eretz yisrael - shittas harambam ligabai mitzvas yishuv eretz yisrael

why is it important (is it important) to live in eretz yisrael? 

we know that the ramban thinks that there is a mitzvas aseh to live in israel.  however, the rambam famously leaves this mitzvah out of his minyan hamitzvos.  there have been lots of totally incorrect ideas people have decided on in the rambam.  (one particular one that never ceases to amaze me is this idea that the rambam holds that the mitzvah to live in israel is a mitvah that is kollel kol hatorah kulah, and therfore isnt counted as per the shoroshim of the rambam.  if anyone ever tells you this, you know they've never opened a rambam in their lives.)

the clearest proof that the rambam disagrees with the ramban is the rambam's statement in hilchos melachim - ומותר לשכון בכל העולם חוץ מארץ מצרים - it is permitted to live anywhere in the world.  according to the ramban, that is not true! (people like to talk about the ramban without somehow realizing what obviously follows) - it is a bittul mitzvas aseh to live in chutz laaretz, according to the ramban.  this is scary.

but the rambam doesnt think living in eretz yisrael is obligatory.  except, we come to the following difficulty. two halachos later, the rambam writes:  אסור לצאת מארץ ישראל לחוצה לארץ לעולם, אלא ללמוד תורה או לישא אשה או להציל מן העכו"ם ויחזור לארץ - from where do we derive the issur to leave eretz yisrael if there is no mitzvah to live in eretz yisrael?

the meiri, following in the rambam's footsteps of leaving out the mitzvah to live in eretz yisrael,writes some things that are (to my mind) quite troubling.  chazal say "a person should always live in eretz yisrael - even in a city that is majority non-jewish - instead of living in chutz laaretz in a city that is majority jewish."  on the surface, this chazal attests to something special about eretz yisrael beyond the fact that it is a good religious environment because of all the tzaddikim who live there.  the meiri undermines this: לעולם ידור אדם בארץ ישראל אפילו בעיר שרובה גוים ולא ידור בחוצה לארץ אף בעיר שרבה ישראל שחוצה לארץ דירת קבע לגוים ולעובדי האלילים ואי איפשר שלא ללמוד מדרכיהם - even if the city  in chutz laaretz has majority jews, the culture will still be that of the non-jewish world around.

but if you could find a place in chutz laaretz which wont be influenced by the surrounding culture, then, says the meiri, it is (and it should be painful to write this) just as good as eretz yisrael.  and i quote:וכשם שאסור לצאת מארץ ישראל לחוצה לארץ כך אסור לצאת מבבל לשאר ארצות שכל מקום שחכמה ויראת חטא מצויין שם דינו כארץ ישראל וכמו שאמרו כל הדר בבבל כאלו דר בארץ ישראל שכל מה שאמרו לא אמרו אלא מפני שסתם חוצה לארץ אין חכמה ויראת חטא מצויין בה לישראל לרוב הצרות ועול הגליות שסובלים שם - the gemara says that just like it is prohibited to leave eretz yisrael, it is also prohibited to leave bavel.  why? the meiri explains:  because any place where wisdom and fear of g-d is found is "ki-eretz yisrael".

as i hope to show in a second, thank g-d, the rambam argues entirely on this meiri.  and i am sure you have heard of the phrase  "berlin is our jerusalem."  it was not only the reform who made this claim; unfortunately, many of the religious felt this way too - and we know all too well what happened to the jews who did not flee germany. (i do not pass judgement - all i say is that it is a historical truth that those who left europe to go to eretz yisrael were saved.)  check out the meshech chochma in parshas bechukosai where he speaks very sharply about this point.

the rambam (all based on gemaras) clearly does not accept the equation between bavel and eretz yisrael.  and i quote: גדולי החכמים היו מנשקין על תחומי ארץ ישראל ומנשקין אבניה ומתגלגלין על עפרה, וכן הוא אומר כי רצו עבדיך את אבניה ואת עפרה יחוננו. - gedolei hachachamim loved the very land of israel, kissing it's stones and rolling in it's dirt.  why in the world would they feel that way according to the meiri?

אמרו חכמים כל השוכן בארץ ישראל עונותיו מחולין... גדולי החכמים היו מוליכים מתיהם לשם. צא ולמד מיעקב אבינו ויוסף הצדיק - again, being buried in eretz yisrael should be meaningless if its only about the religious atmosphere.

the rambam, when he quotes the prohibition to leave bavel, gives a very different reason (based on his read of the gemara kesubos): כשם שאסור לצאת מהארץ לחוצה לארץ כך אסור לצאת מבבל לשאר הארצות, שנאמר בבלה יובאו ושמה יהיו. - that pasuk is hashem telling klal yisrael that they will be exiled to bavel and will remain there until hashem brings them out. how did chazal learn out from a prophecy that we will be in bavel that it is forbidden to leave bavel?

i think we are lead to the following conclusion:  it may be that there is no command to stay in bavel, but rather there is only a prophecy that hashem will keep us in bavel.  but a prohecy reflects ratzon hashem - even if its not a command, ratzon hashem is also mechayev.   hence, it was forbidden to leave bavel.

the ramban, when attacking the rambam for leaving out the mitzvah of yishuv eretz yisrael, explains that this mitzvah is based off an explicit pasuk: "vihorashtem es haaretz viyshavtem bah" - you shall conquer the land and dwell within it".  how does the rambam deal with the pasuk?  the simple explanation is that the the rambam believes that the phrase viyshavtem bah is not a command; rather it is a havtacha- hashem is promising us that we will be able to live peacefully on our land.  and yet, as we just saw, it does not follow from the fact that a pasuk is a havtacha/nevua and not a mitzvah that there are no obligations that stem from the pasuk.  ratzon hashem is also mechayev - hence it is forbidden to leave eretz yisrael.

 another way of formulating this idea is as follows: belief in nevuah naturally obligates one to act in accordance to that belief.  and that leads me to a very powerful story recorded by r aharon soloveitchik in a circa 1970 tradition article later republished in his book, logic of the heart logic of the mind.  a group of people came to ask r yosef chaim sonnenfeld if they could lie about their country of origin (switching from something like romania to hungary, dont remember exactly) to obtain a visa from the british to enter palestine.  he paskined that it was assur.  they subsequently asked him if they could lie and claim that their country of origin was palestine.  to this r yosef paskined muttar.  why is this different.  he explained:  the gemara in kesubos darshens the pasuk ולציון יאמר איש ואיש יולד בה והוא יכוננה עליון א"ר מיישא בר בריה דר' יהושע בן לוי אחד הנולד בה ואחד המצפה לראותה - the navi writes that both those who were born in eretz yisrael, and those that long to be there are considered to be bnei eretz yisrael.  to r yosef, this was so real that he didnt consider it a lie for a jew to claim palestine as his country of origin.

the avodah of yom yerushalayim is to try to feel that way.  its not my place to be preaching -  yafeh naeh doresh vinaeh mikayem.  but i just wanted to write these ideas down.  please god, we should all merit to see the complete re-establishment of yerushalayim bimheirah biyameinu!