When faith, real estate converge

SHARON -- They are both 1950s-era ranch houses, snug dwellings with three bedrooms, hardwood floors, and each with a fireplace. They are within a block of one another.

But it is a block that in Sharon can mean thousands of dollars difference in price. For these two homes, the difference is $25,000.

In a convergence of real estate and religion, home values in Sharon are determined not only by school quality, waterfront views, and commuter rail proximity. There is the added factor of a home's positioning in or out of the symbolic enclosure known as an eruv, defined in Judaic religious law as an area where observant Jews are freed from the Sabbath prohibition on carrying items -- whether a prayer book or a baby.

The added price of a home in the eruv is considered by many observant Jews in Sharon a built-in cost of faith, akin to paying more for kosher foods or private Jewish day schools. But in a heated real estate market, the eruv is a pocket-buster for some, adding as much as 10 percent to the price of a home, according to realtors, particularly if the home is close to the synagogue.

''I call it the eruv factor," said Seth Stollman, a Sharon realtor who specializes in properties located within the eruv.

For observant Jews, a home within the eruv can greatly improve the quality of life. Because the eruv is considered a communal extension of the home, within it they are allowed to push a baby carriage, carry food to friends' homes, or tote a diaper bag. Outside, observant Jews are not allowed to do these things, which requires them to deposit baby carriages inside the eruv line or deliver food to friends' homes before the Sabbath starts.

The eruv does not release observant Jews from the broader prohibition against work on the Sabbath, meaning they may not drive, turn on lights, or cook.

Observant families say they gladly pay the higher price for a home within the boundaries.

''It is a must for us," said Howard Goldfischer, a pediatric neuropsychologist who lives in Minneapolis and is considering relocating to Sharon with his wife and three children, the youngest of whom is 5 months old. ''If we want to walk to synagogue or to a friend's home, the eruv is crucial."

Economists say that mentality is driving up the prices of real estate within an eruv, in Sharon as well as elsewhere across the country in cities that have erected the demarcation.

''People for whom this is important have a much more limited set of housing options," said Andrew Jakabovics, research chief of staff at the MIT Center for Real Estate Housing Affordability Initiative. ''And with a much smaller supply of available housing, the higher the prices."

Brookline and Cambridge each have set up an eruv, but Sharon stands apart as a deeply suburban town far from Boston's core, a place where Jews now make up a sizable segment of the population of 18,000, operating seven synagogues in town.

A visitor walking the streets of Sharon would not notice the eruv. It is a jagged rectangle covering 1.6 square miles in the 24-square-mile town, according Mark Mazur, the town assessor, who cited documents from the town engineering department. It is ringed by telephone pole wires, which existed before the eruv was created and were selected as the demarcation because homes of observant Jews fell within their confines.

The theory behind the eruv, drawn from legal principles in the Talmud, or the codes of Jewish law, is that the poles and wires that surround it form abstract doorways to the outside world. Everything inside the eruv is considered an extension of the home, where carrying items on the Sabbath is permissible. In a sense, the eruv is a big backyard. The word ''eruv" means ''to mix" or ''to join together."

The Sharon eruv was constructed under the supervision of Meir Sendor, the rabbi at Young Israel of Sharon, with continuing consultation from a noted eruv expert, Rabbi Shimon Eider, of Lakewood, N.J. The decision to bring an eruv to Sharon was propelled by the critical mass of Orthodox families settling there; its boundaries were designated according to where observant families live and where telephone poles, or other boundaries used for an eruv, such as railroad tracks, were available. Where telephone poles were not available, fishing wire was used to make the border.

In Sharon, the eruv is operated by the Sharon Eruv Society, a nonprofit organization whose members each week walk its boundaries to make sure strings are secure and telephone pole wires unobstructed. The society collects voluntary annual dues for upkeep from those living within the eruv.

Elsewhere, the boundaries have at times sparked controversy. In Tenafly, N.J., some residents opposed the placement of an eruv on public property, leading to a court battle that eventually reached the US Supreme Court. The court declined to hear the case in 2003. The creation of an eruv in a London suburb unleashed a protest and warnings that the eruv could lead to other groups' demands for what some termed special privileges.

In Sharon, the eruv has been a comparatively quiet matter. Town officials have heard no opposition since Jews in the area conceived the idea for it 15 years ago, said Town Administrator Benjamin Puritz. Indeed, Jews and non-Jews tout the eruv proudly as a symbol of the ecumenical character of Sharon, which in addition to seven synagogues counts nine Christian churches and one mosque.

There have been incidents of vandalism in the eruv, according to Sendor. He declined to detail when the incidents took place and what form they took; police say they are unaware of the incidents, though in recent weeks police said they had investigated incidents where swastikas were scratched onto cars. No arrests have been made.

The eruv was a natural development from the influx of Jews -- and in particular, highly observant Jews, who are known as Orthodox. Sharon's Jewish population began to expand in the 1970s, when Jews departing the city were drawn by the town's hilly terrain and lake vistas that had previously served as backdrops to summer homes of Jewish families. Today, an Orthodox synagogue occupies a former kosher hotel, according to Sendor.

Some residents say the allure of Sharon is the eruv and the peace of mind it brings, knowing that religious laws can be followed with ease and surety.

''If you believe in God, it is what God said to do," said Joseph Mindick, 71, a real estate investor who owns a home in the eruv that he and his wife, Deborah Mindick, 53, are selling to buy another home in the eruv.

Their new home would have cost roughly $30,000 less had it been located outside the eruv, according to their realtor, Marc Cohen.

Of the extra amount, Joseph Mindick said, ''To some people, it's not a sacrifice, it's a pleasure."

Mindick and others said it can be hard to explain the value of the eruv to people who are not Orthodox Jews.

''It is a way of enhancing the Sabbath experience and still fulfilling the laws of not carrying in the public domain," Sendor said.

Iris Blitstein, a Sharon resident who works at Young Israel of Sharon, has three young children and lives within the eruv. But her home is 1.3 miles from her synagogue, a distance she must walk on the Sabbath if she wants to attend services. She would love to find a house closer -- but that, she said, is not financially feasible -- within the eruv.

''You make a sacrifice for what's important," she said. ''As an Orthodox Jew, you know you are going to pay the price."

Sarah Schweitzer can be reached at schweitzer@globe.com.