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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman שע״ד · 4 seifim of the Shulchan Aruch

The doorway or window of the eruv closed up on Shabbos, and breaches between courtyards and between roofs — to discover and understand

סימן שע״ד

נסתם בשבת פתח או חלון במקום שעירב בו

🌱 Beginner Level · מתחילים

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First approach to Siman שע״ד: complete Hebrew text of the Mechaber, English translation, pedagogical explanations of the halachic concepts, practical cases and synthesis.

Topic: the doorway or window through which two courtyards made an eruv, closed up on Shabbos; the wall between two courtyards breached on Shabbos; the small courtyard open onto a large one and the small roof open onto a large one
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן שע״ד (4 seifim in the Shulchan Aruch, with no gloss introduced by הגה; 4 in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav as well, studied at Level 4)

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

📑 Study Plan

1. The Shulchan Aruch text — the 4 seifim of the Mechaber

2. General context: why this siman, what is the question?

3. Key halachic concepts of this siman

4. Detail of the seifim — one by one

5. The Mishnah Berurah — first entries

6. Position of the Rema — and the reservations of the commentators

7. Modern practical cases

8. Practical synthesis and rules to remember

9. Comprehension questions

1. The Shulchan Aruch text

Siman שע״ד contains 4 seifim of the Mechaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo). No gloss in it is introduced by the word הגה; in seif א there is a note in parentheses, in small print, without the word הגה, followed by the name of its source, the Agur (see section 6). Topic of the siman, according to its title: a doorway or window closed up on Shabbos, at the place through which one made the eruv; seifim ב, ג and ד also deal with breaches: the wall between two courtyards, the small courtyard open onto a large one, the small roof open onto a large one. The Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe also has 4 seifim for this siman, on the same topics and in the same order; its numbering is that of Level 4.

Seif א

נסתם בשבת פתח או חלון במקום שעירב בו. ובו ד סעיפים:
ערבו דרך חלון או פתח שביניהם ונסתם בשבת מותרים להשתמש דרך גובה הכותל וחוריו ואפי' אם עירב לשנה ונסתם הפתח בחול ונפתח בשבת (ואפילו סתמה במזיד) (אגור) חזר העירוב להתירו ולהרמב״ם אין מותר לטלטל אלא כל אחת לעצמה אבל מזו לזו לא:

Translation: [Two courtyards] that made an eruv through a window or a doorway between them, and [the opening] was closed up on Shabbos: [the residents] are permitted to make use [from one to the other, Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ב] by way of the top of the wall and its holes. And even if he made the eruv for the year, and the doorway was closed up on a weekday and opened on Shabbos — in small print, in parentheses (without the word הגה): (and even if he closed it deliberately) (Agur) — the eruv returns to its permission. And according to the Rambam, it is permitted to carry only each one by itself, but from one to the other, no.

What this seif says:

The opening of the eruv closed up on Shabbos: one makes use by way of the top of the wall and its holes: ערבו דרך חלון או פתח שביניהם ונסתם בשבת מותרים להשתמש דרך גובה הכותל וחוריו. For example, according to Rashi as cited by the Mishnah Berurah, when a heap of rubble fell in front of it (ס״ק א). One makes use from one to the other on this Shabbos, and all the more so each one by itself, even the one in which the eruv is not placed (ס״ק ב). Although the holes do not have the size of a window, the eruv is not annulled for this Shabbos: what was permitted at the beginning of Shabbos is permitted for the whole Shabbos (ס״ק ג).
The eruv made for the year, the doorway closed up on a weekday and opened on Shabbos: ואפי׳ אם עירב לשנה ונסתם הפתח בחול ונפתח בשבת … חזר העירוב להתירו. The reason, according to the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ד): when he placed the eruv for several Shabbosos or for the year, there was a doorway from one to the other and the eruv took effect; it is therefore not annulled, and as soon as the doorway opens, the eruv returns to its original permission.
In small print, in parentheses: (ואפילו סתמה במזיד) (אגור). The text does not name the author of this note; the Biur Halachah ascribes it to the Rema. Deliberately means intentionally; and the Mishnah Berurah writes that the Magen Avraham and several Acharonim incline to forbid in this case when the doorway was reopened on Shabbos (ס״ק ה; section 6).
According to the Rambam, each one by itself only: ולהרמב״ם אין מותר לטלטל אלא כל אחת לעצמה אבל מזו לזו לא. The Mishnah Berurah applies this view to the beginning of the seif, the doorway closed up on Shabbos; if it was reopened, all agree that one carries from one to the other as at first; and for the halachah, the main view is the first one, as the Acharonim wrote (ס״ק ו).

