# "There's a Wire Above Manhattan That You've Probably Never Noticed" - Fascinating **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667 "2017-03-08T02:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/101 "2017-03-11T23:28:31Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Right, I can never tell if the fish or chicken I’m eating shares family with the fish milk or chicken milk I’m drinking. Huh? Fish is pareve Hello, Lox and Cream Cheese on a Bagel? Lox is fish you know? ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/102 "2017-03-11T23:49:18Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The chances of beef cattle for a burger being significantly related to a dairy cow from which milk came is so small as to be infinitesimal. The chances that someone preparing supposedly kosher food for you saves some time by mixing implements between dairy and meat would be very real. Yet I’m sure you take the latter risk. > > Your behaviour is traditional not logical. Your life would involve less intellectual dishonesty if you just admitted that rather than fanwanking all the time. Um, exactly what are you talking about? For one, if you botch some kosher food and feed it to me, and i eat it in full belief that i was eating as i was supposed to, even if you purposely laced the meatloaf with pork and milk and ground fish and even stirred in some blood, guess what? I’m good, though i’m going to be really pissed off if i find out about it. I did not do it unpurpose, I in good faith believed it was prepared properly. I have done no wrong here, i’m not going to be held accountable for what you did. What kind of a person do you think God is? If you go in for surgery, you do believe in good faith that the surgeon has washed his hands before he goes cutting you up right? If he does not, does someone come and sue you or the surgeon? Better yet, i am starving, i am in the middle of a desert. The only food and drink is a magically appearing pork cheese burger and a pitcher of milk. If i am bound by the law of Kashrut, what do i do? I eat it, because i am also bound by a law that demands i preserve life, which takes precedence. As far as not being logical, how is it not? If i refrain from mixing all meat and milk in any form, to the best of my ability, then i have done my best to abide by that law have i not? I do not have to worry about or investigate where they may have come from or some other nonsense, i can just happily eat. And what is it you want that i should admit to exactly And what the heck is fanwanking? fan of what? ---
**Author:** ![LiliesOfTheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@LiliesOfTheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiliesOfTheField)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/103 "2017-03-11T23:56:20Z")
May I ask how two sets of dishes helps to prevent breaking the milk/meat prohibition? Is it because of the potential for microscopic particles to be present on the dishes, even when thoroughly washed? Or is it more spiritual than that, as in the dishes have become imbued with some kind of essence of meat? Or is it something else? And I’ve seen two-part kitchen sinks in Jewish homes, with one labelled (in Hebrew) “kosher.” For what is each part of the sink used and how does that help follow laws? I saw on a movie where the two types of dishes were mixed up and the mother burst into tears and ran outside and rubbed dirt on her dishes. But I read something from a rabbi that talked about boiling dishes if they got mixed up. Can someone help me understand these? (Maybe a good link to a good article if these questions are too much for this type of setting) Thank you ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/104 "2017-03-11T23:56:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In my view, you’re applying Christian attitudes in order to proclaim that Orthodox Jews must be insincere. That seems to reflect a disturbing lack of analytical prowess. It would all be much more convincing if there was more convergence of beliefs. Instead, it appears that one can shop around for a rabbi with beliefs that are convenient for you. Strangest to me is that “spirit” does actually seem to be a factor, but it isn’t acknowledged. “Fire” is being interpreted in a way that is frankly unphysical and wrong. It’s obvious that the rabbis are trying to come up with a justification for not turning on your lights and oven. When it became possible to do that without fire, the rabbis came up with increasingly dubious justifications for classifying electricity as a kind of fire. So actually they are following the obvious spirit of the law, but because the law wasn’t built with sufficient future-proofing, some really roundabout interpretation of common words is required to make it fit. ---
**Author:** ![funnyscripts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/46a35a/32.png) [@funnyscripts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funnyscripts)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/105 "2017-03-12T13:29:54Z")
No offense but that is the dumbest thing ive ever heard ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/106 "2017-03-12T14:48:21Z")
