Excuses, Excuses!
"After all, you don't have to live in Israel to be a good Jew, do you?"
"I'm happy here. When Moshi'ach comes I'll move to Israel. Until then, I'll stay here. There's no obligation to live in Israel these days."
Halakhic Sources
Conclusion
T he fact that people who claim to be "frum" don't do something is not a proof that it isn't necessary. Jewish law doesn't work that way. We have seen in the previous chapter that living in Israel is of major importance to Judaism, an indivisible part of the religion. Assuming that Halakhically one is in fact obligated to live in Israel (we will discuss this point later), then by not living in Israel they are sinning, period.
In truth, though, this excuse that "they live here, so why can't I" or "they live here so it must not be wrong" has precedence. Rav Shelomoh Kluger in Responsa Ha'Elef Lekha Shelomoh EH 118 wrote that it must be that living in Israel is not a mitzvah, "because if that was the case, why don't the pious rabbis who are certainly able to make aliyah do so?" But this is a very weak argument, and many great rabbis have strongly disagreed with it. If all the rabbis in the world were eating pig meat and saying that it was kosher, it still wouldn't be kosher.
We quoted above the midrash that explains that the twelve spies were in fact some of the greatest tzaddikim around, and that they were the spiritual leaders of the tribes. They released "Halakhic rulings" saying that it was preferable to remain in the desert. The nation accepted their reports, and was punished for it.
Tzaddikim in the times of Mosheh were definitely greater than the greatest rabbis of our time. If it was possible for tzaddikim whose righteousness was even confirmed by God Himself to err in this important issue, certainly it would be possible for some great rabbis of our time to make a similar mistake.
It is interesting that Benei Yisra'el was punished for listening to the spies' reports. If they were relying on their reports, they should have been considered shogegim--unintentional sinners. Why were laymen punished for relying on the rulings of the gedolim?
Many answers have been offered to address this question. One possibility is that it was so obvious that these gedolim were wrong in their ruling that even a layman should have known not to trust them. In this case, even laymen were considered "students worthy of ruling" ("talmidim hare'uyim lehora'ah"--see the first mishnah of Massekhes Horayos). Similarly, it is possible that in our day it is so obvious that living in Israel is one of the most important things for religious Jews (as this is the main theme of the whole Torah), that even if certain rabbis rule to the contrary, we would not be permitted to rely on them, and could be held accountable for doing so.
As far as whether or not living in Israel is only an "optional" mitzvah ("mitzvah kiyumis") today, many recognized Halakhic authorities have discussed this and ruled that it is in fact an obligatory mitzvah. One such authority is none other than HaRav HaGaon R' Avraham Shapira, shlit"a. In his responsum he points out that there is no such thing as an optional mitzvah. "Mitzvah" means commandment, and if a commandment were optional, it wouldn't be a commandment. The example of an optional mitzvah that HaRav HaGa'on R' Moshe Feinstein zatza"l uses is the mitzvah of tzitzis. Halakhically, one does not have to wear tzitzis, but may if he wants to, and if he does, he gets rewarded for doing so. HaRav Shapira explains that this is not really an optional mitzvah. It has nothing to do with whether or not the person wants to perform it. The mitzvah of tzitzis only applies to garments with four corners. If someone wears a four-cornered garment, he has an obligation to put on tzitzis, and if he doesn't put them on, he is transgressing. If someone doesn't wear a four-cornered garment there is no need for tzitzis. But the person doesn't have a choice whether or not to perform the mitzvah. The mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisra'el does not depend on anything like tzitzis does, and it is illogical to say that someone has the right to choose whether or not he wants to perform the mitzvah. Refer to Rav Shapira's complete responsum for a more thorough discussion of the matter.
But even if it is only an optional mitzvah, how many "frum" American Jews do you find today who choose not to wear tzitzis? On the contrary, they perform the mitzvah in the best possible way, buying wool garments that are big enough to satisfy all the opinions and threads that are very long. Why shouldn't they be as careful with the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha'aretz? According to the Talmud, in a time of Divine wrath we are punished even for not performing "optional" mitzvos like tzitzis (Menachos 41a). "R. Meir used to say the punishment for the white is greater than the punishment for the tekheles." That is, the punishment for not wearing white tzitzis is greater than the punishment for not putting tekheles in the tzitzis. The Gemara explains the reason. The white strings are easy to get, so he has no excuse for not wearing them, while the blue strings are expensive and hard to come by. (Menachos 43b) Living in Israel is so easy today that it can be compared to the white strings. Even if it is only an optional mitzvah, we still may be punished for not performing it.
M ost American Jews do not realize the amazing opportunity we have today. Because it is so easy, so comfortable, so enjoyable to live in America, Canada, England, Belgium, France, Mexico, etc., they do not realize what they are missing. They do not realize that they should be longing for the day when they can make aliyah, and should do so when the first opportunity arrives. They think they have all that they need.
When Jews were being persecuted, they longed for Eretz Yisra'el. When Jews were being treated as second class citizens in foreign countries, they longed for the day they'd be able to make aliyah and live in their own country. But when the day comes that they're treated almost as equals and they enjoy many physical pleasures in foreign countries, they forget about those desires for Eretz Yisra'el, and ignore the opportunity when it comes.
