By Scott Zoback

It's one of those bizarre things that you hardly notice at first. But once it's pointed out to you, you'll never be able to escape it.

So let us be the ones to point it out.

Sometime in the past few weeks, wrapping around several West Side neighborhoods, a thin wire was attached to electric poles, street lights and other stationary objects. It's thin, just a sliver of silver across the sky, really.

It's called an Eruv, and it's part of a little-known but widespread Jewish custom that's a response to historic Rabbinic law forbidding religious Jews from carrying anything outside their homes on the Sabbath. The Eruv wire, the tradition goes, turns all outdoor space it surrounds into an enclosed area. Thus, the belief is that Jews are allowed to carry household items within the area bounded by that wire on the Sabbath, thus enabling Orthodox Jews to bring objects, food, baby carriages, prayer books, etc. between homes, or between home and synagogue. In Worcester, the Eruv encircles the majority of the city's synagogues and the neighborhoods surrounding them. It's total size is approximately 2.25 square miles, with more than 7 miles of perimeter.

An approximation of the Eruv, based on a map produced by The Worcester Eruv Society.

Eruvs are common in many cities worldwide with large Jewish populations; groups of Jews on trips will sometimes build temporary Eruvs to grant themselves a bit more freedom to move around on the Sabbath.

Worcester's Eruv is the work of the Worcester Eruv Society, made up of members from many of Worcester's area synagogues and Jewish organizations. While Executive Director Daniel Bitran wasn't available to Worcester Magazine for comment, an update written by Bitran, and posted on the group's Web site, estimated the entire project's cost at $43,000, and stated that the group got licensing agreements from Verizon and National Grid for every attachment that was made. Sources say that private property owners were also asked for permission to have the Eruv cross their land. Sources add that all permissions — both public and private — are inherently necessary and have been secured for the wire to cross or be attached to any property. Those who did not grant such permission, if their land was on the perimeter, reportedly had their property excluded from the enclosure.

"Although the Eruv does not release one from the broader prohibition against work on the Sabbath, the Eruv nevertheless facilitates neighborly and community interaction on the Sabbath," reads a statement on the Worcester Eruv Society's Web site.

Eruv Society member David Coyne says that the Eruv will benefit religious Jews short-term, but will also prove attractive long-term to religious families looking for a community that meets their needs. Coyne also says that the Eruv may expand in the future to include other neighborhoods and religious organizations. o