Is it hypocrisy for Jewish communities to erect an eruv?

Not all Jewish women, Greatnan, only the very Orthodox. If you are interested in modern Jewry you might find

The Club - the Jews of modern Britain by Stephen Brook published by Constable, reprinted 1996, of interest.

Yes, a really interesting tale, Joan
My mother worked in the garment trade in Manchester, which used to be almost wholly owned and run by Jews. She became very friendly with one girl and was invited to join her family for the Sabbath meal. She loved the whole atmosphere and used many Hebrew words (not all of them polite!) As my mother's family were Irish catholics, she would have been in big trouble if her priest had found out!
I am fascinated by the different cultures that co-exist happily in Britain. There was a very good series about the Beth Din on TV. A rabbi had the sole job of visiting all food suppliers and making sure they were producing their goods so they remained kosher
I did not realise until I saw the series that Jewish women wear wigs except with their family. It seems they share the Islamic belief that the sight of a woman's hair will inflame desire!

What a fascinating story Joan

I only exist because an orthodox Jew decided to ignore a few rules. You see, my Gran took lodgings with an orthodox Jewish family in Liverpool just over 100 years ago. She had run away from her protestant non-conformist father who was ultra religious, as she had decided she was atheist, so i suppose it was a rather unfortunate choice of lodgings. But they needed her for the usual Sabbath little jobs - lighting the fire, turning on and off the lights etc.

In 1910 Mum was born, out of wedlock, a fact she hid from us all her life. The matriarch of the family clearly looked after Gran, and used to take Mum to the synagogue, explaining she was her granddaughter. Mum has some vague early memories of the singing, and remembers speaking Yiddish. Of course, Gran never married the bloke - she married another when Mum was 3. Mum's birth certificate never turned up, and the details we know, have not led to finding her details on genealogy sites.

But I'm sure the orthodox teachings were the reasons Gran never married her lover: she would never have converted, being an atheist, and he probably would never have married her anyway -some orthodox Rabbis don't accept converts.

So his naughtiness resulted in my Mum, and eventually me. Thank god for rule-breakers!!!

I suppose it's just another example of 'moving the goalposts'.

This is quite an interesting article from the Jewish chronicle, which states that although many Jews welcome the eruv as enabling them to get to the synagogue, some rabbis oppose the idea and instruct their congregations to ignore them.

www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/102301/how-eruv-liberated-families-shabbat

I don't find it hypocritical that Jews are looking for ways to maintain their traditions whilst seeking to be inclusive and I believe that the idea of the eruv goes back a long time.

I don't understand that

I haven't taken offence, jingle. Just explained my thinking.
Absent.....

Henrysson wrote a fable about a fox who repented his bad behaviour and wished to become a good Christian. However, things did not go well and he quickly became tired of the restrictions, especially not eating meat on a Friday. So he solved the problem via baptism. Grabbing a lamb, he dunked it in the river saying, "Go in lamb; come out fish".

The moral of the fable was not that the fox was clever.

It's a good idea!

Don't take offence - none meant.

Why would there be special dispensation for the disabled? What else would you need to push besides a baby's buggy or a wheelchair. What other things would they be thinking of?

Perhaps a laden tea trolley for the after-service tea and biscuits.

I didn't say it was harming anybody - just that it seems irrational.

But harming no one.

#candle-lights

It's very odd interesting.

Yes - I know that. You still have to be inside that area if you want to push a buggy or a wheelchair. If you lived just outside, or further afield still, you would have to get inside it before the Sabbath starts.

I think there are dispensations for the disabled etc anyway.

Jingle - there is no physical barrier, just a wire fastened high up to buildings or telegraph poles.

I can see it is more convenient but it is stretching the expectations! iI don't care one way or another about the eruv as it only seems to be impacting on the group involved but if I am asked to think about it i suppose it feels like cheating!

Just looked again. You would definitely have to lodge with someone inside the night before the Sabbath.

Such a good idea!

But I still don't see how you get inside the - thingy- if you live outside it.

Unless you have to go in the night before. Or something.

But this is, if I've read the Q and A's right, part of the rule. It is a way to help people (wheelchair users, mums with buggies etc) still get to visit the synagogue, and visit their neighbours.

It's a kindly thing. Rather nice.

I really don't get it. Pretending that an area is "home" in order to circumvent a rule that is found to be inconvenient seems strange in the extreme to me.

If you are part of a religion that has a particular rule, then you should stick to it.

At my Quaker school we had to be very quiet on Sundays and 'meeting' was extra long. We were supposed to sit and think spiritual and good thoughts in meeting, in fact as our teachers closed their eyes to focus their thoughts we were all busy swapping scraps/ pictures we had cut from birthday cards etc!

I have a number of Jewish friends who will not eat pork but happily eat prawns. Some of my young Muslim friends wear tunics over their jeans to cover their bottoms(& please their mums) but tbh it does not hide them! Christians that I know may give up something for Lent but do not attend church more often during the 40 days!

I suppose the difference with the eruv issue in the OP is that it is a particularly 'faithful' religious group that appear to be 'getting round' the rules they believe God has set for them. In a way that does feel a little more hypocritical than if they were 'light' touch believers!

Thanks for the clarification When... reminds me of when young children play hiding games and shut their eyes thinking if they cannot see then they cannot be seen!

As an Arab child in Palestine my dad earned some pocket money running errands and doing things like switching on lights etc. for Jewish friends & neighbours.

It does seem odd to me that it is o.k. to define the walls of home by putting up a few wires. If one was truly trying to observe the word of God you would just sit quietly and in contemplation on the Sabbath. The fact that switching on a light ( or an oil lamp/candle in the past) goes against God's wishes for Sabbath behaviour seems crazy to me.. but each religion has plenty of oddities!