Mitzva to live in Israel

The Mitzva of Living in Israel -

Draft - Not Final Version

דברים כ״ט:יג

I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Hashem our G-d and with those who are not with us here this day.

וְלֹ֥א אִתְּכֶ֖ם לְבַדְּכֶ֑ם אָנֹכִ֗י כֹּרֵת֙ אֶת־הַבְּרִ֣ית הַזֹּ֔את וְאֶת־הָאָלָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

כִּי֩ אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֶשְׁנ֜וֹ פֹּ֗ה עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ עֹמֵ֣ד הַיּ֔וֹם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְאֵ֨ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵינֶ֛נּוּ פֹּ֖ה עִמָּ֥נוּ הַיּֽוֹם׃

After studying the mitzva of living in Israel for years, I have merited to stand before Torah giants to hear their opinion on the matter. I have added to the traditional sources, knowledge of Jewish history, as well. I encourage the Torah scholar and non-scholar alike to examine this great mitzva. There will be a plethora of sources given regarding this mitzva, all I ask from the Torah scholar is patience, all is contained here, כל המאמר מקומות וכל שלב בעליית עץ הדעת מוכן לעמוד עליו ואין לדלג Introduction to Mitzvos: In order to introduce the reader to the Mitzva of Living in Israel, I must first introduce you, dear reader to the origin of the mitzvos. Then I will introduce the concept of Jewish law, the code guiding how to apply and fulfill the mitzvos. The mitzvos as we know them today began with the giving of the Torah over 3,332 years ago. The giving of the Torah was witnessed by millions of Jews in the Sinai desert. At that moment, Moshe our teacher ascended into the heavenly realm for 40 days and 40 nights and then descended with the teachings that were accepted by the children of Israel. These teachings that Moshe continued to teach throughout the forty years of wandering in the desert, constituted the Jewish connection to divinity, encompassing the ultimate mission and purpose of Jewish existence, binding and obligatory throughout all generations. The children of Israel swore that all Jewish descendants from then until the end of time will keep these mitzvos. The Torah was and is obligatory for a Jew as is Jewish law, for all generations. The mitzva to live in Israel truly exists only in this environment. Without it, all relevance is lost, all of its meaning. It can only matter to those who have accepted the yoke of mitzvos upon them to begin with. Even if you have not yet accepted mitzvos in any form, it is imperative all Jews continue investigating this mitzva. I will explain G-d willing as time goes on. In Torah law, we find the philosophical and ethical basis for Judaism. In Torah we find the glue that binds all Jews together, and our purpose, our life's goals, and our pathway to the divine. These laws, also known as halacha, represent such an important part of Jewish life, that Jews were willing to give their lives over and over throughout history, starting with Avraham and Yitzchak, Avraham having been willing to give up his future hope and only son, Yitzchak in his binding, and Yitzchak willing to give up his life, all to satisfy G-d's eternal will and plan for the Jewish people. Halacha is no trifling matter, halacha defines the essence of the Jewish soul and the last remnant of divinity. The mitzvos were given at the Mountain of Sinai and witnessed by over three million Jews (see Shemos 12:37, Targum Yonason Ben Uziel) and millions of Jews to this day live up to its creed. The question arises how did halacha evolve and how does one know if they follow an authentic tradition or not? What makes one view of halacha binding over another? We must explore all of this before we explore the nature of the mitzvah to live in Israel. Simply put without reference to an authentic, obligatory halacha originating from Mount Sinai, there is no framework to convince the reader that not only does the mitzvah to live in Israel exist but it contains all of the mitzvos. Historical proofs and traditional sources will reveal all, I just ask patience from the reader. The mitzva has been at the forefront of the Jewish conscience for eighty years and needs investigation. What is so unique about this mitzva as opposed to any other? Let's look at this mitvza in depth and discover how it has been a focal point of contention and defined the very course of Jewish history. With over three million eye witnesses to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu (our Teacher) instructed the nation with the details of the 613 mitzvos. Moshe transmitted his knowledge to Aharon, Yehoshua and the Elders (Zekainim). Those elders transmitted to the Prophets and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. This is referred to in the first Mishna of Pirkei Avos, the Ethics of our Fathers משנה אבות א׳ משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. The only written Torah was the five