stack of straw between two courtyards, on Shabbos | As long as it is not reduced, one puts none of it into one's basket to feed one's animal, and does not stand the animal there to eat (seif יט); the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק קל״ז) explains it first by the fear that one will take much, reduce it below ten and come to carry in the courtyard — not on this Shabbos, which is permitted by law, but on the following one —, then brings (וי״א) the reason of muktzeh — the first of the reasons the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (seif 22 of its numbering) gives for the first opinion, which it holds to be the main one; it adds the prohibition of taking down the partition | He may stand in front of the animal so that it has no way to turn except there (seif יט; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, seif 22 of its numbering); between two houses, the Mechaber permits feeding one's animal by hand (seif יט); the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (seif 22 of its numbering, Level 4) speaks there of the straw near the ceiling, or above ten — two parentheses in a row, which Level 4 does not decide |
9. Final synthesis table
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject of the siman | Neighbouring dwellings and the eruv: what forms a single domain, and what joins or separates two courtyards (דיני שותפי הדירות לעירוב) |
| Place | In Sefaria's index, the section הלכות עירובין of the Shulchan Aruch covers simanim 345 to 395 |
| Number of seifim | 19 seifim (Mechaber, with the glosses of the Rema) — 22 seifim in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav |
| Mishnah Berurah | 142 ס״ק on this siman |
| Glosses of the Rema | Introduced by הגה in seifim ג, ה, טז and יז; parentheses in small print, without the word הגה, in seifim ד, ו, ז and, before the gloss, in seif טז |
| Talmudic sources and Rishonim | See Level 2 |
| Golden rule | Vessels that rested on the roofs, in the courtyards and in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling pass from one place to another without a joint eruv (seif א), not to the karpef that is a karmelis (seif ב); for those of the houses, two courtyards can make the eruv together, provided an opening joins them (seifim ג and ד); what separates — notably the wall of ten, the ditch ten deep and four wide, the stack ten high — prevents the joint eruv, and what opens — notably the breach, the ladder, the plank — permits it (seifim ו to יט) |
| Practical ruling | The separation between two courtyards — wall, breach, ladder, ditch — and the validity of a joint eruv are for the Rav in charge of it; consult your Rav |
10. The practical commandments of Siman שע״ב
For daily conduct
- What rested outside the houses — in the courtyards, on the roofs, in a karpef of sasayim at most or enclosed for dwelling — is carried from one to another without a joint eruv (seif א); from a karpef that is a karmelis to another similar karpef (larger than sasayim, not enclosed for dwelling), only two amos in this one and two amos in that one (seif ב).
- What rested in the houses does not pass to another courtyard that did not make the eruv with it, even if brought permissibly into its own courtyard (seif א; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ט״ז).
- The joint eruv of two courtyards: the eruv already made, carried into a house of the second, which must have made its own; or one's own bread, if his courtyard made the eruv with him first, or does not need one (seif ג, Rema).
- The opening: an opening, or a window of four by four partly within the lowest ten tefachim (seif ד); between two houses, even higher, with four by four and without a lattice (seif ה, Rema).
- The wall: a house between two courtyards, that made an eruv with each, does not pass the vessels of the houses as long as the courtyards have not made one with each other; a wall of ten prevents the joint eruv; on a wall ten high on both sides and four wide, fruit that rested in the house is neither brought up nor brought down; if a wall four wide is ten high on one side only, the one for whom it is not ten high uses it, even with vessels of the house — if his courtyard made its own eruv, as the Shulchan Aruch HaRav writes (seif 9 of its numbering, Level 4) —, and the other does not use it, even with vessels of the courtyard (seif ו).
- The breach: of up to ten amos, if the wall is not breached over its whole extent, like an opening; of more than ten, they must make the eruv together (seif ז).
- Arrangements of the wall: according to the measurements of each seif, an opening, or only use of the wall (seifim ח to טו; section 5).
- The ditch: ten deep and four wide, it separates, when full of straw and stubble, as long as it was not nullified; full of earth and pebbles, or reduced by them below ten, along its whole length or over more than ten amos, they must make the eruv together (seif טז; Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ב); a plank four wide makes it an opening (seif יז) — up to ten amos; beyond that it is a breach, and they make a single eruv (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קכ״ח); ten deep on one side only, or the same for both, it follows the rule of the wall (seif יח).
- The stack of straw: ten high, each makes its own eruv; reduced below ten on a weekday over more than ten amos, the joint eruv; over less, as they choose (Mishnah Berurah ס״ק קל״ו); on Shabbos, as long as it is not reduced, put none of it into one's basket to feed one's animal (seif יט). On the view of the Rosh, who forbids even on a weekday, the Mishnah Berurah concludes « והעיקר כסברא ראשונה » (משנה ברורה שע״ב ס״ק ק״מ) — likewise the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (seif 22 of its numbering), in parentheses: « וְהָעִקָּר כִּסְבָרָא הָרִאשׁוֹנָה » (שו״ע הרב שע״ב:כב).
- In case of doubt — consult your Rav. In-depth pilpul — Level 2; Chabad shitah — Level 4.
📚 Recap of the study path
You have studied Siman שע״ב in 3 levels:
You have studied Siman שע״ב in 3 levels:
- 🌱 Level 1 — Foundations: the text of the Mechaber and the Rema seif by seif, English translation, halakhic concepts
- ⚡ Level 2 — Lamdan: Gemara sources, shittos of the Rishonim, machlokesim, nafka minos
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: axiom, mnemonic, decision tree, practical commandments