[2] According to Jacob Emden, עני destitute is a pun which references the reputed difficulty of these tractates, and the acronym serves to warn off students.

An overview of the content of chapters is as follows: An eruv ([ʔeˈʁuv]; Hebrew: עירוב, "mixture"), also transliterated as eiruv or erub, plural: eruvin [ʔeʁuˈvin]) is a ritual enclosure that permits Jewish residents or visitors to carry certain objects outside their own homes on Sabbath and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

The eruv allows these religious Jews to, among other things, carry house keys, tissues, medicines, or babies with them, and use strollers and canes.

The presence or absence of an eruv thus especially affects the lives of people with limited mobility and those responsible for taking care of babies and young children.

An eruv tavshilin (Hebrew: עירוב תבשילין "mixed cooked food items") is made in the home on the eve of a holiday with a work proscription that directly precedes the Sabbath.