books, the explanation was all oral. The oral teaches became known as Torah Shel Baal Pe (The Oral Tradition). There is ample proof of existence of the Oral Torah, the entire Mishna and Gemara are part of the Oral Torah. The Oral Torah was only written down because of fear of being lost due to Roman perseuction. In actuality there are thousands of mitzvos but the count of 613 has been codified by numerous Middle age Torah authorties, known as the Rishonim. Included in this is the Rambam, also known as Maimonides, a great pillar of Jewish thought. The Rambam's work detailing the 248 positive mitzvos and 365 negative mitzvos, is the most definitive work, guiding our perceptions of what constitutes Torah obligations. On that work, comments the Ramban, also known as Nachmonides. The well known Sefer HaChinuch is based on the Rambam's work and by and large he agrees to most of the Rambam's classifications on what constitutes Torah obligations. About one to two million Jews in the world today consider the mitzvos binding and obligatory. We understand secular laws against stealing and murder, but not specifically divine. What a world of difference in the world of Torah! This is where Jews of Orthodox faith diverge from all other groups, in that (in theory) they view the mitzvos as absolute divine law, with severe consequences to those who break that law. In midieval spain in the year 1478, Jews were tortured and murdered for not denying the mitzvos. Records have been kept of the names of the tortured and their refusal to convert. There is a reason why Jews at that time, decided to die instead of convert. It is not simply that "Jews are a stubborn people", as written in the Shmos (Exodus) 32:9, וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֖רֶף הֽוּא׃ The LORD further said to Moses, “I see that this is a stiffnecked people. There is no reason for them to not convert out of Judaism other than Jews were deeply commited to Torah and mitzvos and considered them divine law that even in death they could not transgress. The famous liturgy of Yom Kippur, UN'Saneh Tokef, documents Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, Germany refusal to convert out of Judaism, even when faced with dismemberment and death. In addition, given the assimilation rates of modern times, which intensely parallel the viewpoint that the 613 mitzvos as codified by the Rambam are not obligatory, G-d forbid, how can we explain that Jewish assimilation was negligable for 2000 years of exile? Simple math tells us in order for a people to survive 2000 years in exile they cannot intermarry or there will not be any living survivor 2000 years later who can claim they are Jewish. We know based on numerous family trees, historical records of Inquisition, lack of assimilation for thousands of years, and a chain of traditional Torah writings dating back to Moshe at Mount Sinai, that Jews kept these mitzvos to be sacred, and chose death time and again rather than violate these laws. The entire story of Chanukah is based on refusal of the Jew to violate the mitzvos of Shabbos, learning Torah (the dreitel was spun to conceal Torah discussion), Bris Mila and illicit relations. Purim is the story of Mordechai's refusal to bow to an idol around Haman's neck, risking death in order to not violate Torah law. Today we have numerous Jews risking their lives throughout the land of Israel to fulfill the mitzva of living in Israel, and the historical chain was never broken. The first step in understanding the mitzva of living in Israel is to understand the absolute divine immutable obligation to perform mitzvos. In order to climb the next step on the ascent to holiness, you must internalize this, the unbroken chain of over three thousand years continues in you, to the extent that you fulfill this obligation. Once you accept these mitzvos in totality, also known as accepting the yoke of heaven, you have already ascended into the realm of kudesha, of Jewish holiness. It is only at that moment, that you have accepted incorporated and practiced the 613 mitzvos, can I explain to you this precious mitzva, that all of the other 613 mitzvos depend upon. THE MITZVA TO LIVE IN ISRAEL When we discuss the mitzva of living in Israel, we are not merely discussing one mitzva! The mitzva to live in Israel symbolizes keeping the entire Torah. This is This means the Gemara is giving clear psak halacha that it is obligatory to pick oneself up from exile and ascend to the land of Israel. It clearly negates the idea that a "strong Jewish community in exile"outweighs the mitzva of living in Israel. The Gra from Vilna poskins this Braissa as halacha in Yoreh Daeh 267:84. For an in depth shiur on the mitzva of living in Israel see Secrets of Eretz Yisrael in Halacha by clicking on the following link https://www.torahcafe.com/peretz-teller/secrets-of-eretz-yisrael-in-jewish-law-video_ecd1e3625.html