Quoting%20commentary for Eruvin 5:9

אָמַר לָהֶן רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אִי אַתֶּם מוֹדִים לִי בְנוֹתֵן עֵרוּבוֹ בִמְעָרָה, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מִמְּקוֹם עֵרוּבוֹ אֶלָּא אַלְפַּיִם אַמָּה. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, אֵימָתַי, בִּזְמַן שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ דִּיוּרִין, אֲבָל יֶשׁ בָּהּ דִּיוּרִין, מְהַלֵּךְ אֶת כֻּלָּהּ וְחוּצָה לָהּ אַלְפַּיִם אַמָּה. נִמְצָא, קַל תּוֹכָהּ מֵעַל גַּבָּהּ. וְלַמּוֹדֵד שֶׁאָמְרוּ נוֹתְנִין לוֹ אַלְפַּיִם, שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ סוֹף מִדָּתוֹ כָּלֶה בִמְעָרָה:

R. Akiva said to them (the sages): Will you not admit to me that if one places his eruv in a cave, he has only two thousand cubits form the place of his eruv? They responded: When is this so? When it is not fit for habitation, [as when its partitions were breached]; but if it were fit for habitation, he traverses all of it, and outside it, two thousand cubits. [For if it were fit for habitation, even if it were uninhabited now, all of it, according to the sages, would be regarded as four cubits. Likewise, a city where no one dwells, but which has a wall roundabout — if one places his eruv therein, it is regarded as four cubits, even if it is as large as Antiocha]. There is found to be more leniency then, with a cave's inside (vis-à-vis the halachah) than its top. [For if one places his eruv on the top of a cave, he has only two thousand cubits from the place of his eruv, its top not being fit for habitation, whereas he may traverse all of its midst and two thousand cubits outside it.] But as far as measuring is concerned, he is given (only) two thousand, even if the measure ends in a cave. [Even though the sages differ with R. Akiva vis-à-vis one's placing his eruv in a city, saying that the entire city is regarded as four cubits, they admit that if one comes from the place of his habitation and his measurement of two thousand terminates even in a cave fit for habitation, he may not enter beyond (the termination of) his measurement.]

Explore quoting%20commentary for Eruvin 5:9. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.