Facts About Judaism

[LittleNipper]

Matthew 17:24-27 Jesus pays the temple tax.

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.

27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

 

[rylah]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

 

[fncceo]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

Does it actually matter?

 

[rylah]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

Does it actually matter?

It matters if You care about truth,
especially in our post modern world.

What is important in my view, is the reformation,
all these arguments that resound disputations of the past
are looking ever pitiful when not confined by the Church's guards.

 

[Newtonian]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

Does it actually matter?

It matters if You care about truth,
especially in our post modern world.

What is important in my view, is the reformation,
all these arguments that resound disputations of the past
are looking ever pitiful when not confined by the Church's guards.

So, can you post a brief summary concerning the magi of Mathew 2:1? Variant translations and the reasons for them are relevant: See some of these here:

Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

NW ref footnote on "astrologers" in Mt.2:1

"Or, “magi.” Gr., maʹgoi."

(GNB) Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem

The Bible condemns astrology - it is a form of spiritism.

 

[fncceo]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

Does it actually matter?

It matters if You care about truth,
especially in our post modern world.

What is important in my view, is the reformation,
all these arguments that resound disputations of the past
are looking ever pitiful when not confined by the Church's guards.

So, can you post a brief summary concerning the magi of Mathew 2:1? Variant translations and the reasons for them are relevant: See some of these here:

Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

NW ref footnote on "astrologers" in Mt.2:1

"Or, “magi.” Gr., maʹgoi."

(GNB) Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem

The Bible condemns astrology - it is a form of spiritism.

Astrology laid the groundwork for Astronomy, just as Alchemy gave us the tools to discover Chemistry.

Astrology is only spiritism if you believe in spirits.

 

[Newtonian]

Are Matthew’s Magi Jewish or Pagan? How do They Set Up Jews? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds

Does it actually matter?

It matters if You care about truth,
especially in our post modern world.

What is important in my view, is the reformation,
all these arguments that resound disputations of the past
are looking ever pitiful when not confined by the Church's guards.

So, can you post a brief summary concerning the magi of Mathew 2:1? Variant translations and the reasons for them are relevant: See some of these here:

Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

This is an authorized Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

wol.jw.org

NW ref footnote on "astrologers" in Mt.2:1

"Or, “magi.” Gr., maʹgoi."

(GNB) Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem

The Bible condemns astrology - it is a form of spiritism.

Astrology laid the groundwork for Astronomy, just as Alchemy gave us the tools to discover Chemistry.

Astrology is only spiritism if you believe in spirits.

Your opinion - so how do you think astrologers foretell the future?

The Torah condemns all forms of spiritism. My favorite translation:

Deuteronomy 18:10-14
10 There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire,+ anyone who employs divination,+ anyone practicing magic,+ anyone who looks for omens,+ a sorcerer,+ 11 anyone binding others with a spell, anyone who consults a spirit medium+ or a fortune-teller,+ or anyone who inquires of the dead.+ 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable practices Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you. 13 You should prove yourself blameless before Jehovah your God.+

14 “For these nations that you are dispossessing used to listen to those practicing magic+ and divination,+ but Jehovah your God has not allowed you to do anything like this.

NW ref:

Deuteronomy 18:14
“For these nations whom you are dispossessing used to listen to those practicing magic+ and to those who divine;+ but as for you, Jehovah your God has not given* you anything like this.+

From the Greek LXX:
Deuteronomy 18:14
(ABP+) G3588 ForG1063 these nationsG1484 G3778 whichG3739 youG1473 inheritG2624.1 them,G1473 theseG3778 [2prognosticationsG2813.2 3andG2532 4divinationsG3131.1 1shall hear];G191 but to youG1473 G1161 [3did notG3756 4soG3779 5giveG1325 1 the LORD G2962 G3588 2your God].G2316 G1473

Astrology is a form of divination and also looking for omens.

 

[fncceo]

Your opinion - so how do you think astrologers foretell the future?

I know that ancient Astrologers could foretell the future.

Using only rudimentary observation tools, Astrologers were able to accurately predict the positions of stars to a high degree of accuracy (at least as high as the measuring tools allowed). They didn't really understand how they got to those positions, but they still get points for being right about the locations.

