Chozer and principal editor of the Rebbe's Torah
Rabbi Yoel Kahn on the Rebbe's Position Concerning Eruvin in Large Cities
Rabbi Yoel Kahn wrote that the Rebbe's published correspondence made his position concerning public eruvin in large cities clear.
The Rebbe's position was clear
Rabbi Yoel Kahn, the Rebbe's principal chozer and a leading editor of his Torah, wrote during Bein Hametzarim 5776 that the Rebbe's position concerning eruvin in large cities was clear from his published letters.
His letter rejects the claim that those sources can be read as general encouragement for a public city eruv. He understands their practical direction as opposition, particularly where publicity would lead people to carry on the strength of an arrangement subject to serious halachic objections.
The effect of publicizing an eruv
The issue was not limited to the technical validity of a route at one moment. The Rebbe repeatedly focused on what happens after an eruv is announced: people naturally assume that carrying is permitted, while few know the conditions, disputes, or later failures on which the permission may depend.
Rabbi Kahn's reading places that concern at the center of the Rebbe's approach to large cities. It also explains why the Crown Heights controversy could not be treated as a private experiment with no effect on the public.
Rabbi Kahn's letter
The complete Hebrew letter, dated Bein Hametzarim 5776 and bearing Rabbi Kahn's signature, sets his understanding of the Rebbe's Manhattan and Melbourne correspondence beside the Crown Heights question.
Rabbi Kahn's conclusion is practical: no public carrying should be encouraged on the strength of a disputed large-city eruv.