The Ann Arbor community welcomed a brand new Eruv with open arms-which will soon be pushing strollers to shul, just in time for the delightful summer weather. The Eruv envelopes much of the community surrounding the University of Michigan Hillel Orthodox Minyan neighborhood, and parts of student campus housing.
The small community, in the heart of the University of Michigan campus, is known for the warm welcoming of University students for Shabbat meals and Jewish on-campus programs. In addition to Hillel, the nearby Chabad House also provides warmth and sustenance to students. The Eruv received a warm welcome, not just from Orthodox factions, but from Jews from various backgrounds.
Every Shabbat during the school year, the community takes turns hosting students, developing relationships with away-from-home college students who welcome the food, nurturing and smiles that surround them at various tables throughout Ann Arbor. While many students stay in Ann Arbor beyond their undergraduate years, enjoying the college town’s tree-lined streets, well-appointed homes and collegial and academic offerings through and beyond graduate school, some young families have found it challenging to stay without an Eruv once they have small children. The Eruv is expected to help “grow” the community by enabling even mothers of small children to bring their children to shul and to the park on Shabbat. For the longtime residents, it will just be nice to be able to carry gloves, reading glasses or a raincoat.
Ann Arbor is a suburb of the larger Detroit/Metro community which has One-Stop Kosher as its food marketplace, and a number of kosher restaurants and Judaica shops.
The eruv website is http://a2eruv.org/ and the map can be found at http://a2eruv.org/map