Astrologers kept amazingly accurate records that allowed proto-Astronomers like Kepler, Brahe, and Galileo to figure out what was really happening in the heavens. Without Astrology, we wouldn't have been able to discover Astronomy.

 

[Newtonian]

Your opinion - so how do you think astrologers foretell the future?

I know that ancient Astrologers could foretell the future.

Using only rudimentary observation tools, Astrologers were able to accurately predict the positions of stars to a high degree of accuracy (at least as high as the measuring tools allowed). They didn't really understand how they got to those positions, but they still get points for being right about the locations.

Astrologers kept amazingly accurate records that allowed proto-Astronomers like Kepler, Brahe, and Galileo to figure out what was really happening in the heavens. Without Astrology, we wouldn't have been able to discover Astronomy.

So how did the magi of Matthew 2:1 find Jesus, and why did Herod want to know his location?

Was the proverbial "star of Bethlehem" an actual star?

 

[fncceo]

So how did the magi of Matthew 2:1 find Jesus

I don't believe they did. I consider all of Xtian scriptures to be mythology.

 

[rylah]

Astrology was obsolete regarding Israel,
already since Abraham Avinu A"H,
Israel is beyond luck.

That it was said:

And He took him outside, and He said, "Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed."
- Beresheet 15:5​

And with that the first commandment given to all Israel,
was to count the months - "This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year." - Shemot 12:2;

And you shall keep [them] and do [them], for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the peoples, who will hear all these statutes and say, "Only this great nation is a wise and understanding people. "
-Devarim 4:6
​

Take Ramdan for example , Muslims have to fast a whole month because they don't know the exact (Lunar) dates, if it wasn't a matter of pride and tradition, all they had was to ask Jews, whom they've entirely cleansed from Arabia, nevertheless count both lunar and solar.

I don't remember which Hillel's calendar is in use, but it's the same till these days.
That argument was set long ago between diaspora and sages in the land of Israel.
All our life and dates are set around precise calculations of day/night time.

The stars were created for Israel to show the dates,
Astronomy is a natural knowledge of given tools in space.
Astrology is what's in Hebrew called 'Avodat Cochavim - form of idol worship.

But as said, by definition Israel is beyond that, if anything moon and sun serve Israel,
and if the occasion involves a special intervention in the order of nature,
Hashem sends a prophet to warn Israel and motivate participation.

"Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ajalon."
Joshuah 10:12​

 

[rylah]

Emor: Agents of holiness

Dvar Torah for Shabbat by Israel's first Asheknazi Chief Rabbi, Torah Luminary and iconic leader of Religious Zionism.

The Talmud in Nedarim 35b describes the kohanim as sheluchei didan, our agents. When they perform the Temple service, the kohanim act as our emissaries.

Yet this idea - that the kohanim act as agents for the Jewish people - appears to violate the legal definition of a shaliach. An agent acts on behalf of the one sending him (the principal), executing his wishes. The agent, however, can only do that which the principal himself is authorized to do.

So how can the kohanim perform the Temple service on our behalf, when we as non-kohanim are not permitted to serve there?

Potential vs. Actual
The parashah opens with a set of special directives for kohanim: “God spoke to Moses: Tell the kohanim, the sons of Aaron...” (Lev. 21:1). The text appears repetitive - “the kohanim, the sons of Aaron.” Why does the text need to emphasize that the kohanim are descendants of Aaron?

These two terms - “kohanim” and “sons of Aaron” indicate two different aspects of the special sanctity of kohanim. The first is an intrinsic holiness, passed down from father to son. The phrase “sons of Aaron” refers to this inherent holiness.

The second aspect is an additional layer of holiness as expressed by a kohen’s actual service in the Temple. This aspect is designated by the term “kohanim.” The verb le-khahein means “to serve,” so the word “kohanim” refers to their actual service in the Temple. Thus the term “sons of Aaron” refers to the kohanim’s inherited potential, while “kohanim” refers to their actualized state of priestly service.

The Chalal
Usually a kohen will have both potential and actual kohanic-holiness. Yet there are certain situations that allow us to distinguish between the two.

A kohen is forbidden to marry a divorced woman. Should he nonetheless marry a divorcee, his son falls into a special category. He is called a chalal, from the word chilul, “to defile holiness.” Despite his lineage as the son of a kohen, a chalal may not serve in the Temple.

