Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel


Parshat Behar
The Importance of Living in Eretz Yisrael
by Rabbi Shmuel Knopfler

Image result for land of israel
In Parashat Behar… we learn of the special relationship that the Jewish people have to the land of Israel, and of the special obligations that apply to those who dwell in the Holy Land.
Parashat Behar details the mitzvot of Shmita, the sabbatical year in which the land lays fallow every seventh year, and Yovel, the jubilee that is observed in the fiftieth year. The Torah, in this parasha, also mandates the practice of redeeming the land in the jubilee year, outlines the regulations regarding the purchasing of resident houses in walled cities, calls for the establishment of cities for the Levites and pronounces guidelines for preventing poverty.


After warning the people against lending money on interest, the Torah boldly states, in Vayikra 25:38, “Ani Hashem Elokeichem ahsher hotzaytee etchem meEretz Mitzrayim lihot lahchem et Eretz Canaan, lihyoht lachem lelokim,”I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be G-d onto you. The juxtaposition in this verse of receiving the land of Israel as a Divine gift, and the peoples’relationships with G-d, is seen by many commentators as an obligation upon the people who live in Israel to be a sanctified people. Residents of Israel are expected to follow the instructions of the Torah, no matter how challenging they may appear to be, such as not taking interest on loans and allowing the land to lie fallow–unworked for an entire year.
In his comments on this verse, Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105, foremost commentator on the Bible) underscores the specialness of the land of Israel, and the relationship of the Jewish people to the land. Citing a Midrash from Torat Kohanim 54, and a Talmudic statement in Ketubot 110b, Rashi says that whoever resides in the land of Israel, “I [G-d] am a G-d to him, and whoever leaves the land of Israel, it is as one who worships idols.”
The Torah Temimah (written by the famed author, Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, 1860-1941) records the full citation from the Talmud in Ketubot 110b.
Our rabbis stated that a person should always live in the land of Israel, even in a city where the majority of the residents are gentile, and not live outside of Israel, even in a city where the majority of the residents are Jews. For those who dwell in the land of Israel are like those who have a G-d, while those who dwell outside of Israel are like idolaters. As it states (Leviticus 25:38), “To give you the land of Canaan, to be a G-d to you.”
To further substantiate the Talmudic citation, the Torah Temimah cites another verse, from I Samuel 26:19, where King David states, “For they have driven me out this day from being joined to the inheritance of G-d, saying, ‘Go worship other gods.’ Who, after all, forced King David to worship other gods? Rather, the verse comes to underscore that anyone who resides outside of Israel is regarded as worshiping alien gods.
The Torah Temimah explains that G-d’s relationship with the people of Israel is very much dependent on their dwelling in the land of Israel, where the Divine Presence itself dwells. Israel is a land that is especially chosen for prophecy and holiness. As the Bible states, in Deuteronomy 11:12, “A land that the L-rd your G-d seeks out at all times.” That is why G-d is often referred to as the “L-rd of the land.”
Ramban (Nachmanides, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spanish Torah commentator), as well as other Bible commentators, regard the verse in Numbers 33:53 as a positive Torah commandment to reside in Israel. The verse reads, You shall possess the Land and you shall settle in it, for to you have I given the land to possess it. In fact, the Midrash (Sifri, Re’eh 12:29) regards this mitzvah as so significant, that it regards the one mitzvah of dwelling in the land of Israel as equivalent in value to all the other Torah mitzvot combined.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Shulchan Aruch Even Haezer 75 according to all Poskim there is a Mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz.
The husband may force the wife to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, in case she refuses she loses her Ketubah. Conversely if she wants to make Aliyah & the husband refuses the wife may force a (get) divorce upon him ...
The Ramban in Sefer HaMitzvot in addition to the mandatory Mitzvat Yishuv HaAretz we are obligated to physically conquer to liberate Eretz Yisrael in a conquest from foreign rule ...

Yoeli said...

Adolf Eichmann mach shmoy quoted by 1960 Life Magazine:

https://books.google.com/books?id=0U0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%27In+the+years+that+followed+(after+1937)+I+often+said+to+Jews+with+whom+I+had+dealings+that,+had+I+been+a+Jews,+I+would+have+been+a+fanatical+Zionist.+I+could+not+imagine+anything+else.+In+fact,+I+would+have+been+the+most+ardent+Zionist+imaginable.%27&source=bl&ots=ALYu-R5t9v&sig=78jl52vF_CiEPkiEoo5Ww0HqpOA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0vLnt5PnMAhUKwGMKHUorCnQQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q='In%20the%20years%20that%20followed%20(after%201937)%20I%20often%20said%20to%20Jews%20with%20whom%20I%20had%20dealings%20that%2C%20had%20I%20been%20a%20Jews%2C%20I%20would%20have%20been%20a%20fanatical%20Zionist.%20I%20could%20not%20imagine%20anything%20else.%20In%20fact%2C%20I%20would%20have%20been%20the%20most%20ardent%20Zionist%20imaginable.'&f=false

‘In the years that followed (after 1937) I often said to Jews with whom I had dealings that, had I been a Jew, I would have been a fanatical Zionist. I could not imagine anything else. In fact, I would have been the most ardent Zionist imaginable.’

Dusiznies said...

10:17
And Hitler wrote in his book Mein Kampf ...that had he have been a Jew, he would have been the Satmar Rebbe ...

Unknown said...

