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The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)

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Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)

#6

Post by hn_user82179 »

I'm not religious so I'll admit I don't "get it." It's a neat idea.

I'll admit, I especially don't get this part:

> The series of practically invisible wires becomes a necessity that “benefits the most vulnerable people of the community.” He sees it not only as a way for communities to come together, but also as a way for the more affluent to give back. The eruv is funded entirely by the Jewish community, with a considerable portion of that support coming from wealthy philanthropists.

Giving back to your community, sure. Benefiting the most vulnerable people of the community seems a bit much though. I feel like there are other ways that money could be spent.

All in all though, there are nonprofit religious organizations who spend an unreasonable amount of money on things that don't matter (private jets), so I'm not at all complaining about something that helps that communal feeling like this.

Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)

#7

Post by serf »

hn_user82179 wrote: post #6

I'm not religious so I'll admit I don't "get it." It's a neat idea. I'll admit, I especially don't get this part: > The series of practically invisible wires becomes a necessity that “benefits the most vulnerable people of the community.” He sees it not only as a way for communities to come together, but also as a way for the more affluent to give back. The eruv is funded entirely by the Jewish community, with a cons…

>Benefiting the most vulnerable people of the community seems a bit much though.

it makes sense contextually.

if there is some holy manifest that urges people to do a thing even when they're old/invalid/bed-ridden/sick, and there are people that will devoutly follow this rule, then it stands to reason that those people will feel a burden eased when part of the manifest is accomplished automatically.

Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)

#8

Post by giraffe_lady »

hn_user82179 wrote: post #6

I'm not religious so I'll admit I don't "get it." It's a neat idea. I'll admit, I especially don't get this part: > The series of practically invisible wires becomes a necessity that “benefits the most vulnerable people of the community.” He sees it not only as a way for communities to come together, but also as a way for the more affluent to give back. The eruv is funded entirely by the Jewish community, with a cons…

> benefits the most vulnerable people of the community.

I suspect the author may have misunderstood what this is euphemistically referring to. I think the original source means women. A lot of routine elements of childcare fall within this restriction, and in conservative communities that would be the exclusive domain of women. Without the eruv women with young children would be confined to their home during this part of the week.

Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)

#9

Post by harvoc5 »

RayVR wrote: post #3

“God hates this one weird trick…”

There are other currents in Judaism, such as mystical based, or philosophy based (Spinoza), but they are a minority nowadays.

The mainstream Judaism has focused mostly on codifying rules for all situations in life, which has evolved into a semi legalistic framework of rules and their loopholes. So many loopholes... Like temporarily selling your belongings 1 week per year to bypass Passover rules about Hametz, etc.

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