Current Events > Orthodox Jews spend $100k a year to hang tiny, invisible wires above Manhattan

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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/there-s-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-you-ve-probably-never-noticed

It's hard to imagine that anything literally hanging from utility poles across Manhattan could be considered "hidden," but throughout the borough, about 18 miles of translucent wire stretches around the skyline, and most people have likely never noticed. It's called an eruv (plural eruvin), and its existence is thanks to the Jewish Sabbath.

On the Sabbath, which is viewed as a day of rest, observant Jewish people aren't allowed to carry anythingbooks, groceries, even childrenin public places (doing so is considered "work"). The eruv encircles much of Manhattan, acting as a symbolic boundary that turns the very public streets of the city into a private space, much like one's own home. This allows people to freely communicate and socialize on the Sabbathand carry whatever they pleasewithout having to worry about breaking Jewish law.

Along with everything else in New York City, the eruv isn't cheap. It costs a group of Orthodox synagogues $100,000 a year to maintain the wires, which are inspected by a rabbi every Thursday before dawn to confirm they are all still attached. While wires do occasionally fall, the overall eruv has survived events such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Hurricane Sandy. When eruv wires do break, it can cause enough of a stir to make news. Most notably, in 2011 a wire broke near the United Nations building, which caused a problem when repair crews couldn't get past security to fix it. The issue was eventually resolved, but not before a good deal of panic set in.

Is this a good use of the synagogues' money? And do you think God agrees with this technical loophole in his rules?

religious stuff like this is absurd

they spent all that money to exploit a loophole in their arbitrary rule when they could've just ignored the stupid rule

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MC_BatCommander posted...

religious stuff like this is absurd

they spent all that money to exploit a loophole in their arbitrary rule when they could've just ignored the stupid rule

Yep

ill never underand

I feel like that is going against the spirit of the rules they are try to follow.

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MC_BatCommander posted...

religious stuff like this is absurd

they spent all that money to exploit a loophole in their arbitrary rule when they could've just ignored the stupid rule

Yep.
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That's, uh... Hmm. Dumb as hell? Hope that doesn't get me modded.

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Circumvent your own religion with this weird trick! God hates it!

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shockthemonkey posted...

Thats a lot of money to circumvent your own Gods law

It's easier for $100,000 poorer men to enter the kingdom of Heaven than...something something camels.

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Didn't know there were so many anti-Semites on CE.

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MC_BatCommander posted...

religious stuff like this is absurd

they spent all that money to exploit a loophole in their arbitrary rule when they could've just ignored the stupid rule

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I'm jewish and I also think this seems like a lot of work over nothing.

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MC_BatCommander posted...

religious stuff like this is absurd

they spent all that money to exploit a loophole in their arbitrary rule when they could've just ignored the stupid rule

Yeah when you're rules lawyering your own religion it's probably a really good sign that your religion is bullshit. I remember a Jewish targeted hotplate product a while back because it wasn't allowed to cook over an open flames on Sabbath but this didn't have any flames so it was okay.


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I grew up Seventh Day Adventist, which follows many of the same Jewish rules such as no pork, keeping Sabbath holy, etc. The religion even goes further as not to allow jewelry and a bunch of other restrictive stuff.

Over the years, I've seen a shift in SDAs, with some churches becoming looser with the rules and others holding fast to the way things "should" be. The looser churches treat the rules more as guidelines to follow than as actual rules for most things. Sure enough, those churches have a lot of the younger folk in it. Meanwhile, the old school churches only have the old guard, with the majorities of attendees over 40.

The traditional SDA churches constantly criticize the more modern ones, but I think it's out of fear that they'll have to either convert to modern or shut down completely in a few decades.

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And by what logic does the tiny wire transform a "public" space into a "private" one? How do people even conceive of things like this?

GodIsImaginary posted...

inspected by a rabbi every Thursday before dawn

That's one busy Rabbi.

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shockthemonkey posted...

Thats a lot of money to circumvent your own Gods law

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Ill never understand this dumb religion bullshit. Its not just this stuff these people do, its all religions that make absolutely no sense. You read stories like this and it just seems so alien

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AlephZero posted...

Didn't know there were so many anti-Semites on CE.

This is a pretty dumb thing to say. I think the majority opinion ITT is that it's ridiculous to spend $100,000 a year to cheat a part of their belief system. No one is being hostile or prejudiced toward the people, stop trying to create hate from nothing.

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Religion is so fucking dumb

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So a rabbi goes out in a cherry picker truck every week to inspect 18 miles of wires? That's a lot of work.

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This seems like not only a waste of time, but actively harmful to birds who won't see them while flying around.

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instead of modernizing their belief structure they just waste money. thats logical.

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PatrickMahomes posted...

I'm jewish and I also think this seems like a lot of work over nothing.

Isn't that what they're trying to avoid? I never heard of this, "You can't be shown to be working," thing. Anyone want to explain that to me? I never knew this before

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D'oh, religiooon!!

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