974. Making an Eiruv for Someone Without Their Knowledge

Eiruvin 6:21

One may make eiruvei techumin on behalf of minor children and Canaanite servants, either with or without their knowledge. If one makes an eiruv for them and they make an eiruv for themselves, his is the one they are to use. One may not, however, make an eiruv for his grown children, his Jewish servants or his wife without their consent, even if they eat at his table. If he made an eiruv for these people, which they heard about and did not object, then they may rely on the eiruv that he has made. However, if he made an eiruv for one of them and that person made an eiruv for himself, that’s the greatest form of objection there is. In such a case, that person relies upon the eiruv they made themselves. A child of six years of age or younger may be taken out, relying on an eiruv that was made for his mother; there is no need to separate food for two meals on his behalf.

Eiruvin 6:22

One may send his eiruv with an agent to place in the location that he wants to set as his base for Shabbos but this agent may not be a minor, a person with congenital deafness or one who is mentally incompetent. He may likewise not enlist one who does not accept the mitzvah of eiruv as his agent. If he sent an eiruv with one of these people, it is invalid. If he used one of these people as a messenger to deliver the eiruv to a valid agent, who would then deposit it in the desired location, the eiruv is valid. It would be valid even if he sent the eiruv to the agent by a monkey or an elephant! He must, however, watch from a distance to see that the one who is unfit to serve as his agent has handed it off to the one who will place the eiruv. A group of people who have joined together to make an eiruv techumin may likewise send their eiruv by an agent.