Rav of The Jewish Center in Manhattan
Rabbi Eliyohu Jung and the Manhattan Eruv Correspondence
Rabbi Eliyohu Jung was a central rabbinic figure in the Manhattan eruv discussion and the recipient of the Rebbe's letter of March 30, 1964.
The Rebbe's letter to Rabbi Jung
Rabbi Jung stood at the center of the Upper West Side and Manhattan eruv discussion. In the letter sent to him on March 30, 1964, the Rebbe addressed both the halachic controversy and the public effect of associating respected rabbinic names with the project.
The letter warns that publicity could lead many people to carry without knowing the qualifications on which the eruv depended. Once a broad impression of permission took hold, later corrections or limitations would reach only a fraction of those relying on it.
Rabbinic names and public reliance
A major issue in the correspondence was the way a Rav's name might be used. Respect for Rabbonim who supported an eruv did not mean that other poskim had permitted it or agreed to have their names presented as approval.
Rav Moshe made the same distinction in his communication to Rabbi Norman Lamm. He could respect those who disagreed while firmly refusing to permit the Manhattan eruv or allow his name to be used in its support.
The wider Manhattan discussion
Rabbi Jung's correspondence belongs alongside Rav Moshe's teshuvos and the public ruling of the Agudath HaRabbonim. Together they show why the Manhattan question remained unresolved by publicity or by the participation of individual Rabbonim.
The Crown Heights psak is separate and direct. The Manhattan letters help explain the Rebbe's concern with public reliance in a large city, while the Crown Heights Beis Din determines the practical halacha for its neighborhood.