[Spivak]

Which is contrasted with strict Jewish communities that take the opposite stance — the letter is what matters and there's a certain joy in finding loopholes.

Automatic elevators, timers, an odd definition of inside, pre-torn toilet paper it's all fascinating and clever.

[seanhunter]

A very interesting example of this is the eruv in Golder's Green in North London[1] which is a thin wire which apparently converts outside areas into a private space, allowing observant orthodox Jews to do things on the Sabbath they would not otherwise do. There are proposals for a couple more of these in North London.

As someone who is not religious at all I find it fascinating.

[1] https://www.thejc.com/news/community/new-golders-green-eruv-...

[kelnos]

There's also an eruv that contains nearly all of Manhattan: http://eruv.nyc/

I personally think this has entered the realm of absurdity, but there's admittedly a certain charm to it.

[umanwizard]

These are very common in places with a lot of Jews (e.g. the U.S. and Israel).

[skissane]

> Which is contrasted with strict Jewish communities that take the opposite stance — the letter is what matters and there's a certain joy in finding loopholes.

I think there is still something in common with the Amish approach, in that whether a theoretically possible loophole is allowed in practice often comes down to rabbinical judgement over what the practical consequences would be.

And, just like different Amish groups have different rules, different subgroups within Orthodox Judaism differ over the set of "loopholes" permitted – e.g. some Hasidic dynasties are much stricter about certain areas of halacha than others