April 26 - Shabbat Shmini - Mevorchim Iyar - To be inspected...
Message from the President: Our 2025 fundraising campaign is underway. You can donate online (Credit Card, PayPal, Venmo, Donor Advised Funds, Check, ApplePay, GooglePay) using the GiveButter link below:
For more information about the campaign, please view our campaign letter.
Our Mission: We operate and maintain the Greater Boston Eruv, one of the largest Eruvim in the world. The Eruv allows people within its borders to carry objects with them on the Shabbat, an activity that would otherwise be proscribed by Jewish law.
Our Scope: The Greater Boston Eruv covers major parts of Brookline, Newton, and Brighton. An initial extension of the Eruv to include Nonantum (See the map!) was followed by expansion into most of South Newton. During Sukkot 5766, we completed a third extension to the Eruv that includes a significant portion of Boston University. In 5771, we added another small section in the Newton area. We also manage the Malden, MA (extended in December 2014) and the Brandeis University Eruv (which was extended into Waltham during the Fall of 2015). Beginning in 2014, we began two simultaneous projects, one to extend the Eruv into more of South Brookline and, for the first time, into West Roxbury, and a new Eruv on the North Shore (Marblehead, Salem, Swampscott). Our new South Brookline/West Roxbury extension was ready for service as of Erev Yom Kippur 5777. Our Swampscott Eruv (Phase 1) went online in the Fall of 2016.
To subscribe to our Weekly Eruv Status mail list, please send us an email.
April 17, 2024 - Dr. Jesse Hefter and Rabbi Meilich Horowitz perform the Eruv Chatzeros for the upcoming year just prior to Pesach.
Rabbi Moshe Heinemann (r) and Dr. Jesse Hefter surveying a portion of the proposed Eruv in the late 1980s
Fundraising for our 2025 campaign (our 31st year) is in full swing.
If you have not heard from us recently, please contact us as soon as possible.
We need everyone's participation! And remember... the Eruv is not a free service.
Our 2025 fund raising letter is available. (Requires Adobe Reader, do you need it?: Get it here).
Need our physical street mailing address? Use the Contact Link to the left...
If you have a Donor Advised Fund, you can contribute to the Eruv using the form below or through GiveButter (Icon above):
NEWS!
April 8, 2025 - Eruv Chatzerot for the Boston Eruv
It was a pleasure to meet with students at the Minyan at Brandeis together with Rabbi Ariel Cohen to perform an Eruv Chatzerot for the upcoming year. Dr. Hefter provided a context for the ceremony pointing out that, in addition to requiring that the mechitzot that form the local Eruv are in acceptable status, it is also required that some food be placed in a common area that is accessible to anyone who might need it for the Shabbat. This requirement represents a physical aspect of the ceremony.
April 4, 2025 - Eruv Chatzerot at Brandeis University
It was a pleasure to meet with students at the Minyan at Brandeis together with Rabbi Ariel Cohen to perform an Eruv Chatzerot for the upcoming year. Dr. Hefter provided a context for the ceremony pointing out that, in addition to requiring that the mechitzot that form the local Eruv are in acceptable status, it is also required that some food be placed in a common area that is accessible to anyone who might need it for the Shabbat. This requirement represents a physical aspect of the ceremony.
February 8, 2025 - Community Update
Dr. Jesse Hefter, President of the Greater Boston Eruv Corporation has been asked by the leadership of the Maimonides Kehillah to provide an update to the community about the Eruv. On Shabbat Beshalach/Shirah, following the Kiddush Shabbat morning, Dr. Hefter will speak on "Banding bandits and tattered twines: Weekly inspection of our Community Eruv". He will discuss some of the recent challenges the inspection team has encountered during their weekly inspections and provide some highlights about the OU Eruv Conference that he attended in the Fall of 2024.
You can see a PDF of the presentation at the following link.
January 5, 2025 - Natick Eruv Project
Under the direction of Rabbi Levi Fogelman of the Natick Chabad House and a group of interested baalei batim, we met in the field to review a preliminary border design for an Eruv in the Natick/Framingham area. The precise borders are still being worked out and we have established a prioritized list of action items. During the inspection of the area, we came upon a Revolutionary War-era burying ground that will need a mechitza to demarcate it from the proposed Eruv area; a design for such an internal border will have to be initiated. We hope to make more progress over the coming weeks.
November 17-18, 2024 - 2nd Annual Eruv Conference
We were thrilled to be part of the OU-sponsored 2nd Annual Eruv Conference in Saddle Brook, NJ, held at the Marriott Hotel on November 17 and 18, 2024. There were plenty of opportunities for networking and discussions. At the Show-And-Tell session on Monday, our Eruv showcased the Eruv Boat that is used at the Larz Anderson Park Lagoon - it really captured everyone's curiosity. It's a one-of-a-kind example. You can read more about the conference at Yeshiva World News and at the conference web page.
June 5, 2024 - Tree Lechi Repairs Completed
Our Eruv has three locations where our overhead twines pass along trees rather than along utility poles. In each of these areas (there are seven (7) trees in three (3) locations), we requested permission from the Town Of Brookline Tree Warden to attach a length of string to the tree starting at the attachment point of the aerial twine and extending down the outside of the tree to the ground. In order to keep the string taut, we received permission to staple the string to the bark. Over a period of years, the tree grows and the staples are "swallowed" by the expanding girth of the trunk. Now, our vertical strings have been partially consumed by the tree. This week, with the professional services of Gold's Landscaping Service, we climbed the trees and removed the old strings and installed fresh strings. This time around, we received permission from the Tree Warden to install small screw eye-hooks into the tree to gain more longevity until the tree swallows the string again. We have been assured from the Town that the careful installation of this hardware will in no way compromise the health of the tree.
May 9, 2024 - Upcoming Expansion to Malden Eruv
The Malden community is once again preparing to extend the existing Eruv to accommodate families who have moved into homes outside the Eruv. With our license permit from Verizon in-hand and other related permits, we are ready to enter the construction phase. Rabbi Yitzchak Rabinowitz and Synagogue Administrator Matthew Garland of Congregation Beth Israel, Dan Strom (our Eruv contractor), and Dr. Jesse Hefter (President of the Greater Boston Eruv) met today to walk the new route and review installation requirements for the Eruv attachments. (The image to the left shows Rabbi Rabinowitz (L) and Dr. Hefter (R))
April 12, 2024 - Eruv Chatzerot at Brandeis University
It was once again a pleasure to meet with students at the Minyan at Brandeis together with Rabbi Ariel Cohen and Rabbi Seth Winberg to perform an Eruv Chatzerot for the upcoming year. Dr. Hefter provided a context for the ceremony pointing out that, in addition to requiring that the mechitzot that form the local Eruv are in acceptable status, it is also required that some food be placed in a common area that is accessible to anyone who might need it (especially for the Shabbat). This requirement represents a physical aspect of the ceremony. Further, the Rabbis instituted that we overlay this setting aside of the food with a Bracha and a statement to elevate the ceremony to one of the spirit.
Repairs: The Eruv is repaired by Dan Strom of Strom Electric. Follow the link to reach a reliable, friendly, and competent electrician!
Tree Services: We have been fortunate to work with the good folks at BrightView Tree Care Services when a hard-to-reach twine crossing (usually with tree branches in the way) needs to be rebuilt. If you ever need tree care services, please consider reaching out to them at www.brightview.com.
To subscribe to our Weekly Eruv Status mail list, please send us 
April 8, 2025 - Eruv Chatzerot for the Boston Eruv