Seif ב

היה כותל בין שתי חצרו' ועירבה כל אחת לעצמה ונפרץ הכותל בשבת מותרים לטלטל כל א' בחצרו אפי' כלי הבי' אבל חצר שנפרצה בשבת לרשו' הרבים או לכרמלית אסור:

Translation: There was a wall between two courtyards, each one had made an eruv by itself, and the wall was breached (nifratz) on Shabbos: they are permitted to carry, each one in his courtyard, even the utensils of the house. But a courtyard that was breached on Shabbos onto the public domain (reshus harabim) or onto a karmelis: it is forbidden.

What this seif says:

The wall between two courtyards, each having made an eruv by itself, breached on Shabbos: היה כותל בין שתי חצרו׳ ועירבה כל אחת לעצמה ונפרץ הכותל בשבת. That is, according to the Biur Halachah, breached along its full width, or over more than ten amos.
Each one carries in his courtyard, even the utensils of the house: מותרים לטלטל כל א׳ בחצרו אפי׳ כלי הבי׳. The reason, according to the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק ז): although each courtyard is now breached onto a domain with which it is not partnered, since at twilight (bein hashmashos) it was permitted, it is permitted for the whole Shabbos. Even the utensils of the house: those of the courtyard may be carried even from courtyard to courtyard, even when the wall is breached, all the courtyards being one domain, as at the beginning of siman 372 (ס״ק ח).
The courtyard breached onto the public domain or onto a karmelis: forbidden: אבל חצר שנפרצה בשבת לרשו׳ הרבים או לכרמלית אסור. Here, writes the Mishnah Berurah, we do not say that what was permitted remains permitted: at the beginning of the seif, [the wall] was breached onto a courtyard, a private domain like itself, but here onto a truly different domain (ס״ק ט). On what remains permitted within four amos, see section 6.

Seif ג

חצר קטנה שנפרצ' קודם שבת במילוא' לגדול' ואין בפרצה יותר מי' אמו' גדול' מותרת להוציא כלי' ששבתו בבית לחצרה אם עירבה לעצמה וקטנה אסור' להוציא כלים ששבתו בבית לחצירה אלא אם כן עירבו יחד והיינו כשנכנסין כותלי קטנה לגדולה וכשכתלי קטנה מופלגים ג״ט מכותלי אורך הגדולה דאם לא כן היתה קטנה ניתרת ע״י נראה מבחוץ ושוה מבפנים:

Translation: A small courtyard that was breached before Shabbos along its full width (bimlo'ah) onto a large one, and the breach is not more than ten amos: the large one is permitted to take out into its courtyard utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos (sheshavsu babayis), if it made an eruv by itself; and the small one is forbidden to take out into its courtyard utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos, unless they made an eruv together. And this is when the walls of the small one enter into the large one, and when the walls of the small one are three tefachim away from the walls along the length of the large one; for otherwise the small one would be permitted by [the principle of] seen from outside and even from inside (nir'eh mibachutz veshaveh mibifnim).

What this seif says:

The small courtyard breached before Shabbos, along its full width, onto a large one, by a breach of at most ten amos: חצר קטנה שנפרצ׳ קודם שבת במילוא׳ לגדול׳ ואין בפרצה יותר מי׳ אמו׳. Before Shabbos: on Shabbos we say that what was permitted remains permitted (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק י). Along its full width: the two courtyards were adjacent, separated by a wall, and the whole of this wall was breached (ס״ק י״א). Beyond ten amos, one cannot say that the small one is like the doorway of the large one, since people do not make a doorway of more than ten amos (ס״ק י״ב).
The large one is permitted, if it made an eruv by itself: גדול׳ מותרת להוציא כלי׳ ששבתו בבית לחצרה אם עירבה לעצמה. The small one does not forbid it: the large one has remnants of wall (gipufin), and the place of the breach in the wall of the small one is like its doorway (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק י״ג). Utensils that were in the courtyard at the start of Shabbos may be taken out even into another courtyard without a joint eruv (ס״ק י״ד); and if the large one did not make an eruv, it too is forbidden (ס״ק ט״ו).
The small one is forbidden, unless there is a joint eruv: וקטנה אסור׳ להוציא כלים ששבתו בבית לחצירה אלא אם כן עירבו יחד. Its wall was breached along its full width onto the large one, which is a place forbidden to it (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ט״ז).
When the walls of the small one enter the large one, three tefachim from its walls: והיינו כשנכנסין כותלי קטנה לגדולה וכשכתלי קטנה מופלגים ג״ט מכותלי אורך הגדולה. Three tefachim, explains the Mishnah Berurah, because below that we say lavud — as though the walls met — and it is as if they were not apart at all (ס״ק י״ח). The Biur Halachah writes, in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that the walls are not mentioned precisely: even one wall set apart three tefachim suffices for the small one to be forbidden (section 6).
Otherwise, the small one is permitted: seen from outside and even from inside: דאם לא כן היתה קטנה ניתרת ע״י נראה מבחוץ ושוה מבפנים. According to the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק י״ט): from inside the small one, its walls are even and the breach takes up its full width; but seen from outside, from inside the large one, remnants of wall appear to it on either side — the excess of the large one over the small one —, and since the large one is permitted by them, the small one would be permitted too. When the walls of the small one project into the large one, it is evident that these remnants of wall do not belong to it.

