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."
"But lots of people live in ..., I just can't belive that they're all sinning by doing so. And what about all the Gedolim who choose to live there? Rav ... said ...!"
Sweet Dreams
"My parents want me to be close to them, and according to Halakhah you have to listen to your parents."
W e mentioned that it should be so obvious that it is a mitzvah, an obligation to live in Israel today, that Halakhic sources should not be necessary. Even so, it is true that we are not living in the messianic era, and there are Halakhic differences between our era and the future one. We will therefore demonstrate in this chapter that the vast majority of recognized Halakhic authorities have ruled that it is in fact an obligation to live in the land of Israel today.
It should be noted, though, that there are many sefarim out that address the Halakhic side of Yishuv Eretz Yisra'el, and by writing this essay I intend to help motivate people to make aliyah rather than to provide another thorough Halakhic discussion on the matter. Therefore I cite some sources here and with them brush the surface of the issue, but by no means cover it completely. For a more in-depth study a good place to start is in sefarim like "Me'afar Kumi" by Tzvi Glatt, "Em HaBanim Semechah" by HaRav Shelomoh Taikhthal, "Lekh Lekha VeSod HaShevu'ah" by HaRav Mordekhai Attiyah, and "VaYo'el Mosheh" by the Satmar Rebbe zatza"l (who disagrees with our position).
We will begin by quoting some Talmudic passages concerning the obligation to live in Israel:
An anecdote of R. Yehudah b. Beterah, R. Matiah b. Charash, R. Chanina b. Achi, R. Yehoshu'a and R. Yonatan, who were leaving for the Diaspora. When they reached "Paltum" they remembered Eretz Yisra'el. They raised their eyes, and tears began to flow. They tore their garments, recited the verse, "and you shall inherit them and settle in their land" (Devarim 12:29), and returned to from where they had left. They said, "Living in Israel is as heavy as all the mitzvos of the Torah." And another anecdote of R. Elazar b. Shamu'a and R. Yochanan the shoemaker, who were traveling to "Netzivim" (a city in chutz la'aretz) where R. Yehudah b. Beterah was, to learn Torah from him. When they reached "Tzaidan" they remembered Eretz Yisra'el. They raised their eyes, and tears began to flow. They tore their garments, recited the verse, "and you shall inherit them and settle in their land" (Devarim 12:29), and returned to from where they had left. They said, "Living in Israel is as heavy as all the mitzvos of the Torah." (Sifri on Devarim, p.28 �80)
Rav Chayim Pilagi points out that since the rabbis mentioned in the above anecdote lived after the destruction of the temple, this indicates that even in our time there is a mitzvah to live in Israel which is as important as all the other mitzvos put together.
The following appear in the tractate Kesubos, from page 110b until page 111a:
A person should always live in Eretz Yisra'el, even in a city of mostly gentiles, instead of in chutz la'aretz, even in a city of mostly Jews, for someone who lives in Eretz Yisra'el is like someone who has a God, and someone who lives in chutz la'aretz is like someone who doesn't have a God, as it says "to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God" (Vayikra 25)... i.e. a person who lives in chutz la'aretz--it is as if he is practicing idolatry.
If the husband wants to make aliyah and his wife doesn't, they force her to do so. If she refuses, he may divorce her without paying the Kesubah (the divorce settlement). If the wife wants to make aliyah and the husband doesn't want to, they force him to do so. If he refuses, he must divorce her, and pay her the Kesubah. If she wants to leave Israel and he doesn't, they force her not to leave. If she insists, he may divorce her without paying the Kesubah. If he wants to leave and she doesn't, they force him not to leave. If he insists, he must divorce her and pay her the Kesubah. [Note: The Rambam and the Shulchan Arukh take this as law, even nowadays. Similarly, a slave can force his master to make aliyah or to set him free, even nowadays.]
R. Elazar said, "He who dwells in Eretz Yisra'el lives without sin."... R. Anan said, "He who is buried in Eretz Yisra'el--it is as if he is buried beneath the holy altar."... R. Yirmiyah b. Abba said in the name of R. Yochanan, "He who walks four cubits in Eretz Yisra'el is promised a place in the world to come."
