Judaism in the Public Square: Conflicts Over Urban Space from Antiquity to the Present

Abstract: Elisheva Fonrobert talks about the eruv, its part in Jewish collectivity and the controversies that have accompanied them in the past and present day.

Title: Judaism in the Public Square: Conflicts Over Urban Space from Antiquity to the Present
Speaker: Charlotte Fonrobert
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University

Description: "Eruv" is a Jewish word that means to merge, mix and mingle, but it is commonly used to talk about a ritual boundry that enables Orthodox Jews to carry items on the Sabbath. There are many components to an eruv in a community- social and spatial rituals both play a part in the "mingling" of the Jewish neighborhood. But the placement of eruvin have aroused controversy on the grounds of the seperation between church and state. Recently, there were disputes between Stanford university and the city of Palo Alto over the installments of eruvin. Even the Daily Show commented on the controversy. Elisheva Fonrobert talks about the eruv, its part in Jewish collectivity and the controversies that have accompanied them in the past and present day.
Sponsor: Program in Jewish Culture and Society
Lecture Series: Goldberg Lecture
Co-sponsors: Center for Global Studies