Seif ד

גג קטן שנפרץ קודם שבת במילואו לגג גדול קטן אסור להעלות עליו כלים ששבתו בבית וגדול מותר והוא שיהו מחיצות הבית ניכרות למי שעומד על הגג אבל אם אינם ניכרות כגון שהגג בולט עליהם הוי כרמלית אלא אם כן פתוח לו מהבית חלון ארבע על ארבע:

Translation: A small roof that was breached before Shabbos along its full width onto a large roof: onto the small one it is forbidden to bring up utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos, and onto the large one it is permitted. And this is provided that the walls of the house are recognizable to one who stands on the roof; but if they are not recognizable — for example if the roof juts out over them —, it is a karmelis, unless a window of four by four [tefachim] opens to it from the house.

What this seif says:

The small roof breached before Shabbos, along its full width, onto a large one: גג קטן שנפרץ קודם שבת במילואו לגג גדול. According to the Mishnah Berurah, if the two roofs are equal, they forbid each other (ס״ק כ׳). Breached is not meant literally, it writes: it was open to the adjacent roof, and the expression is taken over from seif ג (ס״ק כ״א). Before Shabbos: on Shabbos we say that what was permitted remains permitted (ס״ק כ״ב). The case, according to it, is one where the whole small roof faces the large one, where the owners did not make an eruv together, and where the small roof is not more than ten amos (ס״ק כ״ג).
One does not bring up onto the small one utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos; onto the large one it is permitted: קטן אסור להעלות עליו כלים ששבתו בבית וגדול מותר. The small one was breached onto the other's domain, which is forbidden to it (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ד); utensils that were on the roof at the start of Shabbos may be carried even onto the other's roof without any eruv, as in siman 372, seif א (ס״ק כ״ה); for the large one, the small roof counts as a mere doorway, since it is not more than ten amos (ס״ק כ״ו).
Provided that the walls of the house are recognizable to one who stands on the roof: והוא שיהו מחיצות הבית ניכרות למי שעומד על הגג. According to the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק כ״ז), their roofs were flat; when the roof does not jut out from the walls, those standing at the edge of the roof see the walls of the house when looking beneath their feet, and we then say gud asik mechitzasa — the walls are extended upward —, as if the roof were surrounded by walls.
Otherwise, for example if the roof juts out, it is a karmelis: אבל אם אינם ניכרות כגון שהגג בולט עליהם הוי כרמלית. It is then permitted to carry on each of the roofs only within four amos, even utensils that were on the roof at the start of Shabbos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ז); the roof juts out means it juts out by four tefachim (ס״ק כ״ח).
Unless a window of four by four opens to it from the house: אלא אם כן פתוח לו מהבית חלון ארבע על ארבע. It is then used, and the whole roof counts as the holes of the private domain; but, adds the Mishnah Berurah, bringing up onto it utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos remains forbidden as long as they did not make an eruv together, since the walls are not recognizable on it (ס״ק כ״ט).

2. General context

What does this siman discuss?

In the Gemara, Rabbah relates the question he asked Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah, and the answer he received: « בְּעַאי מֵרַב הוּנָא, וּבְעַאי מֵרַב יְהוּדָה: עֵירַב דֶּרֶךְ הַפֶּתַח וְנִסְתַּם הַפֶּתַח, דֶּרֶךְ הַחַלּוֹן וְנִסְתַּם הַחַלּוֹן, מַהוּ? וְאָמַר לִי: שַׁבָּת הוֹאִיל וְהוּתְרָה — הוּתְּרָה » (עירובין י״ז ע״א). Seif א deals with the same case, the doorway or window of the eruv closed up on Shabbos.

