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Metairie Eruv
The Metairie Community Eruv, established by Beth Israel in 2012, has enabled the observant community in the Metairie area to grow over the past decade. An eruv is a critical component of Jewish communal infrastructure, allowing for the carrying of items beyond a person's private domain on Shabbat.
Over the past six months, we have worked with Rabbi Stephen Belsky, an eruv builder and consultant, to restore our community eruv. After a significant amount of work rerouting the eruv and physically rebuilding its infrastructure, we are thrilled to announce the completion of the Metairie Community Eruv earlier this week.
This timing is most appropriate, as we find ourselves in the midst of a series of Torah portions devoted to the building of the Mishkan, a communal project which relied on the freewill donations of community members. These donations came in multiple forms; both through the giving of time and of "treasure". We, too, are asking for your contributions in each of these areas to firm up the ground upon which our eruv was built.
Time: Each week, our eruv requires volunteers to drive around and check to make sure that it is still up. Because of the significantly increased number of spots that will require checking, we are hoping to ramp up the number of weekly "eruv checkers". Each eruv checker will be given a designated area to drive or walk around before Shabbat to confirm that all of the poles are still where they are supposed to be. The greater the number of volunteers, the less amount of time per person it will take to check. We will have a meeting with all of our volunteer "eruv checkers" in the coming week to explain what this job will require and to break down the route by address to enable, as much as possible, each person to check a section of the eruv near their house.
To express your interest in becoming a volunteer eruv checker, please sign up at the link below with your name, your email address and your mailing address.
Treasure: Through our eruv capital campaign, we aim to raise money to both support the costs of the eruv reconstruction project that was just completed ($20,000), as well as to establish a fund to pay for the ongoing maintenance that the eruv will require. We are requesting a $180 annual household minimum contribution to ensure the long-term viability of our eruv. The link to donate can be found below:
The eruv serves as a reminder that we are all one community; the walls of the eruv serving to bring us together, rather than separating us from one another. Please consider contributing generously to this community project.
Thank you.
