Eiruvin 2a, b

Eiruvin begins with an examination of when and how we are to change the dimensions of a doorway. When an entrance is considered a true entrance, know how and when we can carry objects through those doorways and between different domains.

We are told in Exodus that because we have food enough for two days over our Shabbat, we need not leave our place and we should remain in our place.  These are positive and negative commandments, which beg the question: where is our place?  The Sages created the concept of a number of places, or domains, to help us understand where we must remain; where we cannot leave on Shabbat.  One of these is called the private domain, one the public, one the karmelit, which is neither of the above, and one encompassing other areas. 

Because one of the major prohibitions on Shabbat is the act of carrying from one domain to the next, it is important to know the dimensions and limitations of each domain.  One of the ways we move from one domain to another is through a doorway or entrance.  Thus we learn today about the height of an entrance, the width of an entrance, the substance of an entrance.

Three ideas caught my eye today.  The first is Rabbi Yehuda's insistence on lenient interpretations of the law.  The Rabbis trouble themselves to understand how Rabbi Yehuda's can interpret in this way.  The second is the reliance upon Torah text to create and justify interpretations and then Halacha.  We cannot pull a measurement out of the air; instead, we should debate on the source, our primary text.  We are to argue about whether we should be referring to the 10 cubit entrance to the sanctuary or the 20 cubit entrance to the entrance hall.   The third point of interest for me is the disagreement between Rabbis about whether the measurements used to measure an entranceway are taken from the Mishkan or taken from the Temple. 

The Torah describes different measurements for the entrances to these two holy sites, and thus we are left to guess whether we should look to one or the other to help us know how to measure our current - well, current at the beginning of the common era - doorways.

It is fascinating that Jewish tradition helps us to understand ourselves through the lens of ancient writings.  While some of us might choose to understand ourselves and our worlds in this light, others - myself included- are more interested in using other sources to justify our decisions.  When an entire tradition is based on these texts, a degree of faith and belief is assumed that feels uncomfortable for me.  What if the descriptions of these entrance ways were simply descriptions of entrance ways and not blueprints for the measurements of our doorways and thus our freedom of movement while carrying objects on Shabbat?