Eruvin 59a (נט.) — the Talmud in English

Gemara:

And we raised it: Is it so that only

to the place where he increased

yes,

do they measure, whereas

to the place where he reduced

no,

do they not measure?

But the smaller area is included within the larger area!

And we answered:

Say:

They measure even to the place where he increased.

We learned in the Mishna:

If one increased for one person and reduced for another.

And we raised it:

Why do I need this additional statement?

It is the same thing!

For there is no difference between increasing for one person and increasing toward one place.

And we answered:

This is what it is saying:

If it happened that he

increased,

he measures

one, and reduced,

he measures

one—

we heed

the measurer

who increased.

Abaye said: Provided that he does not increase beyond the measure of the city along its diagonal.

We learned in the Mishna:

The Sages stated this matter only to be lenient, not to be stringent.

And we challenged this:

But it was taught

the opposite:

The Sages stated this matter not to be lenient, but to be stringent!?

Ravina said:

This is what the tanna of the beraita is saying:

When the Sages instituted the laws of the Shabbat limits, they

did not come to be lenient regarding the words of the Torah,

since the Shabbat limits are not of Torah origin.

Rather,

they enacted them in order

to be stringent regarding the words of the Torah.

And

since

the Shabbat limits are rabbinic,

we therefore proceed leniently.

Mishna:

Once the Sages instituted eruv of courtyards and partnership of alleyways, and the people became accustomed to carrying from houses into a courtyard and from a courtyard into an alleyway, the Sages were concerned that the laws of the public domain would be forgotten by the people. Therefore, they instituted that a city containing six hundred thousand people may not be included in a single eruv. Rather, one neighborhood must be left aside and not be included together with the entire city, so that it will be prohibited to carry from it into the rest of the city, and from the rest of the city into it; in this manner, a reminder of the laws of the public domain will remain.

A city belonging to an individual,

where six hundred thousand people did not enter it regularly,

and

now

becomes one belonging to the public—

its entire area may be included in an eruv,

as before. Its alleyways do not require any additional adjustment.

This is provided that there is not an actual public domain within it—for example, that its streets are not sixteen cubits wide. If it does contain a public domain of Torah status, the manner of adjusting it will be explained in the Gemara.

And

a city that was

one belonging to the public, and becomes one belonging to an individual,

because its population has diminished—even though it does not contain a fully defined public domain—

its entire area may not be included in an eruv.

Unless he makes outside it

“remainder” areas that are not included in an eruv together with the city, but separately.

These remainder areas must be left aside in the measure of

a city

called

“Hadasha,” in Judea, which contains fifty residences; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda.

Rabbi Shimon says:

It is sufficient to leave aside

three courtyards, each containing two houses.

Gemara:

And we raised it:

What are the circumstances of a city belonging to an individual that becomes one belonging to the public?

Rav Yehuda said: For example, the city of the resh galuta.

Rav Naḥman said to him: What is the reason

you specifically brought the city of the resh galuta as an example?

If you say it is because many people are found

together

in the presence of the ruler,

in the presence of the resh galuta, and therefore there was no concern there that the laws of the public domain might be forgotten, since the many people who gather before the resh galuta

remind one another,

reminding each other that permission to establish an eruv applies only to a city belonging to an individual that becomes one belonging to the public, and not to a city that belonged to the public and remains one belonging to the public—

But

all

the cities of

Israel as well—

on Shabbat morning

in the morning of Shabbat

are found together,

as everyone gathers to hear the rabbi’s sermon, and they will remind one another.

Rather, Rav Naḥman said:

In every city belonging to an individual that becomes one belonging to the public, it is permitted to establish an eruv. And

such as the city

the metropolis

of Natzvay

belonging to a person named Natzvay, and not specifically the city of the resh galuta.

The Sages taught: A city belonging to an individual that becomes one belonging to the public, and a public domain

sixteen cubits wide

passes through it—

how does one establish an eruv for it?

Below, this beraita is understood as referring to Rabbi Yehuda, who holds that a public domain flanked by two partitions is considered a private domain. It can therefore be included in an eruv by

making a side-post here

and a side-post here,

at the two sides that remain open.

Or a crossbeam here and a crossbeam here.

And one may carry and conduct business in the middle,

of the public domain, which from this point is a private domain, adjusted with the adjustments appropriate for alleyways that are private domains.

But in a city that belonged to the public and remains one belonging to the public, they did not permit adjusting its open-ended alleyways, which are public domains, by means of a side-post and a crossbeam alone, until one makes for them either a doorway-shaped opening or a door on one side and a side-post on the other.

And one may not establish an eruv for it in sections,

with several alleyways together, but rather all of them must be included in a single eruv.

Since originally, when it belonged to an individual, all its alleyways were considered as one, and all its inhabitants would walk through all of its alleyways.

Once the city grew and the number of residents increased, if several alleyways were to establish an eruv for themselves, while the other alleyways likewise established an eruv for themselves, this would be considered as though some of the residents of the alleyway had not participated in the eruv, and thereby they would prohibit all the residents from carrying in the alleyway.

Rather: Either

they should include

all of it

in a single eruv,

or they should establish an eruv for

each alleyway separately.

The Gemara will explain below what adjustment this refers to.