Yet if a chalal went ahead and offered a korban, his offerings are accepted after the fact (Maimonides, Bi'at Mikdash 6:10). This is quite surprising. In general, a chalal has the legal status of a non-kohen. If a non-kohen brought an offering, his service would be disqualified. Why are a chalal’s offerings accepted?

The distinction between potential and actual kohanic status, between “sons of Aaron” and “kohanim,” allows us to understand the unusual status of a chalal. Due to the fact that he is the son of a divorcee, he has lost the actualized sanctity of a functioning kohen. But he still retains the inherited sanctity as a “son of Aaron.” 1 This intrinsic sanctity cannot be revoked. Therefore, while a chalal should not serve in the Temple, his offerings are accepted after the fact.

The Sages derived this ruling from Moses’ blessing of the tribe of Levi:

“May God bless his strength (cheilo), and favor the acts of his hands” (Deut. 33:11).

Even the acts of those who are chulin, who have lost part of their kohanic sanctity, are still acceptable to God (Kiddushin 66b).


Our Agents
We may now understand the description of kohanim as sheluchei didan, “our agents.” How can they be our emissaries in their Temple service when we ourselves are forbidden to perform this service?

In fact, the Torah speaks of the entire Jewish people as “a kingdom of kohanim” (Ex. 19:6). And Isaiah foresaw a future time in which “You will be called God’s kohanim. They will speak of you as the ministers of our God” (Isaiah 61:6).

Non-kohanim may not serve in the Temple, for they lack the holiness of actual priesthood. Yet every Jew has the quality of potential kohanic holiness. Because this inner holiness will be revealed in the future, the entire people of Israel are called “God’s kohanim.” And it is due to this potential holiness that the kohanim are able to serve as our agents and perform the Temple service on our behalf.

Israel’s Future Holiness
This understanding of the role of kohanim sheds a new light on the ceremony of Birkat kohanim, the special priestly benediction (as described in Num. 6:23-27). The purpose of their blessing is to awaken the latent kohanic holiness that resides within each member of the Jewish people. As the kohanim extend their arms to bless the people, they reach out toward Israel’s future state of holiness. Their outstretched arms - their zero'a netuyah - point to a future era, whose seeds (zera) are planted in the present.

“Via the established sanctity of kohanim in the nation, the entire nation will come to be a complete “kingdom of kohanim and a holy people” (Olat Re’iyah vol. I, p. 61)

Emor: Agents of holiness

Dvar Torah for Shabbat by Israel's first Asheknazi Chief Rabbi, Torah Luminary and iconic leader of Religious Zionism.

www.israelnationalnews.com

 

[irosie91]

Your opinion - so how do you think astrologers foretell the future?

I know that ancient Astrologers could foretell the future.

Using only rudimentary observation tools, Astrologers were able to accurately predict the positions of stars to a high degree of accuracy (at least as high as the measuring tools allowed). They didn't really understand how they got to those positions, but they still get points for being right about the locations.

Astrologers kept amazingly accurate records that allowed proto-Astronomers like Kepler, Brahe, and Galileo to figure out what was really happening in the heavens. Without Astrology, we wouldn't have been able to discover Astronomy.

So how did the magi of Matthew 2:1 find Jesus, and why did Herod want to know his location?

Was the proverbial "star of Bethlehem" an actual star?

good question-----is there any corroborating evidence that some "magi" which I kinda assume were zoroastrian guys, traveled to Bethlehem to see Jesus?
The zoroastrian "priests" were Literate. Jesus in
zoroastrian literature?

 

[Ria_Longhorn]

Most if not all the writers of the New Testament were Jews.

No, they were xtians.

Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the temple. They also lost Him there at age 12 during Passover. That sounds rather Jewish to me. Both Joseph and Mary were direct descendants of King David. I can't image Hitler would have allowed even them to get away with that...

The writers of the 'new testament' were all Greek-speaking xtians who lived a century after Jesus and his folks allegedly lived.

Sorry, but for instance the book of James was written by James the stepbrother of Jesus (who was actually begotten by Joseph the husband of Mary with Mary). The Book of Revelation the last book of the New Testament was written about 95 AD (not a century later) by John the Beloved Apostle of Jesus. Yes, Many Jews then knew Greek and also Aramaic. Saul of Tarsish was certainly a formidable Jewish prosecutor of the new converts and yet he saw a Vision of the Messiah an became a convert and teacher himself as Paul. He didn't live a century after Jesus.