For seifim ג and ד, the Mishnah: « גַּג גָּדוֹל סָמוּךְ לְקָטָן — הַגָּדוֹל מוּתָּר, וְהַקָּטָן אָסוּר. חָצֵר גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁנִּפְרְצָה לִקְטַנָּה — גְּדוֹלָה מוּתֶּרֶת וּקְטַנָּה אֲסוּרָה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא כְּפִתְחָהּ שֶׁל גְּדוֹלָה » (עירובין צ״ב ע״א). Seifim ג and ד speak of the small courtyard open onto the large one and of the small roof open onto the large one.

The fundamental question: when the opening through which two domains made an eruv is closed up, or a breach opens between two domains, does the permission to carry remain? The siman answers, among other things, according to the time — on Shabbos or before (seifim א, ב, ג and ד) —, according to the domain onto which the breach opens — another courtyard, or the public domain and the karmelis (seif ב) —, and according to the width of the breach and what remains of the walls (seifim ג and ד).

Place in Hilchos Eruvin

In Sefaria's index, the section הלכות עירובין of the Shulchan Aruch begins at siman 345. Siman שע״ד follows siman שע״ג · 373. The Mishnah Berurah here refers, among other places, to siman 372: for the utensils of the courtyard, which are carried from courtyard to courtyard (ס״ק ח), « דכל החצרות רשות אחת וכדלעיל בריש סי׳ שע״ב » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ח), and for the utensils that were on the roof at the start of Shabbos (ס״ק כ״ה).

3. Key halachic concepts

A few notions structure this siman:

The essential notions of siman שע״ד:

כיון שהותרה הותרה — what was permitted [at the beginning of Shabbos] remains permitted: the Mishnah Berurah gives it as the reason for seif א, « דכיון שהותר בתחלת השבת הותר לכל השבת » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ג), and for seif ב (ס״ק ז).
בין השמשות — twilight, the time when the eruv is acquired: « וביה״ש שהוא זמן קניית העירוב הרי יש פתח ביניהם שראוי לערב » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ה).
במילואה — along its full width: the Biur Halachah gives the rule, citing the Pri Megadim, « הכלל מלואה נקרא היכא דלית ליה פס ד׳ בחצר או פס משהו מכאן ומכאן [או טפח לדעה אחת] נקרא מלואה » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד).
גיפופין — the remnants of wall on either side of the breach: « דהא הגדולה יש לה גיפופין ומקום פרצה הכותל של הקטנה הרי היא כפתחה » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק י״ג).
לבוד — a gap of less than three tefachim, treated as closed: « דאל״ה אמרינן לבוד לאורך הגדולה והוי כאלו לא היה מופלג כלל » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק י״ח).
נראה מבחוץ ושוה מבפנים — seen from outside and even from inside: the reason why the small courtyard would be permitted when its walls do not enter into the large one, or are not three tefachim away from its walls there (seif ג; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק י״ח and י״ט).
גוד אסיק מחיצתא — the walls are extended upward: « ואז אמרינן גוד אסיק מחיצתא וכאלו מוקף מחיצות למעלה סביב הגג אבל כשהגג בולט מן הכתלים ולחוץ אין מחיצות הבית נראין ואין אומרין גוד אסיק מחיצתא והוי כרמלית » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק כ״ז).
כרמלית — neither private domain nor public domain: in seif ד, the roof whose walls are not recognizable is one, unless a window of four by four opens to it from the house, « אבל אם אינם ניכרות כגון שהגג בולט עליהם הוי כרמלית אלא אם כן פתוח לו מהבית חלון ארבע על ארבע » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ד:ד).

4. Detail of the seifim — one by one

Seif	Content
א	Two courtyards made an eruv through a window or a doorway between them: if the opening is closed up on Shabbos, one makes use from one to the other (according to the Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ב) by way of the top of the wall and its holes. The eruv made for the year returns to its permission when the doorway, closed up on a weekday, opens on Shabbos; a note in parentheses, in small print, adds: even if he closed it deliberately (Agur). According to the Rambam, each one by itself only.
ב	The wall between two courtyards, each having made an eruv by itself, breached on Shabbos: each one carries in his courtyard, even the utensils of the house; the courtyard breached on Shabbos onto the public domain or onto a karmelis is forbidden.
ג	The small courtyard breached before Shabbos, along its full width, onto a large one, by a breach of at most ten amos: the large one, if it made an eruv by itself, takes out into its courtyard utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos; the small one may do so only with a joint eruv — when its walls enter the large one and are three tefachim away from the walls of the large one; otherwise, the small one is permitted by the principle of seen from outside and even from inside; the Biur Halachah writes, in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that even one wall set apart three tefachim suffices for the small one to be forbidden (section 6).
ד	The small roof breached before Shabbos, along its full width, onto a large one (without a joint eruv, the small roof not being more than ten amos; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ג): one does not bring up onto the small one utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos, one may bring them up onto the large one — provided that the walls of the house are recognizable to one who stands on the roof; otherwise, for example if the roof juts out, it is a karmelis, unless a window of four by four opens to it from the house; even then, bringing up onto that roof utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos remains forbidden without a joint eruv (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ט).

