Towards the Eruvian age : public space in a pandemic

Abstract

Could it be that we are now learning to treat as private what was previously considered public space, much as the rabbinic eruv has done for the past fifteen hundred years? The model of the eruv and its magical power for observant Jews may yet help secular societies at large think through the complexities of transforming public spaces into safe “user friendly” ones. As if we needed reminding that social space is always imagined and negotiated. While the eruv was imagined in order to wave prohibitions, our new Corona social space is about introducing prohibitions to a public arena we once travelled with little care or concern. And unlike the eruv, the rules apply to all. But like the eruv, our new shared space is meant to allow for interaction against the background of prohibition.