Here’s the inside story that the Jewish Journal did not tell you.
Initially Rabbi Bess (the leading authority on Jewish law in Los Angeles) was anti-eruv and rabbis in the Fairfax area did not want to get on his bad side.
Rabbi such as Bess fear that the erection of an eruv will cause Jews to sin in massive numbers if they carry on the Sabbath when there’s an undetected break in the eruv.
Rabbi Heineman from Baltimore is the world-expert on eruvim. He pulled out from the L.A. eruv project because he got a call from Rav Elyah Svei, the 90yo head of the yeshiva in Philadelphia who runs the Aguda board Moetat HaGadol. Rabbi Svei called Norman Lamm a hater of Israel.
Rabbi Svei called Rabbi Heineman (Star K Kosher) and asked him not to build the eruv in LA because he did not want an eruv in Brooklyn. The Hasidim built an eruv in Brooklyn and the mitnagdim don’t hold by it. Rabbi Svei is so powerful he could ruin Rabbi Heineman’s business.
Rabbi Svei was convinced that Rabbi Heineman could continue with the eruv but not publicly. LA rabbis had to take responsibility for the eruv.
LA rabbis did not want to take it on. Finally, Rabbi Meyer May, when he became the president of the RCC (Rabbinical Council of California), convinced Rabbi Bess and Rabbi Teichman and Rabbi Sauer to come on board and the RCC took responsibility for the eruv. Then Rabbi Bess came on board, though he may tell his congregants privately that the eruv is only for emergencies, and most of his congregants probably don’t hold by it.
Beth Am, the conservative synagogue on Olympic and La Cienega Blvds, wanted to get involved and support the eruv but LA’s Orthodox rabbis said their calls should not be answered, yet to complete the eruv, the cooperation of the University of Judaism (fundamentally a part of Conservative Judaism) was needed because the eruv had to go over its property (at Mulholland and the 405).
Rabbi Rue, senior rabbi of the Beit Din of Los Angeles, was too blunt and not politically savvy, so other LA rabbis did not want to deal with him.
It was far easier dealing with the goyim (at the city and state and CA department of transportation) than with the Jews. The last permit needed was from the LA County body which has responsibility for the LA River. A guy named Mohammed, a Palestinian Arab, issued the last permit.