The heart of the siman: what was permitted at the twilight of the beginning of Shabbos remains permitted for the whole Shabbos: the Mishnah Berurah gives this as the reason for the closed-up opening (seif א; ס״ק ג) and for the wall breached between two courtyards (seif ב; ס״ק ז), and sets it aside for the courtyard breached onto a truly different domain (seif ב; ס״ק ט). When the breach opened before Shabbos (seifim ג and ד), the rule depends, among other things, on the width of the breach and on what remains of the walls: the large courtyard, for which the breach is like a doorway, is permitted if it made an eruv by itself (ס״ק י״ג and ט״ו); the small one, breached along its full width, is forbidden without a joint eruv (ס״ק ט״ז), when its walls enter the large one and are three tefachim away from its walls; otherwise, it too is permitted (seif ג; ס״ק י״ט); the Biur Halachah writes, in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that even one wall set apart three tefachim suffices for the small one to be forbidden (section 6).

5. The Mishnah Berurah — first entries

The Mishnah Berurah of Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim) contains 29 entries on this siman. Here are the first nine, on seifim א and ב — to better understand the meaning of the text:

משנה ברורה (א) — (א) ונסתם בשבת - כגון שנפלה מפולת כנגדו [רש״י]:

משנה ברורה (ב) — (ב) מותרים להשתמש - מזו לזו בשבת זו וכ״ש כל אחת לעצמה דמותרת אף אותה שאין העירוב מונחת בתוכה:

משנה ברורה (ג) — (ג) דרך גובה הכותל וחוריו - ר״ל אע״ג דעכשיו שנסתם אין ראויין להתערב יחד דהלא אין בחורין שיעור חלון אפ״ה לא נתבטל העירוב על שבת זו דכיון שהותר בתחלת השבת הותר לכל השבת:

משנה ברורה (ד) — (ד) ונפתח בשבת - ר״ל לא מיבעי אם נפתח קודם השבת בודאי הוי עירוב דהא בעת כניסת השבת היו כבר פתוחין מזו לזו אלא אפילו אם נפתח בשבת גופא מ״מ כיון שבעת הנחת העירוב שהניח לכמה שבתות או לשנה היה פתח מזו לזו וחל העירוב לכן אף שבשבת אחרת היה סתום מתחלת השבת ולא היה אז העירוב מועיל לכולם מ״מ לא נתבטל ומיד שנפתח חזר העירוב להתירו הראשון:

משנה ברורה (ה) — (ה) ואפילו סתמה במזיד - היינו בכונה. ודע דמ״א וכמה אחרונים צידדו לאסור בזה כשחזר ונפתח בשבת דכיון שסתם הפתח שבין שתי החצרות במזיד הוי כביטל העירוב בידים דהרי גלי דעתיה שאינו חפץ בעירוב וא״כ כיון שביה״ש שהוא זמן חלות העירוב היה עדיין סתום לא מהני כשנפתח אח״כ בשבת גופא ואין להקל כשסתמו במזיד אלא כשנפתח קודם השבת דאז אמרינן אף שנתבטל מעיקרא כיון שחזר ונפתח הרי עכ״פ הם שותפין בפת של עירוב וביה״ש שהוא זמן קניית העירוב הרי יש פתח ביניהם שראוי לערב ועיין בבה״ל שביארנו שכן ראוי לנהוג למעשה. אכן אם בעת שסתמו היה בדעתו רק לפי שעה ואח״כ לחזור ולפתחו מסתברא דמותר אף כשחזר ונפתח בשבת:

משנה ברורה (ו) — (ו) ולהרמב״ם וכו' - קאי אריש הסעיף היכא שנסתם הפתח בשבת דלדעה הראשונה מותר להשתמש מזו לזו דרך חורין ולדידיה אינו מותר אלא כל חצר לעצמה והרבותא הוא דאפילו אותה חצר שאין העירוב מונח בתוכה מותרת ומ״מ אם חזר ונפתח לכו״ע מותר לטלטל מזו לזו כמו מתחלה. ולענין הלכה העיקר כסברא הראשונה כ״כ האחרונים:

