Bamidbar (33:53) And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and live in it; for I have given you the land to possess it.
Or HaChaim (Bamidbar 33:53) and you will take possession of the land and dwell in it, etc." Rashi explains that the commandment is to drive out the people, whereas the words: "you will dwell in it" are a promise; Nachmanides explains that the commandment is to dwell in the land and that this verse is the halachic basis for Ketuvot 110 that, "that one may force all the members of one's household to migrate to the land of Israel."
Ramban (Bamidbar 33:53) In my opinion this is a positive commandment, in which He is commanding them to dwell in the Land and inherit it, because He has given it to them and they should not reject the inheritance of the Eternal…. And that which our Rabbis have emphasized, the significance of the commandment of settling in the Land of Israel, and that it is forbidden to leave it , and that they consider a woman who does not want to emigrate with her husband to live in the Land of Israel as a “rebellious wife,” and likewise the man — the source of all these statements is here in this verse where we have been given this commandment, for this verse constitutes a positive commandment. This commandment He repeats in many places, such as Go in and possess the Land.
Igros Moshe (E.H. I #102) Question: Is there is a mitzvah to make aliyah today like the Ramban or is the halacha like Tosfos that there is no mitzva today? Answer The majority of poskim rule that it is still a mitzva. However it is not an absolutely obligatory mitzva on everyone because that would mean it is prohibited to live outside of Israel. It is similar to the mitzva of tzitzis. It is prohibited to wear a four corner garment without tzitzis but there is no Torah command to wear a four cornered garment. . The mitzva is directed to those who live in Israel that it is prohibited to leave and settle outside of Israel. Rather it means it is a fulfillment of a mitzva when a person lives in Israel . This mitzvah is “kiyumis” not “chiyuvis”. In other words there is no obligation to do it but if you do it it is a meritorious act for which you receive reward
Igros Moshe (YD III #122) Question: Is there is a mitzvah to make aliyah today like the Ramban or his the halacha like Tosfos that there is no mitzva today? Answer I want to clarify what I have written previously concerning living in Israel. I am not saying it is only a Rabbinic decree to live in Israel today. There is no reason that such a rabbinic decree should be made since we are widely dispersed around the world in exile. Consequently it is impossible for most Jews to fulfill it. It is well known that for many years after the period of Tanaim that very few people lived in Israel and never reached a level more than one out of a thousand. It is only in modern times after the main settlement of Jews was destroyed by the Nazis and the persecution by those haters of religion in Russia that a significant population developed in Israel. So even if someone wants to claim there was a rabbinic decree it would be meaningless since it obviously was never accepted by most Jews or even a significant minority. Therefore there is only a Torah mitzva and no rabbinic one. But it is possible to at least say it is an important and desirable thing
Tosfos (Kesubos 110b) Rabbeinu Chaim HaCohen says there is no longer a mitzva to settle in Israel because it is dangerous to travel there and in addition it is difficult to observe the mitzvos that are unique to living there.
Rav Tzadok (Vayechi 47:28) Yakov lived in Egypt for 17 years, It says in the Zohar that these 17 years were the main ones of his life.He did not suffer and was not bothered by the yetzer harah.and it was like Olam HaBah.
> since it obviously was never accepted by most Jews or even a significant minority.
ReplyDeleteThis statement seems to be inaccurate. It's not that it was never accepted but was simply impossible. Before 1948, certainly before 1918, had large numbers of Jews decided to move to Israel and start building it up, they would've been opposed by the ruling authorties and likely denied entry. We see that there were some attempts at "mass aliyah" by the Talmidei HaBesht and Gra but those were small numbers and they built nothing, opting to just join the existing impoverished community. The question is: had the Turks, after first conquering the Land, announced "Like Cyrus, we support a Jewish province in Israel and will help establish it. Now Jews, let's see you immigrate!" there might've been a large movement in that direction, especially after the Spanish expulsion.
The tzitzis example is also problematic because, while true, how often did Rav Moshe, zt"l, go around without one on because his were all in the laundry? Despite there being no mitzvah to own a tallis, it's considered unacceptable not to own on so we could say the same about Israel - it's not forbidden to live in Golus but given all the statements in the Gemara about how that's like worshipping idols and living in impurity combined with the ability to simply move to Israel today, why would it be different?
As for Rav tzadok, first he lived before Zionism began so again, moving to Israel, an empty desert where you were guaranteed to live in hardship, poverty and danger, was not a realistic option. But using Yaakov Avinu as an example is also not completely accurate since Yaakov Avinu didn't initially come down to live in Egypt but just to wait out the fast. It's just that he didn't want to leave Yosef and Yosef couldn't leave Egypt. Don't forget - he refused to be buried there. Once he was dead and couldn't benefit from being near Yosef, he wanted his body to make aliyah.