They were oral traditions before they were written down; they're trying to be clever when babbling about dates re being 'written down', which means nothing when it comes to when they were preached and taught. And there or no anachronisms, which is why they can't use textual analysis to refute the early dates, since everything in the NT is indeed from the years attributed to in the texts, i.e. all before the fall of the Temple in 70 A.D. Most Jews didn't even know Hebrew by the time Christianity came along, so that argument re 'Greek' is merely stupid stuff only the uneducated would repeat. We know for a fact the writers were intimately familiar with Judaism, and with Jerusalem, and much of the ME and were contemporary writings with the times. Even more hilarious are the fools who repeatedly try and claim Constantine rewrote a bunch of stuff hundreds of years later; these are the Truly Stupid, and probably should have that tattooed on their foreheads to give warnings to the unsuspecting, since many of them could pass for normal looking in public, for short periods anyway.

Picaro wrote:
"We know for a fact the [New Testament] writers were intimately familiar with Judaism, and with Jerusalem, and much of the ME and were contemporary writings with the times."
= = = = = = = =

Ria_Longhorn:

Luke was a second or third generation Christian:

"Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you ..." -- Luke 1: 1-3

Luke's use of several Jesus narratives -- Mark and Matthew among them -- is an indication that his writing was not contemporaneous with the times, ie., Jesus's ministry. Luke was composed 50-55 years after the death of Jesus.

Luke also was not an accurate investigator (contrary to his assertion): Luke 24: 46-51 writes that Jesus ascended to heaven on the third day; yet in his book of Acts 1:3, 9-11, he writes that Jesus ascended to heaven after "appearing to them [the disciples] during forty days ..."

Here's Matthew's supposed familiarity with Judaism:

"Then [Jesus] took a cup [of wine], gave thanks, and gave it to [his disciples], saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.' " -- Matthew 26: 28

Ria_Longhorn:

Judaism regards blood as the essential component of all living things that its consumption is strictly prohibited! Even the non-Jew, Noah, and his descendants were prohibited from consuming it!
(Genesis 9: 4)

 

[BreezeWood]

Most if not all the writers of the New Testament were Jews.

No, they were xtians.

Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the temple. They also lost Him there at age 12 during Passover. That sounds rather Jewish to me. Both Joseph and Mary were direct descendants of King David. I can't image Hitler would have allowed even them to get away with that...

The writers of the 'new testament' were all Greek-speaking xtians who lived a century after Jesus and his folks allegedly lived.

Sorry, but for instance the book of James was written by James the stepbrother of Jesus (who was actually begotten by Joseph the husband of Mary with Mary). The Book of Revelation the last book of the New Testament was written about 95 AD (not a century later) by John the Beloved Apostle of Jesus. Yes, Many Jews then knew Greek and also Aramaic. Saul of Tarsish was certainly a formidable Jewish prosecutor of the new converts and yet he saw a Vision of the Messiah an became a convert and teacher himself as Paul. He didn't live a century after Jesus.

They were oral traditions before they were written down; they're trying to be clever when babbling about dates re being 'written down', which means nothing when it comes to when they were preached and taught. And there or no anachronisms, which is why they can't use textual analysis to refute the early dates, since everything in the NT is indeed from the years attributed to in the texts, i.e. all before the fall of the Temple in 70 A.D. Most Jews didn't even know Hebrew by the time Christianity came along, so that argument re 'Greek' is merely stupid stuff only the uneducated would repeat. We know for a fact the writers were intimately familiar with Judaism, and with Jerusalem, and much of the ME and were contemporary writings with the times. Even more hilarious are the fools who repeatedly try and claim Constantine rewrote a bunch of stuff hundreds of years later; these are the Truly Stupid, and probably should have that tattooed on their foreheads to give warnings to the unsuspecting, since many of them could pass for normal looking in public, for short periods anyway.

