Elliot Malkin, a friend of mine from our days at ITP has been making religiously flavored techno art pieces for a few years now. The latest piece is a video about the Laser eRuv system he devised at Eyebeam Atelier in Manhattan. An Eruv is a kind of hack Orthodox Jews employ that enables them to do certain kinds of work (like carrying an object) on the sabbath in public spaces.
If you want to check out more of Elliot’s sly, well crafted work, check out his site.
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2 responses so far ↓
R Lee Smith // Jun 14, 2007 at 5:22 am
You miss the point of the eruv. It’s a spiritual concept — and creates a private space in the sense of a bounded community. One is permitted to carry on the Sabbath within such a community, as within one’s own home. This is of great importance to all observant Jews, not just Orthodox Jews. Spiritual ideas are difficult for many of us to accept, since we have been lead to believe that only the physical world is of importance, or at least to think that is what we believe. However Judaism deals with many kinds of non physical boundaries. It’s obviously your choice if you want to ignore them, but why put down those of us who seek transcendant meaning in concepts that have lasted through thousands of years and been practiced by our ancestors until this very day. That reality alone ought to be enough to give one pause for thought.
Jonny Goldstein // Jun 14, 2007 at 6:40 am
Thanks for the comment R Lee. I’m sure a lot of people see the spiritual component to the Eruv. In fact, I think this spiritual feeling comes through in Elliot’s video piece. Additionally, I bet a lot of observant Jews are happy, on a very practical level, that they can carry stuff on the Shabbat, within the bounds of the eruv.
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