Now we will take a look at the words of some of the Rishonim and Acharonim. We begin with the Ramban, in his commentary to the Torah, Bamidbar 33:53:
"And you shall inherit the land and settle in it." In my opinion this is a positive commandment, commanding them to live in the land and inherit it because He gave it to them. They shouldn't disgrace the inheritance of God, and shouldn't contemplate leaving and capturing the land of Shin'ar or the land of Assyria or other lands and settle there, thus transgressing the mitzvah of God. All Chazal's discussions about the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisra'el and that it is forbidden to leave it, and the discussion about a husband or wife who doesn't want to perform aliyah with his/her spouse, are derived from here, for in this verse we were commanded to live in Eretz Yisra'el.
He writes similarly in his commentary on the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvos, Mitzvah 4. There the Ramban counts living in Eretz Yisra'el as one of the 613 mitzvos, and says that the mitzvah applies in all generations.
The Rambam doesn't count living in Israel as one of the 613, but it seems clear from his rulings that he still does hold that it is a mitzvah. He rules, for instance, that a spouse can force the other to make aliyah or not to make yeridah even nowadays. Similarly, he rules that a slave can force his master to make aliyah (even a Canaanite slave). The Rambam doesn't count mitzvos that are prerequisites of other mitzvos as members of the 613, and since living in Israel is a prerequisite to many mitzvos, he doesn't count it as on of the 613.
Sefer Charedim: (7:15) It is a positive biblical commandment to live in Eretz Yisra'el, as it says "And you shall inherit it and dwell within it." Our rabbis said that this mitzvah is worth all the mitzvos of the Torah put together. And they said that anyone who leaves Eretz Yisra'el and lives in chutz la'aretz should be regarded as an idol-worshipper... The Ramban and the Rashbatz count it as one of the 613.
Maharit: (2:28) The main reason [that a spouse can force the other to live in Israel] is the holiness of Eretz Yisra'el, and that the mitzvah of living there applies even today when it is in ruins, as the Ramban wrote... Living in Eretz Yisra'el is worth all the other mitzvos.
Responsa Me'il Tzedakah: (26) First, let us discuss whether or not it is a mitzvah nowadays to make aliyah and live in Eretz Yisra'el. We find that the Ramban counted this mitzvah as one of the 613 from the verse... and that it is worth all the other mitzvos... If so, there is no difference between the times, and all eras are equal in the area of performing the mitzvos. And certainly if it is a counted mitzvah, one of the 248 positive commandments, it makes sense that it never is canceled.
R. Ya'akov Emdin: (Mor U'Ketziah vol.1 p.16) The mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisra'el is a positive biblical commandment... as the Ramban writes. It is a Divine commandment and doesn't need a reason, but the reason is apparant--that it is the inheritance of God where He chose to dwell and to have His children dwell in.
Chida: (Responsa Yosef Ometz 52, Ya'ir Ozen 10:5) In the Sifri they said that living in Israel is comparable to all the other mitzvos, even while it is in ruins. See what the Rashbatz wrote... Even more, it is explained in the Sifri that even to learn Torah [is no reason to leave], for R. Eliezer b. Shim'on and R. Yochanan the shoemaker were traveling [for that reason] and they returned, for living in Israel is comparable to all the other mitzvos. And it is explained that this is true even while it is in ruins, as the Ramban writes.
Pe'as HaShulchan: (Chapter 1 Beis Yisra'el 14) In the Tosefta (Avodah Zarah): "A man should live in Israel, even in a city of mostly gentiles, rather than in the diaspora, even in a city of mostly Jews. This teaches that living in Israel is comparable to all the other mitzvos etc." This is even in our time... The words of the Ramban make the most sense, that living in Israel is a positive biblical commandment like all the other positive commandments... And the Tashbetz and the Rashbash agreed with him...
The words of the Chasam Sofer have already been quoted above.
R. Chayim Pilagi: (Responsa Nishmas Kol Chai YD 48) I have decided to discuss whether living in Israel is a biblical mitzvah or only a rabbinic one... The Ramban writes... Also Abarbanel hints to the words of the Ramban... Similarly wrote the Rashbash (1,2,3) , and the Shelah, and so seems to be the opinion of the Mabit... So it is clear that living in Israel is a positive biblical commandment and if someone who takes an oath not to fulfill this commandment, the oath does not take effect.
