Techum: Difference between revisions

# If a person starts Shabbat outside a city he can determine the directions of his techum and have 2000 amot in each of those directions. He also is allowed to travel until the end of 2800 amot in the direction of the corners of the square he choose. However, it is only allowed to carry until the end of 2800 amot if he decided on his square.<ref>Chazon Ish 110:24 based on Gra 345:1, Mishna Brurah 345:5. This is the opinion of the Rambam. According to the Rabbenu Tam (Eruvin 51a, Yoma 67a a person always can travel until 2800 amot even without choosing the square. However, Rashbam held that one's square is automatically determined to correspond with the north-south directions of the earth and then one can walk until the end of those corners. Tosfot Yoma and Rosh Eruvin reject Rabbenu Tam.</ref>

# If one's Techum includes the entire length of a city, which is defined above, the city is only considered 4 [[amot]] and one may walk beyond that city for the rest of one's 2000 [[amot]]. For example, if one's dwelling place is 500 [[amot]] from a city and the city is 1000 [[amot]] long, the city is only considered 4 [[amot]]. Therefore, one is able to walk another 1496 [[amot]] after the city. However, if one's Techum ends in the middle of the city, the city is not considered 4 [[amot]] and one may not walk beyond one's [[Techum]].<ref>Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 95:12</ref>

===Techum of a City===

# If one is in a village, town, or city, one may have 2000 [[amot]] from the outer bounds of the city, depending on the density of the houses.<ref>Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 95:2</ref> If there are 6 homes each within 70.66 [[amot]] of another home are considered a city and the Techum would begin from 2000 [[amot]] outside the group of houses. Any home that is within 70.66 [[amot]] of the established city is included in the city, however, a house which is more than 70.66 [[amot]] from other houses is not included in the city and the Techum for residents of that house is only 2000 [[amot]] from the edge of that house. Therefore, a suburban area with houses separated more than 70.66 [[amot]] are not considered part of a city and residents of a house only have 2000 [[amot]] from that house. <ref>39 Melachos (Rabbi Ribiat, vol 4, pg 1387-9). Rabbi Ribiat quotes the Minchat Shabbat who explicitly writes that we do have the halachic category of chatzerot nowadays in order to form a city. We still require that there's 2 houses to create a chetzer but if there's 6 houses we have a city. Torat Shlomo Eruvin 19:19 p. 144 explicitly writes that even though we don't use the chatzerot today like rooms you can create a city without chatzerot. (See Chazon Ish OC 110:20 who might support this.) However, Rav Hershel Schachter ([https://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/814168/rabbi-hershel-schachter/shiur-99-shabbos-dechiya/ Shabbat Shiur 99 (very end)] and [https://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/814233/rabbi-hershel-schachter/shiur-100-shabbos-chazer-vs-mavui/ Shabbat Shiur 100 (beginning)]) holds that nowadays we don't have a city for techum since we don't use our chatzerot today like a room of the house. Therefore, since we need 3 chatzerot to form a city (S"A 398:10) we can't have a city today. This is based on the Rama, Chazon Ish OC 65:52, and is discussed by Imrei Baruch Eruvin 40-41.