Halakhah for Eruvin 4:5

מִי שֶׁיָּשֵׁן בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְלֹא יָדַע שֶׁחֲשֵׁכָה, יֵשׁ לוֹ אַלְפַּיִם אַמָּה לְכָל רוּחַ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, וְהוּא בְאֶמְצָעָן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, לְאֵיזֶה רוּחַ שֶׁיִּרְצֶה יֵלֵךְ. וּמוֹדֶה רַבִּי יְהוּדָה שֶׁאִם בֵּרֵר לוֹ, שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַחֲזֹר בּוֹ:

If one fell asleep on the road and was not aware of its having become dark, he has two thousand cubits on all sides. These are the words of R. Yochanan b. Nuri. [R. Yochanan b. Nuri holds that articles of hefker (renounced property), absent from the owner's mind, acquire habitation in their place and have two thousand cubits on every side. And one who sleeps, whose mind is "absent" at the time of acquisition of habitation, is like an article of hefker and he has two thousand cubits on every side.] The sages say: He has only four cubits. [The rabbis hold that articles of hefker do not acquire habitation in their place, but the one who acquires them may take them as far as he may walk. Here, too, the one who sleeps does not acquire habitation and he has only four cubits alone. The halachah is in accordance with R. Yochanan b. Nuri that one who sleeps acquires habitation in his place and has two thousand cubits on every side. But with articles of hefker the halachah is in accordance with the sages, that they are as the "feet of all men" and do not acquire habitation in their place, but the one who acquires them takes them as far as he may go. ("He has only four cubits":) Since, when "the day was sanctified" (i.e., at nightfall), he was sleeping, he did not acquire acquisition, and he has only the four cubits accorded him by the Torah, viz. (Exodus 16:29): "Let every man sit in his place." The average man's height is three cubits and one cubit for stretching his hands and feet.] R. Eliezer says: And he, in the middle. [The sages hold that he is given four cubits on every side, and R. Eliezer holds that he is given two cubits on each side.] R. Yehudah says: [He may take four cubits] in whichever direction he chooses to go. And R. Yehudah concedes that once he has chosen one direction he cannot retract [and choose another].

Gray Matter II

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, however, resolves the apparent contradiction between Mishnayot differently. He claims that the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah addresses victorious battles, when Jewish soldiers have no need to return beyond 2000 cubits. The Mishnah in Eruvin, according to Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, is speaking of a time where the Jews regrettably lose a battle and thus fear remaining outside their homes. In such situations, they may return home even beyond the 2000 amot with their arms.¹¹Although the Gemara specifically mentions a case where Jews lost a battle, the Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 27:17) appears to extrapolate from it that Jews may return all the way home in any situation where non-Jewish enemies pose a threat to Jews who remain within the techum of the emergency. The Rosh (Eruvin 4:5) cites the Maharam of Rothenburg as accepting the opinions of both Rav and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak. A Jewish soldier may thus return all the way home only if he is scared that the enemy might attack him should he stay within 2000 amot of the battlefield. When the Jews are stronger and this concern does not exist, he may go only 2000 amot from the battle site, in accordance with Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak’s opinion. When the Jew is returning, he may carry his weapons in accordance with the view of Rav.¹²It is not entirely clear if he is permitted to carry his weapons during a time that the Jews are stronger and he is going only 2000 amot (see Teshuvot Minchat Shlomo, 1:8, p. 57), but a soldier may certainly carry his weapons in times of danger when he is traveling all the way home (see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 407:3).

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