Image what life would be without the Edison/Highland Park Eruv. Here’s an article from the December 17, 1978 New York Times describing what life was like:
When Mrs. Irwin Asher moved to nearby Edison a little more than a year ago, she found it difficult to make friends.
The primary time for socializing was Saturday, and for the last seven years Mrs. Asher had spent her Saturdays at home with her children. It wasn't just that Mrs. Asher was a doting mother; she simply was observing the restrictions of the Jewish Sabbath.
There could be no wheeling baby carriages, no carrying sefarim or talits, no visiting the sick in hospitals, no bringing food over for Shabbat. We are use to the eruv, and the fact that it has never been down in over seven years. This includes Friday, July 5, 2019 when we spotted a message on a Facebook group that somone noticed the eruv was down. The eruv was back up by noon that very day and once again up by the time Shabbat came.
However, maintaining the eruv does cost money, and every year, the Eruv Committee raises money from the members of the various Orthodox congregations who benefit from it. Now it’s Etz Ahaim’s turn to fund raise.
We are asking everyone who benefits from our eruv to contribute $36 to help maintain it. This works out to a mere 70¢ every Shabbat. These funds help with repairs, expansion, insurance, etc. This also includes are webpage, and a whole technology behind it to keep everyone informed about the eruv’s status. Not one penny goes to the various volunteers who check the ten miles of eruv every week, and whose vigilance helps keep it up.
Please click on the button below (or go to https://etzahaim.org/news/eruv-2024) and contribute $36 or.whatever you can afford to help keep the eruv up and running.
