The National Eruv Initiative’s mission is to advance the quality, reliability and halachic status of eruvin through the provision of expert guidance, individualized support, education and user friendly resources, with an emphasis on the practical aspects of maintaining an Eruv.  The National Eruv Initiative serves as a resource to both individuals involved in the planning and maintenance of an eruv (Eruv Leadership), as well as members of the Jewish community who utilize an eruv as part of their Shabbos observance.

An Eruv is a series of components which facilitate normal outdoor functions on Shabbat (Sabbath).   A major component of an Eruv (for purposes of the National Eruv Initiative) is a series of physical barriers which surround a Jewish Community, in accordance with Jewish Law.  For further reading about what is an Eruv, please click here.

The National Eruv Initiative is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that supports communities in developing high quality, safe and halachic eruvin (plural of Eruv) in North America. We provide a community’s Eruv Leadership and the Jewish community at large with educational and practical resources to promote and facilitate the planning, construction and upkeep of an excellent eruv.

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Existing Eruv Services

The NEI will implement a Eruv upgrade from beginning to end.

Together with your Posek, or our recommended poskim, or by a member of the NEI:

After a pre-examination of your community Eruv, the NEI will perform an onsite evaluation examining the reliability of the existing Eruv and identify ways to improve the Eruv including cost saving advances. (Unfortunately, many Eruvin are in disrepair and are often barely kosher).

• Identifying which materials are most durable and most sound for each part of the Eruv.
• Identifying possible re-routes of the Eruv to minimize construction costs as well as possibly increasing the enclosed Eruv area.
• Documenting the recommendations.

The NEI will work closely with your community to upgrade your community Eruv. The NEI will:

• Do the construction,
• Education of checkers,
• Education towards Eruv users,
• Possibly assist with fundraising,
• Provide your community with documentation of the Eruv route and how it should be constructed.

Your community will now be a part of the NEI network and will have access to NEI resources to help keep your Eruv in a ideal condition.

New Eruv Services

• plan and design the eruv,
• oversee communication with local government officials,
• performing and/or supervising of the construction,
• guaranteeing the level of quality of the finished product,
• educating the community to ensure long term success,
• train checkers and/or repair people in Eruv best practices.

Your community will now be a part of the NEI network and will have access to NEI resources to help keep your Eruv in a ideal condition.

Camps, Hotels, Private Residences

The NEI offers Eruv services for any of your Eruv needs, regardless of if it is a camp, hotel, or a private residence.

What does the National Eruv Initiative Do?

We assist with the following:

• Construction
  • Eruv Planning- Planning a route for your eruv can be a difficult task. We will assist you in planning a route for your new eruv, or in anticipation of renovation or expansion of an existing eruv.
  • Execute Construction- Doing Eruv construction takes time and effort. We will do the construction quickly, and efficiently, keeping costs down while maintaining ideal observance of Halacha.
  • Tools and Materials- Proper tools and materials for eruv construction and repairs increase longevity of the physical components of the eruv while minimizing time and cost. We have multiple resources available to assist you in this area.
  • Eruv Inventions– There are some “innovations and inventions” which have been created specifically for assisting with eruv work. We publicize these “inventions” and how to obtain them.
  • How-to- We provide step-by-step coaching on how to do eruv construction and repairs to reduce the need for hiring expensive outside professional help.
• Checking
  • Checking an eruv is a significant undertaking. We provide helpful tips and resources to facilitate easier and more thorough checking.
• Poskim (Jewish Legal Experts)
  • We will assist in connecting you to Poskim either for a new Eruv or an existing Eruv.
• Fundraising
  • A high quality eruv needs ample funding.   We provide resources to aid eruv leadership in raising necessary funds. In addition, we help you raise community awareness regarding eruv costs.
• Public Awareness
  • We help promote eruv-awareness amongst the general Jewish community. Encouraging community members to take interest in their local eruv helps minimize potential Chillul Shabbos, as well as impacts the ability to fundraise. Additionally, increased public awareness tends to demystify the steps taken by the eruv committee to improve eruv-related methods and materials and garner necessary community support.
• Community
  • We provide a forum for members of your community to get involved in both their local eruv and other eruvin. Also, we create a useful information exchange between different communities.
• Education
  • We encourage both the eruv leadership and the general Jewish community to learn about their eruv. We aim to make available all relevant books and classes related to academic and practical learning on this topic. Also, we encourage communal learning through one-on-one study or through organizing a class in your community.  We strongly encourage the members of the community who play an active role in checking, repairing, or supervising the eruv to study the relevant halachos of the Eruv.
• Halacha (Jewish Law)
  • We share information on minimizing Halachic Shailas (machlokes-disagreements between poskim) by careful selection of construction materials or how-to tips on avoiding disagreements. We work with your posek (we are not poskim).