For over 20 years, the Eruv in our community has been an integral part of our communal infrastructure. Our community owes a debt of gratitude to Jimmy Jaffa for building our Eruv pole by pole and string by string and maintaining and repairing any broken spot for over two decades. We have become accustomed to always carrying on Shabbos because the Eruv is always valid. One may not realize or appreciate the amount of work that goes into maintaining and repairing our Eruv. We have often called a small but dedicated group of volunteers at a moment’s notice on a Friday afternoon to make a necessary Eruv repair. This sometimes entails climbing on a ladder in 100-degree heat or another difficult task, but these volunteers have always answered the call so our community can have an Eruv on Shabbos. Special thanks to Jimmy Jaffa, Andrew Jaffa and Art (Eliyahu) Rosenthal for their selfless dedication. I also would like to thank Rabbi Feigenbaum and Steven Shapiro for being part of our team that inspects the entire Eruv on a weekly basis.
The Eruv is an extraordinary complex entity that is comprised of hundreds of strings, poles, and fences that create a private domain around our community. As with anything important, the Eruv needs to go through rigorous maintenance checks every several years to inspect every nook and cranny of the Eruv. Not unlike an automobile that needs to go for a 90,000-mile maintenance check, the Eruv undergoes periodic rigorous inspections. Recently, we embarked on this maintenance project for our Eruv. As part of the process, we had a special visit from Rabbi Shlomo Francis from Chicago, who is a notable expert in the areas of Eruvin. Rabbi Francis was in Jacksonville this week for two days, and we reviewed many different areas of the Eruv. For the next step in this process, we will be conducting a process of upgrades and enhancements to raise the standards of our Eruv to an even higher standard. This will, unfortunately, result in the Eruv being down for at least the one Shabbos of July 10-11, and we regret any inconvenience. (If you are coming to shul, please remember not to carry your mask in your pocket.)
Thank you to everyone in advance for your patience during this period and I wish you all a meaningful and peaceful Shabbos.
Rabbi Yaakov Fisch
