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[The three are:
1) Eruv Tavshilin: Which allows one to cook on Yom Tov for the sake of Shabbat.
2) Eruvei Techumin: Which allows a person to walk more than 2000 cubits outside of a city on Shabbat or Yom Tov.1
3) Eruvei Chatzairot: Which allows one to carry from one house to another within the same courtyard, or within the shared courtyard outside the houses.]
A Shitufei Mevo'ot (is similar to an allows on Eruvei Chatzairot, but it) allows one to carry from house to house, and from courtyard to courtyard, and can even include an entire city.
According to the Torah one may carry on Shabbat in a "reshut hayachid" (enclosed domain), but not in a "reshut harabim" (unenclosed, public domain). It is possible, though, to enclose an entire city with a gate, which would permit carrying throughout the entire city [this is actually the case in most cities in Israel and many cities (or parts of cities) in the Diaspora]. Our sages were concerned that people would entirely forget about the prohibition of carrying on Shabbat, so they established the concepts of (Eruvei Chatzairot and) Shitufei Mevo'ot.
According to the Torah one may carry on Shabbat in a "reshut hayachid" (enclosed private domain), but not in a "reshut harabim" (unenclosed, public domain). It is possible, though, to enclose an entire city with a gate, which would permit carrying throughout the entire city
The words "eruv" and "shituf" actually mean "mixing." For its purpose is to blend and mix the entire community together.
This only works, however, if the city (or area) is enclosed. According to Halachah it is sufficient for the area to be enclosed by poles with a string or cable running around the tops. Erecting these poles and running the cable is significantly more difficult than making the actual (food) eruv.
So to make it simple: the eruv, really, is the food which is designated for that purpose. However, 99% of the time when the average person says "eruv" it is a reference to the poles and strings. So when someone runs into the synagogue and says, "the eruv is down," it doesn't mean that the matzah fell off the shelf, it does means that a strong wind snapped the string...
Although this may sound fairly simple, the laws of eruv are, in fact, of the most complicated laws in the Talmud. So if you intend on erecting one you must be in contact with a competent rabbi who is proficient in these laws.
There are many laws involved in making an eruv, and it is impossible to ensure that the eruv will be Kosher unless a rabbi checks it over.
The basic eruv is made of poles which have a string attached to their tops surrounding the entire site. The string must be attached run atop the poles, not wrapped around them or attached to their sides. The easiest way to do this is to knock nails into the top of the poles, and tie the string to the nails.
Footnotes
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