> [@funnyscripts](#): > > No offense but that is the dumbest thing ive ever heard You’re new here. Stick around, and you’ll hear dumber things. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/107 "2017-03-12T15:12:08Z")
> [@funnyscripts](#): > > No offense but that is the dumbest thing ive ever heard Dumber than wishing on a nonexistent supernatural being invented by an obscure culture from the bronze age? ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/108 "2017-03-12T19:26:22Z")
> [@LiliesOfTheField](#): > > May I ask how two sets of dishes helps to prevent breaking the milk/meat prohibition? > > Is it because of the potential for microscopic particles to be present on the dishes, even when thoroughly washed? Or is it more spiritual than that, as in the dishes have become imbued with some kind of essence of meat? No actually you have a good understanding. > [@](#): > > And I’ve seen two-part kitchen sinks in Jewish homes, with one labelled (in Hebrew) “kosher.” For what is each part of the sink used and how does that help follow laws? For sinks, stainless is best, because it is considered non porous, it can be made kosher, and can be i guess you might say repaired from accidental contamination A double sink is preferred because it makes things easier, one side for meat dishes on side for dairy dishes. But if one can not have a dual sink, you can clean a stainless sink, returning it to a kosher state, so you would wash one, kosher the sink, then wash the other. EDIT: to add that you also would not normally have meat and dairy dishes dirty together, but life does sometimes cause the unexpected, like a water outage where dishes can not be washed when they should. > [@](#): > > I saw on a movie where the two types of dishes were mixed up and the mother burst into tears and ran outside and rubbed dirt on her dishes. But I read something from a rabbi that talked about boiling dishes if they got mixed up. I do not know why she rubbed dirt on the dishes, perhaps for the movie it was simply symbolic of them now being considered unclean? For a Jewish mother, i can understand having someone mix up her carefully organized kosher kitchen being something she would burst into tears over. I mean that is hers, the kitchen, keeping it kosher, keeping the family kosher, that is her responsibility, and she takes it as a serious responsibility and has great pride in maintaining it, and someone comes in and screws up the works. Earthenware dishes are porous, to return a china dish to kosher is very very hard to impossible. It would have to have a very thick glazing, enough to be able to consider it non porous. And if you have ever seen an old coffee cup, you will understand that this is not normally the case. The normal thing to be done with a contaminated earthenware dish is to break it so it will not accidentally be used. You would need to have your dishes checked to see if the glazing is suitable, and then even if so, you have to scour and boil and then not use for like 12 months to all any contaminants to break down. The only other way is to have them refired in a kiln, which destroys any contamination, but may also destroy the dish. So in that movie, Mom may well have lost all her dishes. they could have been passed down for generations, and once upon a time dishes were a very expensive thing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/109 "2017-03-12T21:10:19Z")
> [@Crybaby\_Boobie](#): > > So I can eat armadillo on Friday, is what you’re saying? Does the RCC still enjoin it’s congregation to abstain from meat on Fridays? I thought that rule was eliminated years ago, along with women having to cover their heads in church. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/110 "2017-03-12T22:50:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Does the RCC still enjoin it’s congregation to abstain from meat on Fridays? I thought that rule was eliminated years ago, along with women having to cover their heads in church. Only Fridays of Lent remain days of abstinence from meat. Fridays during the rest of the liturgical year remain days of penance, where the faithful are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/111 "2017-03-13T03:58:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Only Fridays of Lent remain days of abstinence from meat. > > Fridays during the rest of the liturgical year remain days of penance, where the faithful are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice. They’re actually asked to abstain from meat. > [@](#): > > In November 1966, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (today’s USCCB), issued its Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence. This document covered a wide range of topics related to penitential practices. About halfway through, the bishops addressed the matter of Friday abstinence. The bishops stated that the practice of abstaining from meat would no longer be binding under pain of sin. American Catholics were asked to continue abstaining from meat, OR to find an alternative form of personal penance. The bishops wrote, “Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, … we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law.” [http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/no\_meat\_on\_fridays\_all\_year\_long](http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/no_meat_on_fridays_all_year_long) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/112 "2017-03-13T06:54:14Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > They’re actually asked to abstain from meat. > [http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/no\_meat\_on\_fridays\_all\_year\_long](http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/no_meat_on_fridays_all_year_long) Yes. As I said, they are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice. If they are no longer observing Fridays of the liturgical year outside of Lent as days of abstinence, that is. This is an interesting situation in that the Code of Canon Law, Code § 1251 provides: > [@](#): > > Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent. And § 1252-1253: > [@](#): > > Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. > . > . > . > The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance. > . > . > . > The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety. And in the United States, the Episcopal Conference is the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The USCCB has determined such alternate forms of penance, assuming the practice of abstaining from meat is not particularly penitential. As the [Conference observed in 1966](http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm): > [@USCCB](#): > > 1. Changing circumstances, including economic, dietary, and social elements, have made some of our people feel that the renunciation of the eating of meat is not always and for everyone the most effective means of practicing penance. Meat was once an exceptional form of food; now it is commonplace. > > 2. Accordingly, since the spirit of penance primarily suggests that we discipline ourselves in that which we enjoy most, to many in our day abstinence from meat no longer implies penance, while renunciation of other things would be more penitential. > > 3. For these and related reasons, the Catholic bishops of the United States, far from downgrading the traditional penitential observance of Friday, and motivated precisely by the desire to give the spirit of penance greater vitality, especially on Fridays, the day that Jesus died,urge our Catholic people henceforth to be guided by the following norms. > > 4. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified. > > 5. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ. > > 6. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat.We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law. Our expectation is based on the following considerations: > > (a) We shall thus freely and out of love for Christ Crucified show our solidarity with the generations of believers to whom this practice frequently became,especially in times of persecution and of great poverty,no mean evidence of fidelity to Christ and His Church. > > (b) We shall thus also remind ourselves that as Christians, although immersed in the world and sharing its life, we must preserve a saving and necessary difference from the spirit of the world. Our deliberate,personal abstinence from meat, more especially because no longer required by law, will be an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish. They go on to admonish those who retain the pious custom of abstention to not judge those who elect to adopt a different penitential practice, and remind readers that all should understand the difference between changeable Lenten regulations and unchangeable divine moral law. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/113 "2017-03-13T12:38:31Z")
Lilies of the Field: > [@](#): > > May I ask how two sets of dishes helps to prevent breaking the milk/meat prohibition? > > Is it because of the potential for microscopic particles to be present on the dishes, even when thoroughly washed? Or is it more spiritual than that, as in the dishes have become imbued with some kind of essence of meat? It’s physical, not spiritual. The principle in Jewish law is that hot food transfers its flavor to the utensils touching it (which I guess boils down to “microscopic particles”, although it’s really on more of a “macro” level), and a simple surface washing can’t remove the “absorbed” flavor. The only thing that will get that absorbed flavor out is another application of heat - so for example, if hot meat is put on a plate, then the plate will absorb the flavor of the meat, and then if hot cheesey lasagna is placed on the plate afterward, the heat will make the plate “spit out” the meat flavor into the cheese, which would result in a forbidden mixture of meat and milk. Obviously, having a separate set of dishes for meat products and for dairy products removes any concerns of this sort. > [@](#): > > And I’ve seen two-part kitchen sinks in Jewish homes, with one labelled (in Hebrew) “kosher.” For what is each part of the sink used and how does that help follow laws? I can’t imagine that one side is labelled “kosher” (implying that the other side is not kosher). More likely, one side is for the meat set of dishes, and the other side is for the dairy set, because the actual residue on the dishes should not be mixed between one set and the other. Perhaps you mistook the Hebrew word “Basar” (meat) for “Kosher”; the “B” and the “K” in Hebrew look very similar, and the “S” and “Sh” in the middle are identical, if diacritical marks aren’t used (which they sometimes aren’t, in simple labels). [quote[I saw on a movie where the two types of dishes were mixed up and the mother burst into tears and ran outside and rubbed dirt on her dishes.