Picaro wrote:
"We know for a fact the [New Testament] writers were intimately familiar with Judaism, and with Jerusalem, and much of the ME and were contemporary writings with the times."
= = = = = = = =

Ria_Longhorn:

Luke was a second or third generation Christian:

"Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you ..." -- Luke 1: 1-3

Luke's use of several Jesus narratives -- Mark and Matthew among them -- is an indication that his writing was not contemporaneous with the times, ie., Jesus's ministry. Luke was composed 50-55 years after the death of Jesus.

Luke also was not an accurate investigator (contrary to his assertion): Luke 24: 46-51 writes that Jesus ascended to heaven on the third day; yet in his book of Acts 1:3, 9-11, he writes that Jesus ascended to heaven after "appearing to them [the disciples] during forty days ..."

Here's Matthew's supposed familiarity with Judaism:

"Then [Jesus] took a cup [of wine], gave thanks, and gave it to [his disciples], saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.' " -- Matthew 26: 28

Ria_Longhorn:

Judaism regards blood as the essential component of all living things that its consumption is strictly prohibited! Even the non-Jew, Noah, and his descendants were prohibited from consuming it!
(Genesis 9: 4)

"Then [Jesus] took a cup [of wine], gave thanks, and gave it to [his disciples], saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.' " -- Matthew 26: 28

.
good luck expecting picaro to justify their extremist view, they show up - scream then run away ...

 

[rylah]

How the Covid-19 pandemic brought Jewish education back to its parental source

A modern-day miracle unfolds in Orthodoxy as words from Rav Yitzchak Hutner of Chaim Berlin Yeshiva zts"l evolve to our period in isolation.

How the Covid-19 pandemic brought Jewish education back to its parental source

A modern-day miracle unfolds in Orthodoxy as words from Rav Yitzchak Hutner of Chaim Berlin Yeshiva zts"l evolve to our period in isolation.

www.israelnationalnews.com

 

[rylah]

The obligation to immigrate to Israel
Once, living in Israel involved existential and economic danger, so it was not obligatory, but nowadays the mitzvah obligates every Jew.

Q: Is every Jew in the world obligated to immigrate to Israel?

A: The mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz (settling the Land of Israel) is a general mitzvah that obligates the entire nation of Israel to inherit the Land, namely, to apply sovereignty over it, and settle it best in all respects. As it is written (Numbers 33: 53-54): ” You shall dispossess the inhabitants of the Land and dwell in it, for I have given the Land to you to possess it…to inherit the Land…” or as Ramban defined the mitzvah: “We were commanded to take possession of the Land which the Almighty, Blessed Be He, gave to our forefathers, to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaacov; and to not abandon it to other nations, or to leave it desolate” (Addendum to Sefer Hamitzvot of the Rambam, Positive Commandment 4).


The Mitzvah of the Clal Depends on the Individual
From the mitzvah of Clal Yisrael (the Jewish people as a whole) to settle the Land, stems the mitzvah obligating every individual Jew to live in the country, since it is impossible for Clal Yisrael to fulfill the mitzvah of settling the Land, Yishuv Ha’Aretz, without each individual being fully compliant with the obligation of the mitzvah - that is, unless practically all Jews actually reside in the country.

Also, we learned that from the Torah, the obligation to fulfill the category of mitzvot -dependent-on-the-Land which concern the public, such as challah, tithes - terumot and ma’asrot - depends on the majority of Jews residing in the Land, as it is written (Numbers 15:18): “When you come to the land to which I am bringing you.” Our Sages taught (Ketubot 25a): “‘When you come’ – I have spoken of the coming of all, and not of the coming of a portion of you,” and thus when Israel went up to Eretz Yisrael in the days of Ezra – their obligation in mitzvot was not from the Torah, but only rabbinic, Divrei Chachamim, since only a few came to Eretz Yisrael (Rambam, Hilchot Terumot 1:1-3; 26; Bikurim 5:5; Peninei Halakha: Kashrut 12: 10-11).

In the mitzvot of Shevi’it and Yovel (letting land lie fallow n the seventh year and the jubilee year), it is not enough for the majority of Jews to reside in the Land, but they also need to reside in their inheritances according to their tribes, as it is written (Leviticus 25:10): “Declare emancipation of slaves for the land and all who live on it” – ‘and all who live on it’ – only at the time when its inhabitants are there as where they should be, but not when they are intermingled” (Arachin 32b). The same is said of yovel, and the law of Shevi’it (also called shmitta) depends on the Yovel (Gittin 36a; Peninei Halakha: Shevi’it 5:3; 11:5).


