Why There’s A Wire Stretched Over Many American Cities

Stretched above Manhattan is a wire that doesn’t carry electricity or telephone signals, only religious significance for the city’s Orthodox Jewish community. The eruv, which costs the city’s synagogues $100,000 a year, delineate the area where their members may carry objects on the Sabbath. The wire opens up the streets it encloses to represent the home, allowing Jews to freely travel without violating the law. Similar wires also hang over areas of Chicago, Baltimore, and a number of other cities for the convenience of its residents.