An Eruv Grows in San Francisco

Last weekend, Orthodox Jews in San Francisco had an opportunity to relax a little for sabbath.

That's because the community, with the help of local leaders, established an eruv.

Traditionally, an eruv is a series of boundaries that describe a communal space which is considered private, so biblical laws against carrying things from a private to a public place don't apply.

Eruvs are not always popular -- it took a congregation in Palo Alto eight years to finally get theirs officially established.

For instance, now mothers will be able to bring their children, even pushing them in strollers, to temple.

The new eruv is located in the Sunset District, and is largely bordered by telephone lines and poles.

And of course, since it's San Francisco, the eruv has a Twitter account.

Jackson West can only hope this leads to better pastrami sandwiches in San Francisco.