Nov 20, 2006 9:54 am US/Pacific
Synagogue Wins Boundary, Will Protect Rare Birds
VENICE, Calif. (CBS) ―
An Orthodox synagogue has won permission to string a religious boundary along the beach from Santa Monica to Marina del Rey after agreeing to take steps to protect a rare bird that nests in the coastal area, it was reported Monday.
The California Coastal Commission Thursday granted the Pacific Jewish Center's request to run fishing line between lampposts and sign poles through miles of beachfront, creating an unbroken symbolic border, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The "eruv" boundary, which also will stretch inland through parts of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, eases certain Sabbath restrictions by allowing Orthodox Jews to consider themselves to be "at home" within its broad outlines, according to the newspaper.
Jews within the eruv would not be in violation of a religious law that forbids them from carrying things outside their homes on the Sabbath, allowing adherents to push strollers or wheelchairs and carry their keys, although it does not relieve them of the obligation to refrain from work on the Sabbath, The Times reported.
The beachfront boundary, granted for three years, will be the first of its kind in California, officials told the newspaper.
The boundary will run along Ocean Front Walk from Ballona Creek on the south to the Santa Monica Freeway on the north. The roughly square border will stretch east to the San Diego Freeway.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