R. Shelomoh MiLublin: (author of Cheshek Shelomoh, in his approbation to the booklet "Kuntres Mitzvas Yishuv Eretz Yisra'el") It is clear that the Halakhah is so, that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisra'el even applies today, and it is a very dear mitzvah.
Maharam Schick: (YD 255) The Rav in Me'il Tzedakah 26 explained well that certainly even today living in Israel is a mitzvah.
The following is reported about the Chazon Ish: (Pe'er HaDor vol. 2 pp.42-43)
When the war between the Jews and the Arabs intensified, a certain Jew living in a border-town asked the Chazon Ish if he could move his family to a safer area. The Chazon Ish answered, "Think about it. If all the people of your town did so, the border would move inwards and the territory of our settlement would be decreased!
Whenever he saw a Jew from the Diaspora who was visiting Eretz Yisra'el he would try to convince him to immigrate to and settle in The Land. "Eretz Yisra'el must be acquired with suffering and a lot of patience" he once said to a German rabbi who immigrated...
One day a young American tourist visited him. It was known that the Chazon Ish would try to convince him to stay in Eretz Yisra'el... The Chazon Ish asked the tourist, "Did you come to stay in The Land?" Upon the negative response he asked "But is it permissable to leave Eretz Yisra'el?" The tourist was surprised. "I heard that if you come to Eretz Yisra'el with the intention of leaving it is permitted to leave!" The Chazon Ish sighed and said dissapointedly, "You're trying to find ways to leave The Land when we are all trying our hardest to get people to immigrate!"
Some yeshivah students learning in Israel with the intention of returning to the Diaspora came to the Chazon Ish asking if they should observe the second day of Yom Tov (which is observed in the Diaspora but not in Eretz Yisra'el). The Chazon Ish answered, "Can that be considered an "intention" ("da'as")? What kind of Jew has the intention to leave The Land!"
After the Israeli government passed the law of mandatory army service for women, which many Halakhic authorities including the Chazon Ish held was forbidden and carried the law of "yehareg ve'al ya'avor--that a person should allow himself to be killed rather than transgress", the Chazon Ish was approached with a question--whether the obligation of aliyah was still binding if it meant exposing one's daughter to that tragic situation. He answered in the affirmative.
There are many more sources to quote, but this is not the place. In addition to it being a mitzvah, the following authorities, among others, explicitly speak of living outside of Israel as a sin: The Rosh (on Yevamos 64a), Yam Shel Shelomoh (Yevamos Chap. 6 �32), Levush (in Levush Orah Bereshis16:3 and Levush Malkhus EH 154:11), Derishah (on Tur EH 154 �7), Responsa Ziknei Yehudah (by R. Yehudah Aryeh of Modinah, �2), Responsa Chakham Tzevi (�41), Responsa Noda Bihudah (vol. 1 EH �1).
Before we end we will mention that there is a Halakhic discussion concerning the law that a husband and wife who lived together for ten years without children must divorce. Some authorities say that if they are living in chutz la'aretz, the ten years don't count because it could be a punishment for not living in Israel. They explain that this is why Avraham didn't complain to God about not having children until he came to the Eretz Yisra'el.
W e have demonstrated that living in Israel is a tremendous mitzvah. Every four cubits one walks in Israel is another mitzvah! It is one of the only two mitzvos that can be fulfilled in your sleep (the other being living in a Sukkah on Sukkot). Why is it so neglected? One of the Torah's curses for sinning is that we will be forced to live in chutz la'aretz as strangers instead of at home in our own land. Why do people consciously choose a curse? It would seem that the only religious Jews justified in living in chutz la'aretz today are the rabbis and teachers keeping Jews Jewish. But even they should ask themselves if they are really needed and if in their absence, their work wouldn't be carried out by others.
A person who still wants to live in chutz la'aretz should at least approach a recognized Halakhic authority, a posek, and ask him if, given his personal situation, profession and so on he is permitted to live in chutz la'aretz. We ask poskim about much less significant issues, so certainly we should consult about this one, the mitzvah that is worth all the rest put together. Some of the contemporary poskim have said that a posek living in Eretz Yisra'el must be asked this question, since asking someone living in chutz la'aretz is like asking a posek to rule concerning a mikveh that he has never seen. In any event, a question must be asked.
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