Question:
If one needs to travel to the hospital on Shabbos from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem, is one permitted to take along a bag with clothing, i.e. is there an eruv all along the way? or is one not allowed to take anything along?
Answer:
Essentially taking a bag with you from Beit Shemesh to Yerushalayim is more than the techum shabbos, therefore it should not be taken along. However there is a way to make it permitted, by making the bag of things that you want to take along hefker, (ownerless) before shabbos. This is done by putting the bag in front of three people before shabbos and stating that you are disowning it. Then you would be allowed to take it along on shabbos. The rational for this is that a person’s belongings are also subject to the halachos of techum shabbos, and wherever the person is not allowed to go, his belongings are also not allowed to go, however an item that is ownerless, doesn’t have this restriction.
Sources:
O:CH 401-1, Toras Hayoledes 2-30.
