Eiruv

The goal is to design, develop, build, and maintain an "Eruv" (pronounced 'ay-roov') district extending over parts of the Alpharetta & John's Creek Jewish communities.

Community Impact

The question may be raised: what tangible changes occur as a result of having an Eruv in Alpharetta & John's Creek? Traditional Jews are prevented, in the absence of an Eruv, from carrying anything outside of one's home during the Sabbath. This restriction is extremely hard on Jewish community and family life, since, for example, families with very young children who are not yet able to walk are "house-bound," unable to get either to synagogue or to friends' homes. An Eruv permits the use of strollers and walkers. It permits parents of young children to reach a synagogue on the Sabbath, to meet with friends at neighborhood homes, and to share a festive Sabbath meal together. Another population benefitting from the Eruv district is the elderly whose use of canes, wheelchairs, and other ancillary items is now possible. The Eruv facilitates greater involvement of the disabled population, in general, into the community on the Sabbath. Further, and very importantly, it will encourage greater interaction among the members of the larger Jewish community (notably by allowing more inter-family contact and at greater distances than are presently possible).

As more Eruvin are constructed in cities across the United States, the absence or presence of an Eruv has become an issue in one's decision to move to a new location (especially if the area in which one is presently residing has an Eruv and the city to which one might consider relocating does not). Thus, the erection of the Greater Alpharetta Eruv assists the traditional Jewish community of Alpharetta, long a highly visible and supportive constituency to the greater Alpharetta community, in continuing to attract young traditional, Jewish professionals who will add strength and a future to their communities and neighborhoods.

Finally, it is important to note that the erection of this Eruv in no way abrogates the rights of any individual in the greater Alpharetta public living within its borders. Besides the presence of certain attachments to the utility poles (which will not appear significantly different from some of the attachments presently upon the poles) and some additional newly erected poles (which will also tend to blend into the "everyday environment"), no other discernable differences will exist as a result of the Eruv being erected. There is no element of superstition or mysticism associated with it; the Eruv is a legal construct based upon a solid foundation in the Jewish legal codes and serves as the solution to a problem, that of carrying and moving objects from domain to domain during the Sabbath period.