Eruvin 61 contains two debates which – though discussing very different laws – each address how the residence of others in a place where we symbolically or physically live can affect us.
The first case presented in the Mishna (Eruvin 5:8-9, 61a) concerns the point from where we measure the 2,000 amot of the techum Shabbat. According to the Tana Kamma, if someone places their Eruv in an inhabited town or cave, then the 2,000 amot of the techum Shabbat only begins at the boundary of the town or the entrance of the cave. However, Rabbi Akiva rules that in such cases, the 2,000 amot begin from the point where the Eruv has been placed. What this means is that according to the Tana Kamma, the presence of inhabitants in a town broadens the scope of an Eruv placed in that town.
The second case, however, tells a different story. There we read in the Mishna (Eruvin 6:1, 61b) about a rabbinic decree that someone who shares their courtyard with an idolater, or with someone who forcefully rejects the laws of Eruvin, is unable to carry objects from their house into their courtyard. Though codified Jewish law follows the more tempered view of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov, what we learn from here is that there are occasions when the close presence of those who pose an ideological or religious threat to us can narrow the scope of an Eruv that has been placed in a shared area.
Admittedly, each of these cases is complex, and each deal with a different Eruv model. Yet, embedded in these Mishnayot is a life lesson that stretches beyond the laws of Eruvin which is that there are times in our life when the presence of others can broaden our horizons and give us the confidence to go beyond our apparent limitations, and there are also times in our life when others – often those close to us – can narrow our scope and can impede us from undertaking even the simplest of life journeys.
Significantly, in both cases, neither the town residents nor the idolater needs to communicate directly to us in order for their presence to impact us. Instead, their mere presence and their core values are sufficient to either have a positive or negative impact upon us.
Living in this time of significant physical restrictions, many of us have had to reconfigure what we do and how we work. Yet notwithstanding these real challenges, the way we will get through and beyond this difficult period is with the knowledge that we – along with those around us – have confidence in us to go beyond our apparent limitations.
