Deal is a small resort
town on the coast of New Jersey. Most of its
residents are Jews, the majority of whom are
Sephardim of Syrian (Halabi) origin.
The question of erecting an Erub in Deal arose
nearly twenty years ago. The Rabbi of Deal, Rabbi
Yitzhak Dwek shelita, tackled the problem of
finding a way to erect an Erub in accordance with
Halachah. Thereby many of Deal's residents, who
erroneously carry in the streets on Shabbat, would
be saved from violating the holy day.
Some sixteen years ago, Rabbi Dwek, together with
two other rabbis of the Deal community, met with
the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky zatzal, one of
the Torah giants of America. The delegation from
Deal presented the many problems and doubts that
surrounded the construction of an Erub in Deal,
including situations and circumstances particular
to the Deal community Rabbi Kaminetsky who led the
opposition to an Erub in New York and other big
cities, swept away all doubts and ruled
unequivocally that an Erub must be erected in
Deal.
At the same time, the Rishon LeTzion, Rabbi Ovadia
Yossef shelita sent a personal letter to the
president of the Deal community of the time, the
distinguished philanthropist and tireless
community worker, Mr. Ralph Tawil, encouraging him
to erect the Erub. From then until now, despite
all the objections raised before him, the Rishon
LeTzion has maintained his position that an Erub
must be made in Deal in order to save the public
from the sin of carrying on Shabbat. This very
year, the Rishon LeTzion wrote a Halachic decision
requiring the immediate erection of the Erub. The
Rishon LeTzion stated his support for Rabbi Dwek
and the community workers and philanthropists, in
particular the distinguished Mr. Jack Adjmi, who
has accomplished great things for the
glorification of Torah, and encouraged them to
erect the Erub immediately.
In 1999 the Erub was finally erected. The decision
to do so was based on (1) the Halachic decisions
cited above and (2) the fact that this was the
prevailing custom. It is common knowledge that the
city of Haleb, Syria had an Erub which was
approved by all its rabbis, even after the
community relocated to the new section of the
town, where the streets were wider than 16 cubits.
Likewise, the custom in the Land of Israel is also
to erect Erubim, and many do rely upon them.
The difficult project of erecting a Halachically
correct Erub in Deal was carried out by Rabbi
Dwek, together with community workers. Many
Prominent rabbis gave their written approval. In
addition, the local municipalities permitted
telephone poles and other city facilities to be
used for the Erub.
The actual erecting of the Erub was supervised by
Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, the Chief Rabbi of
Congregation Agudath Israel of Baltimore, an
expert in this field Rabbi Heinemann devoted long
hours and made many trips to Deal to undertake
this holy task, doing so according to the letter
of the law down to its most precise details. Also
instrumental and encouraging in the Erub's
construction was the Rabbi-Cantor of Deal, Edmund
Nahum, and Rabbi Nissim Basala.
This website describes what an Erub is, how it
works, and what it Permits. It includes Halachic
sources ranging from the earliest to the most
modern on the subject of the Erub, as well as
letters of approval regarding the Deal Erub in
particular.
We hope that no stumbling block will come from our
efforts. May we continue to act for the glory of
the Torah. Amen.
