"They're trying to cheat God": The animation video about the Manhattan eruv that stirred up the internet

An animated video by content creator Zack D. Films, explaining how the halachic eruv in Manhattan works, sparked a storm of reactions online, including questions, mockery of Jewish law, and outright antisemitic comments.

An animated video by popular content creator Zack D. Films, uploaded over the past weekend, explained to millions of viewers what a Shabbat eruv in Manhattan is. The video, accompanied by 3D animation, describes how a special wire encircling large parts of the city transforms the public domain into a private domain from a halachic perspective, allowing observant Jews to carry objects. The video garnered millions of views and thousands of comments, but many viewers struggled to understand the halachic logic. Notable reactions included questions like "Why are they trying to beat God on the basis of small clauses?" and "Why make rules if you're going to use loopholes?" Alongside these, explicit antisemitic comments and calls to damage the eruv appeared, such as "cut the wire." Israeli and Jewish users expressed dismay at the amount of hatred in the comments.

"They're trying to cheat God": The animation video about the Manhattan eruv that stirred up the internet