משנה ברורה (ז) — (ז) כל אחד בחצירו - דאף דכל חצר נפרץ עתה לרשות אחרת שאין משותפין יחד והוי נפרץ למקום האסור לו מ״מ כיון שבין השמשות היה מותר הותר לכל השבת:

משנה ברורה (ח) — (ח) ואפי' כלי הבית - דאלו כלי החצר מותר לטלטל אף מחצר לחצר גם כשנפרץ דכל החצרות רשות אחת וכדלעיל בריש סי' שע״ב:

משנה ברורה (ט) — (ט) אבל וכו' - לכרמלית אסור. בזה לא אמרינן כיון שהותרה הותרה כמו דאמרינן מעיקרא דשם לא נפרץ אלא לחצר שהוא רה״י כמוהו ואין ביניהם אלא שזה הוא של יחיד זה וזה הוא של אחר אבל זה שנפרץ לרשות אחרת ממש לא אמרינן ביה הואיל והותרה הותרה ועיין בבה״ל:

For the full text of the 29 entries, see Sefaria: Mishnah Berurah 374.

6. Position of the Rema

In the text served by Sefaria (Maginei Eretz edition), the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) has no gloss introduced by the word הגה on this siman. In seif א there is a note in parentheses, in small print, without the word הגה; the Biur Halachah ascribes it to the Rema. The commentators also add reservations to the Mechaber's seifim; here are several of them, seif by seif.

The note in parentheses, and the reservations of the commentators:

Seif א, the opening closed up before Shabbos — the Biur Halachah: « אבל אם נסתם מבעוד יום אפילו חזר ונפתח בשבת אסורין לפי שעדיין לא קנו עירוב מעולם » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד); and the eruv made for the year is different: « ועירב לשנה שאני שמערב מתחלה על כל השבתות וקנה העירוב בשבת ראשונה שהיה הפתח פתוח ולכן אפילו אם אח״כ נסתם הפתח ונפתח בשבת אחרת ואפילו בסוף השנה חוזר העירוב וניעור » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד).
Seif א, the eruv made for the year, and the doorway closed up deliberately — the Biur Halachah writes that the rule of the eruv made for the year is itself not clear, since according to several Rishonim it has no source, and continues: « ומ״מ אחרי שהרא״ש והטור והמחבר והאחרונים שאחרי השו״ע העתיקו דין זה בודאי אין לדחותו מהלכה ומ״מ לענין סתמו במזיד שהמ״א הביא ממהרי״ל שלא התיר אלא דוקא בשנפתח קודם השבת וכן הסכים בא״ר ותו״ש בודאי אין להקל בזה » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד); it adds: « ואף שיש אחרונים שמיישבין בדוחק את סברת הרמ״א דמתיר בכל גווני מ״מ למעשה נראה שאין להקל » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד), and reports: « ובספר נתיב חיים לבעל ק״נ דעתו דאף הרמ״א עצמו לא הקיל בזה אלא בשנפתח אח״כ בחול » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד).
Seif א, the note in parentheses — « (ואפילו סתמה במזיד) (אגור) » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ד:א). The Magen Avraham explains, on the basis of a responsum of the Maharil, that the leniency applies when the doorway was reopened before Shabbos, and that this is what the Agur, who writes in the name of the Maharil, meant; reopened on Shabbos, it is forbidden: « א״כ כשנפתח בשבת אסור דכיון דסתמו במזיד גלי דעתי׳ שאינו חפץ בעירו׳ » (מגן אברהם שע״ד ס״ק א); he ends this point with a צ״ע (it remains to be examined): « ומיהו בסתמא במזיד לא מהני נפתח בשבת וצ״ע » (מגן אברהם שע״ד ס״ק א). The Mishnah Berurah concludes: « ואין להקל כשסתמו במזיד אלא כשנפתח קודם השבת » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ה), and adds: « אכן אם בעת שסתמו היה בדעתו רק לפי שעה ואח״כ לחזור ולפתחו מסתברא דמותר אף כשחזר ונפתח בשבת » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ה).
Seif א, the view of the Rambam — « ולענין הלכה העיקר כסברא הראשונה כ״כ האחרונים » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק ו).
Seif ב, the courtyard breached onto a karmelis — the Biur Halachah cites: « עיין בב״י שכתב דהיינו שאסור לטלטל בתוך החצר יותר מד״א אבל בתוך ד״א מותר אפילו לטלטל ממנו לכרמלית » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד); the Magen Avraham is in doubt about this, since the courtyard may still bear the name of a courtyard; the Biur Halachah cites views in both directions, and concludes: « וע״כ נראה שאין להקל » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד).
Seif ג, the walls of the small courtyard — the Biur Halachah: « לאו דוקא דאף כותל אחד סגי [הגר״א] ור״ל דאף אם היה רק כותל אחד מופלג ג״ט והשני היה פחות מזה ג״כ אסור » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד).
Seif ד, the small roof and the roof that juts out — the Biur Halachah asks why the small roof is not permitted by the remnants of wall of the large one, like the small courtyard of seif ג, and answers, in the name of the Ritva: « י״ל דכי אמרינן גוד אסיק לגבי גג הגדול עצמו אבל לא להתיר הגג קטן בגיפופי גדול » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד). On the roof that juts out, the Mishnah Berurah: « דוקא כשבולט ד״ט אבל אם אין בולט ארבעה טפחים הוי כמחיצות ניכרות » (משנה ברורה שע״ד ס״ק כ״ח).
Chabad → Level 4 — Daat HaRav studies this siman in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, siman שע״ד, in 4 seifim. On the doorway closed up deliberately, the Rav cites the view that is concerned to be stringent, « וְיֵשׁ מִי שֶׁחוֹשֵׁשׁ לְהַחֲמִיר אִם סְתָמוֹ בְּמֵזִיד » (שו״ע הרב שע״ד:א), and writes: « וּלְעִנְיַן הֲלָכָה, בְּדִבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים הַלֵּךְ אַחַר הַמֵּקֵל » (שו״ע הרב שע״ד:א).