On a serious note: Adolf Hitler mentions the fact that The
International Jew usurps the nations of the world but never puts an
effort in establishing his own independent nation ...
Hitler saw this as a sign of weakness from the Jew of not being to
secure a Jewish Nation for themselves ...
Had there been a Jewish State 100 years ago 10,000 Jews that were
gassed daily at Auschwitz would be disrupted by one overflight daily
by The IDF disrupting the railways to the death camps.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Knopfler
Now it's time to learn this week's parsha from shlishi to reviei THE TOCHACHA and see for yourself the danger of living in EY when acting like people are acting nowadays

Anonymous said...

I don't know what he wrote in his book, what i do know is that the Jewish Hitler is YOU! So i guess he didn't write it, it's just a fact that you are the gilgul of Hitler! As i said before ORUR YOLADTECHO

Dusiznies said...

12:06
The Tochacha already happened when six million Jews were brutally murdered because they listened to their misguided leaders who told them to remain in Europe and die like sheep .... the Zionists and the ones who listened to the Zionist made aliyah and survived ....

12:10
You write "I don't know what he wrote in his book," didn't you read the comic book Al Ha"gilah?

Anonymous said...

The tochecha happened when the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, 2,000 years ago because they didn't live according to the Torah. According to 12:06 then, it would have been better to stay in the desert just like the Spies wanted. The danger in living in Eretz Yisroel today is the hate, maklokes and chillul Hashem that the religious right make. Probably your twisted mind never thought about that.

Unknown said...

The Torah says: "Einei Hashem Elokecha Mereishis Hashana ad Achris Shana"
that is only in Eretz Yisrael & not in Chutz LaAretz ...
Today in Eretz Yisrael we have over 6 million Jews & over 2 million
Shomrei Torah
In Goldene America we have 6 million Jews with 450,000 Shomrei Torah
In Eretz Yisrael we have 300 monthly Torah publications
In America we have merely 30
Where does Hashem shep more nachas ... ?

Anonymous said...

You already proved time and again what ignorant finsterer amoretz you are, but now you added to your resume how tzudreit and meahuga you are, the TOCHACHA says very clear why it's going to happen, and yes it happened because of what's written in the Torah AND THAT'S THE ZIONIST IDEOLOGY, AND FOR THE SAME REASON THERE'S NO PEACEFUL LIFE AND WILL NEVER BE IN ERETZ YISROEL, ANI MATIR ES BESARCHEM, You like it or not is irrelevant, of course Hashem is a ERECH APAYIM but not forever and when time comes not you and not your mentors will be able to prevent the fulfilment of vechol haminim kerega yoveidu and this atheistic Amaleky Nazi-zionistic with all their firepower will be wiped off and only after that we'll be zoicha to go back to EY with the coming of Moshiach

1:08
And today in "Israel" where over 1.5 million children are being educated with hate to Hashem vetoroso and don't even know of the existence of SHEMA YISROEL and all toeivo of dor hamabul is welcomed like in no other place THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL FOLLOWING THE TORAH? But honestly what did you smoke or drink before writing your crazy comment?

Anonymous said...

6,52** And your bunch support toeva and money giving politicians here in the USA. So you call that following the Torah.
There are also 6 million children who do learn the Shema in Israel

Anonymous said...

I'm 1:08,
You didn't answer to my point of the religious causing hate, macklokes and chillul Hashem in Israel, b ut you want to blame toeva. The sefirah mourning period is about sinas chinum between talmidei chachamim , not toeva.
The 2,000 year galut and destruction of Bet Hamikdash was also because of baseless hatred and machlokes and not toeva. First fix your disgusting embarrassing public dirty behaviour in Israel and then fix other people's problems.

Anonymous said...

7:34
Of course i didn't answer to your point because first you said that the TOCHACHA happened at the destruction of the BHM"K because they didn't follow the Torah and afterwards you're jumping back thousand plus years to the dessert and finally you got busy with machlokes, and now in your latest comment you got busy with sefira and machlokes, so therefore? What's with the TOCHACHA? Machlokes and sinas chinom causes trouble but if KY does what we're warned in the TOCHACHA that causes destruction and holocaust ANI MATIR ES BESARCHEM is not a punishment for machlokes

? said...

You do realize not everyone believes in gilgals! right?? Rav Sadia Goan fought against the goyish idea of reincarnation!

? said...

Tell me it must bother you that your chasidus is named after jesus's mother! Saint mary is satmer . Maybe thats why satmer give the image of machmirim because their chasidus is named after a charecter from another religion!

Dusiznies said...

The Rabbeinu Tam in Tosfos, Shabbos 58a, s.v. UShmuel, writes that the zchus of the Avos has run out, but the covenant of the Avos has not run out... and therefore it is expicit in the Torah in this week's parsha at the end of the Tochecha
"yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of the enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them; I am the L-ord their G-D"
This states explicitly that the covenant cannot be abrogated due to aveirois as is clear in that pasuk "upon the corpses of your idols" ... though they are idolaters, the covenant is still in effect.
The same covenant exists for every individual Jew as well, as the Vilna Gaon writes in Prshas Nitzavim:
"the Messianic era is not dependent on merits and actions at all.
The Ramban writes in Parshas Haazinu:"the promise of the geulah has no conditions attached to it of repentance and service, but it is promised to come in any case..This is what many pesukim in chapters 37 and 37 in Yechezkil teach, almost explicitly, namely, that the final redemption does not depend on repentance and good deeds at all; it is guaranteed to come in any case.
Therefore, the true redempt...revealed in the dwelling in the land and Israel's rebirth in it ....is the renewal of settlement of the land along with the ingathering of the exiles.

Anonymous said...

To the Israel hater and tochecha expert here, read your tochecha again, because VEHAARETZ EZKOR, means that in the merit of eretz yisroel, G-D will help the Jewish people .Meaning, in the merit of returning and building the land, G-D will also return to the Jewish people and the Redemption will occur.