[/quote] Don’t know what this is about. > [@](#): > > But I read something from a rabbi that talked about boiling dishes if they got mixed up. This is correct - my above comments about heat transferring flavor in and out apply here. If you accidentally put hot meat on a dairy utensil, you can boil the utensil in hot water to cause the flavor to be spit out (and into the water, which will then be discarded), and then the utensil can be used for its intended purpose again. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/114 "2017-03-13T13:01:18Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > This is correct - my above comments about heat transferring flavor in and out apply here. If you accidentally put hot meat on a dairy utensil, you can boil the utensil in hot water to cause the flavor to be spit out (and into the water, which will then be discarded), and then the utensil can be used for its intended purpose again. “As it is absorbed, so is it purged.” (_k’volo kakh polto_) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/115 "2017-03-13T13:52:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yes. As I said, they are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice. If they are no longer observing Fridays of the liturgical year outside of Lent as days of abstinence, that is. But you left that second part out to your reply to John Mace, which is a very different answer: \*Only Fridays of Lent remain days of abstinence from meat. Fridays during the rest of the liturgical year remain days of penance, where the faithful are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice.\* The above is likely to make the reader conclude that the Church no longer asks for followers to abstain from meat from Fridays. Which is why most post was relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/116 "2017-03-13T16:05:22Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > But you left that second part out to your reply to John Mace, which is a very different answer: > \*Only Fridays of Lent remain days of abstinence from meat. > > Fridays during the rest of the liturgical year remain days of penance, where the faithful are asked to substitute other forms of penitential sacrifice.\* > The above is likely to make the reader conclude that the Church no longer asks for followers to abstain from meat from Fridays. Which is why most post was relevant. Fair point. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/117 "2017-03-13T18:47:51Z")
> [@funnyscripts](#): > > No offense but that is the dumbest thing ive ever heard Yeah, I know. Welcome to any discussion of religion ever. :rolleyes: Also, this is just text; imagine how it gets being an Atheist with Zealous Idiots trying to jump up and down and get in your face about their religion in real life? If there is a God, its why popcorn was created to be popped, fingers were made to point, and laughter was made possible. I keep waiting for some lost scripture to be found that says, “Look at all these Idiots! Its better than the Circus. Enjoy the Show!” ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/118 "2017-03-13T20:50:21Z")
Count Blucher: > [@](#): > > I keep waiting for some lost scripture to be found that says, “Look at all these Idiots! Its better than the Circus. Enjoy the Show!” Being scripture (lost or otherwise) it’s more likely to be referring to sinners and non-believers than it is to adherents. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/119 "2017-03-13T20:58:25Z")
There are several _eruvs_ (sorry, don’t know what the correct plural form is) in Brooklyn, where I live. They are sometimes the targets of assholes who insist that this is an unconstitutional accommodation of a religion, and pester the City Council to ban them. Of all the ways in which we accommodate religious practice in the United States, this one strikes me as particularly unobtrusive. If you hadn’t been told about the eruvs, you would never know they’re there. Unlike, say, some Catholic practices which involve parading a statute of a saint through the streets of the parish (which is also fine with me). I can’t attribute this to anything other than anti-Semitism. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667/120 "2017-03-13T21:17:53Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > There are several _eruvs_ (sorry, don’t know what the correct plural form is) in Brooklyn, where I live. _Eruvim_. Although strictly speaking the plural is _eruveim chatzeiros_. The word _chatzer_ means “yard,” like a backyard or courtyard attached to and owned by a family or group of families that live in one home. And _eruv_ means “mixture,” or “unification,” so what’s being described is multiple instances of the unification of several courtyards of dwelling places. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-wire-above-manhattan-that-youve-probably-never-noticed-fascinating/781667.md?page=7)