7. Modern practical cases

Each situation below is tied to a named seif; when the situation is a present-day one, the row says so: application by the site, not the words of the source.

Situation	Quick analysis
The opening between two courtyards joined by an eruv is closed up on Shabbos	Seif א: « ונסתם בשבת מותרים להשתמש דרך גובה הכותל וחוריו » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ד:א); according to Rashi as cited by the Mishnah Berurah, for example when a heap of rubble fell in front of it (ס״ק א). If it was closed up before Shabbos, the Biur Halachah forbids, even if it was reopened on Shabbos, except for the eruv made for the year, already acquired on an earlier Shabbos while the doorway was open (section 6). Consult your Rav.
The tzuras hapesach of the alley, damaged on a weekday and repaired on Shabbos	This is not the case of the seif; it is the Biur Halachah that extends seif א, when the eruv of the courtyards (eruv chatzeros) was made for the year: « ונראה דה״ה כשנתבטל הע״ח ע״י סיבה אחרת כגון שנתקלקל הצוה״פ שבמבוי וממילא עי״ז נתבטל הע״ח שבמבוי זו וכמבואר בסימן שס״ה בסופו אם חזר ונתקן הצוה״פ בשבת ע״י עכו״ם וכדומה אף שבה״ש היה פרוץ עדיין מ״מ כשחזר ונתקן בשבת חוזר מע״ח למקומו כיון שהע״ח נעשה מתחלה לכל השנה » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד) — repaired on Shabbos, it writes, by a non-Jew or the like; it notes a possible difference, breached partitions being perhaps more serious, and concludes: « מ״מ בשעת הדחק יש להקל גם בזה » (ביאור הלכה שע״ד) — in a pressing need, one may be lenient here too. For the eruv made for a single Shabbos, it is not lenient. For the eruv of a present-day city (application by the site), consult your Rav.
The doorway closed up on purpose on a weekday, reopened on Shabbos	Seif א and the note in parentheses: for the eruv made for the year, the eruv returns, « (ואפילו סתמה במזיד) (אגור) » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ד:א). The Mishnah Berurah is lenient, for the doorway closed up deliberately, only if it was reopened before Shabbos; if it had been closed up only temporarily, with the intention of reopening it, it holds that it stands to reason that it is permitted (ס״ק ה); the Biur Halachah concludes that in practice it seems one should not be lenient; the Shulchan Aruch HaRav follows the lenient view in a rabbinic matter (seif 1 of its numbering; section 6 and Level 4). Consult your Rav.
The wall between two courtyards, each having made an eruv by itself, is breached on Shabbos	Seif ב: « מותרים לטלטל כל א׳ בחצרו אפי׳ כלי הבי׳ » (שו״ע או״ח שע״ד:ב); but if the courtyard was breached onto the public domain or onto a karmelis, it is forbidden, and the Biur Halachah concludes that it seems one should not be lenient about carrying from the courtyard into the karmelis within four amos (section 6). Consult your Rav.
Two adjacent flat roofs whose owners did not make an eruv together	Seif ד: if a small roof is open, along its full width, onto a large one, one does not bring up onto the small one utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos, and one may bring them up onto the large one, provided that the walls of the house are recognizable, the small roof not being more than ten amos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ג); if the two roofs are equal, they forbid each other (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ׳). For a present-day roof terrace (application by the site), the shape of the walls and roofs counts: consult your Rav.