When the Jews were being taken into exile at the hands of the Babylonians, they lamented. Shackled together, they reached the banks of the Babylonian rivers, and cried. "On the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept as we remembered Zion" (Psalms 137:1--According to the Ashkenazi custom, this chapter of Tehillim is to be recited immediately before Birkas HaMazon on days that are not Shabbos or holidays). However, when the torture weakened, they began to forget Zion. And so David predicts that "when God returned the returnees to Zion, we were as sleepers" (Tehillim 126:1--According to the Ashkenazi custom, this chapter is recited before Birkas HaMazon on Shabbos and holidays. We recite it to remind ourselves not to be sleeping when the redemption comes). These verses have materialized right before our eyes. Fifty something years ago, in concentration camps and gas chambers, the Jewish people longed for the opportunity to return to Zion. If God had miraculously provided the prisoners with an easy way to escape to Israel, certainly they would have noticed it. They would not have been like dreamers. But nowadays the opportunity has arisen. It is so obvious that God wants the Jewish people to be in the land of Israel, as we have mentioned and will mention more. Those who don't realize this are dreaming; they're asleep, unconscious, not thinking.
This reaction, too, is by no means without a historical precedent. The exact same phenomena occurred many times in our history. One such example is in the days of Ezra HaSofer, when, after the destruction of the first temple and the Babylonian exile, God granted the Jewish people the opportunity to return to their land. Even though they received permission to return, most Jews chose not to. They were satisfied with Bavel. The following is recorded in "Seder HaDoros" p. 126:
It wasn't just the community of Worms that reacted in this way, either. Most of the Jews who went into exile did not return when the opportunity arose.
The following appears in the Kuzari by R. Yehudah HaLevi, 2:23-24, after the Jew explains to the Kuzari king the importance of Eretz Yisra'el to the Jewish people: (The Gra wrote that everyone should learn the Kuzari, and referred to it as Kodesh Kodashim -- holy of holies.)
Chaver: You have embarrassed me, Kuzar King. The truth is that this sin, the sin that we didn't make aliyah to the land is the thing that prevented God from keeping his promise to return the Shekhinah (Divine presence) during the time of the second temple... The Godliness was ready to fall upon us... if only we had all been ready to return to the land with a complete heart. But the truth is that only a fraction of the nation returned to the land and the majority stayed with their great ones (Gedolim) in Babylon, desiring exile and serving the kings of the nations, as long as they wouldn't have to leave their places of residence and their physical stature... Today, if we were willing to accept the presence of the God of our fathers with a complete heart... we would merit great miracles and wonders, like those that occurred to our ancestors when they left Egypt. But since we are not ready to do so, as you said, the words that we say in our prayers, "Bow towards His holy mountain", "Bow to the resting-place of His 'feet'", "...He who returns His presence to Zion" and the like are like the words of a parrot, meaningless chirps. For we don't think about the meaning of those words, as you said, King Kuzar.
Numerous history sources contain records of many communities that refused to return to Israel with Ezra, and the punishments that they suffered because of this. One such community was the city of Kohanim, Jareva:
It would be wise to mention something the Chasam Sofer wrote:
The Ramban made aliyah and wrote about it: (Iggeres 7)
Think about the hardships the Ramban encountered to live in Eretz Yisra'el! Why did he do it? Because it is a mitzvah. If the Ramban made aliyah when it was practically impossible, certainly we must do the same today, when it is almost as easy as driving down the block.
The opportunity is once again here, and we are once again sleeping. We must learn from our mistakes! We must wake up! We must realize what's going on! It's time to fulfill the mitzvah that is once again in our ability to fulfill. The time has come.
M any times this statement is used genuinely, and many times it is just as an excuse. There are many people who really do want to stay in Israel studying Torah, lehavdil studying in a university, or to live with their family, and are met with opposition from their parents who will miss them and demand that they do these things in chutz la'aretz. Then there are others who just use this as an excuse, but really have no desire at all to live in Israel.
The bottom line is that a person in this situation is obligated to ask a recognized Halakhic authority if Kibbud Av Va'Em applies here. Kibbud Av Va'Em is a very important mitzvah, but so is living in Israel--it is compared to all the other mitzvos put together. Generally, the rule about Kibbud Av Va'Em is that it does not apply when a parent wants the child to transgress a prohibition or not to perform a mitzvah. In such an instance, the child is obligated not to obey his parents. This is the Halakhah even if a parent wants the child to do something which would only transgress a rabbinic prohibition, and certainly would apply to a mitzvah which is as important as all the others put together.
The other detail of Kibbud Av Va'Em is that generally speaking, Kibbud Av Va'Em does not apply to something that is of no concern to the parent. A simple insignificant example of this would be something like the kind of shoes to wear, but it is also the case concerning which Yeshivah or lehavdil college to attend, or in which city to live. Certainly this would be the case when a child wants to live in Israel and that way perform an enormously important mitzvah. In such a case the child has an obligation to disobey.
The following is a responsum of the Maharam MiRotenburg:
This doesn't mean that the child shouldn't visit the parents. A Halakhic authority should be consulted as to whether it is permitted to leave Eretz Yisra'el temporarily to visit parents, how often and for how long it would be permitted. If in the end the parents are so lonely that they decide they have no choice but to make aliyah, all the better. The child will receive credit for helping someone perform a mitzvah.
This site designed by Avi Kovacs, and hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page!
Comment's about the design? email us at [email protected]