For precise practical cases: the seifim make the permission depend, among other things, on when the opening was closed up or the breach opened, on the domain onto which it opens, on the width of the breach and on what remains of the walls; the Mishnah Berurah and the Biur Halachah add reservations to them, seif by seif (section 6). For halacha lemaaseh, consult your Rav.

8. Practical synthesis of the Siman

The teachings of Siman שע״ד:

The opening of the eruv closed up on Shabbos: one makes use from one to the other (according to the Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ב) by way of the top of the wall and its holes (seif א), since what was permitted at the beginning of Shabbos is permitted for the whole Shabbos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ג). Closed up while it was still day, it remains forbidden even if reopened on Shabbos, writes the Biur Halachah, except for the eruv made for the year, already acquired on an earlier Shabbos while the doorway was open (section 6).
The eruv made for the year: when the doorway closed up on a weekday opens on Shabbos, the eruv returns to its permission (seif א). The note in parentheses adds: even if he closed it deliberately; the Mishnah Berurah is lenient then only if it was reopened before Shabbos, and holds that it stands to reason to permit if it had been closed up only temporarily (ס״ק ה); the Biur Halachah concludes that in practice it seems one should not be lenient, and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav follows, in a rabbinic matter, the lenient view (seif 1 of its numbering; Level 4). Consult your Rav.
According to the Rambam, when the opening is closed up on Shabbos, each one by itself only (seif א); for the halachah, the main view is the first one, according to the Acharonim (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ו).
The wall between two courtyards breached on Shabbos: each one carries in his courtyard, even the utensils of the house, if each one had made an eruv by itself; the courtyard breached on Shabbos onto the public domain or onto a karmelis is forbidden (seif ב).
The small courtyard breached before Shabbos onto a large one, along its full width, by a breach of at most ten amos: the large one, having made an eruv by itself, is permitted; the small one is forbidden without a joint eruv, when its walls enter the large one and are three tefachim away from its walls; otherwise, it is permitted by the principle of seen from outside and even from inside (seif ג); the Biur Halachah writes, in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that even one wall set apart three tefachim suffices for the small one to be forbidden (section 6).
The small roof breached before Shabbos, along its full width, onto a large one (without a joint eruv, the small roof not being more than ten amos; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ג): one does not bring up onto the small one utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos, one may bring them up onto the large one, provided that the walls of the house are recognizable; if they are not — for example if the roof juts out over them, by four tefachim according to the Mishnah Berurah (ס״ק כ״ח) —, it is a karmelis, unless a window of four by four opens to it from the house (seif ד); even then, bringing up onto that roof utensils that were in the house at the start of Shabbos remains forbidden without a joint eruv (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק כ״ט).
For halacha lemaaseh, consult your Rav.

9. Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:

Why does the opening closed up on Shabbos not annul the eruv of that Shabbos (seif א; Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ג)?
Why does the eruv made for the year return when the doorway opens on Shabbos (ס״ק ד), and what do the Mishnah Berurah and the Biur Halachah say about the doorway closed up deliberately (ס״ק ה)?
In seif ב, why does the text say even the utensils of the house (ס״ק ח), and why is the courtyard breached onto the public domain forbidden (ס״ק ט)?
In seif ג, why is the large courtyard permitted and the small one forbidden (ס״ק י״ג and ט״ז)?
What does seen from outside and even from inside mean, and why must the walls of the small courtyard be three tefachim away (ס״ק י״ח and י״ט)?
In seif ד, when are the walls of the house recognizable, and what does the window of four by four permit (ס״ק כ״ז to כ״ט)?

To go further

If you want to deepen this siman:

📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for pilpul, שיטות ראשונים, חקירות יסודיות, and the nuances of the Acharonim
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and rapid memorization with mnemonics
📜 Level 4 — Daat HaRav: the shitah of the Alter Rebbe (Shulchan Aruch HaRav siman שע״ד)

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