The Obligation of the Individual to Live in Israel
In addition to the general mitzvah that the Land be under Israeli sovereignty and that practically all Jews live here, there is a mitzvah for every individual Jew to live in Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, even when the entire Land is completely ruled and populated by millions of Jews, from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates, the mitzvah for every Jew to live in Israel still remains intact.

Even in times when the non-Jews ruled the Land, and, seemingly, the addition of one extra Jew living there would not help the general cause, nevertheless, the individual mitzvah for every Jew to live in Israel remained in force. As our Sages of the Talmud said (Ketubot 110b): “At all times, a Jew should live in the Land of Israel, even in a city where the majority of its residents are idol worshipers, and not live outside of the Land, even in a city populated mainly by Jews, for anyone who lives in the Land of Israel is similar to one who possesses a God, while one who lives outside of the Land is similar to one who has no God.” And this was codified as halakha (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 5:12; Ishut 13:20).


Greater than Regular Mitzvot
Some claim that indeed, according to Ramban the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz is obligatory at all times, but according to Rambam, the mitzvah was obligatory only in the past, and for that reason, he did not count it as one of the 613 mitzvot. However, the truth is that Rambam did not count the mitvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz because it is more important than a regular mitvah, as he explained in the principles guiding his selection of the mitzvot in the Sefer HaMitzvot, namely, that it is not appropriate to enumerate mitzvot that encompass the entire Torah (as explained in “Eim Habanim Semeicha” Chap.3, Sect.7-10).

Indeed, the all-encompassing mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz underlies and is reflected in numerous mitzvot:

The first is the mitzvah to appoint a king, which is fulfilled in the Land of Israel, and aims to establish a rule expressing the sovereignty of the people of Israel over their country, and to organize their lives in the best possible way (Deuteronomy 17: 14-20; the Natziv’s ‘Ha’emek Davar’ ibid.; Mishpat Kohen 144).

As previously mentioned, the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz and the appointment of a king are contingent on the applicability of the public mitzvot dependent on the Land, such as shevi’it and yovel, terumot and ma’asrot, challah, and others.

The mitzvot of Yishuv Ha’Aretz and the appointment of a king, of course, depend on all the mitzvot associated with the building of the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and as our Sages said (Sanhedrin 20b):”Three commandments were given to Israel when they entered the land: 1) to appoint a king, 2) to cut off the seed of Amalek, and 3) to build themselves the Beit HaBechira (lit., the ‘Chosen House’, or the Holy Temple).”

The entire system of mitzvot related to the role of the Kohanim and Levi’im, as well as the allocation of cities for them throughout the Land, is also dependent on the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz (Numbers 35).

The entire system of mitzvot related to the arrangement of the judicial system – including the establishment of the Beit HaDin HaGadol located next to the Mikdash (Deuteronomy 17:10; Rambam, Hilchot Mamrim 1:1), as well as appointing judges and police officers in all the cities of Israel (Deuteronomy 16:18; Rambam, Hilchot Sanhedrin 1: 1- 4), and the ordination, semicha, of the Sages, that took place only in Israel, and which is the basis of authority of the judiciary system (Rambam, ibid. 4: 4).

The observance of the order of months and holidays also depends on the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz – the Beit HaDin HaGadol sanctifies the months, and when the Beit HaDin is cancelled, the months are established by the Jews who live in Eretz Yisrael and maintain the Hebrew calendar previously sanctified by dayan’im (judges) who received semicha in Eretz Yisrael (Rambam, Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 5:13; Sefer HaMitzvot 153).

Moreover, all of the Torah and mitzvot are meant to be fulfilled in the Land of Israel, because only through their fulfillment in the Land is the name of God revealed in the world. We learned this in the Torah and in our Sages’ statements in numerous places, to the point where they said that the observance of the mitzvot abroad was merely intended to remind us how to fulfill them when we return to the Land (Deuteronomy 11: 32; ibid., 12:1-2; Yerushalmi Shevi’it 6:1; Kiddushin 1: 8; Bavli Kiddushin 37a; Sifrei, Ekev 43-44).


The Claim of Igrot Moshe
However, in the Responsa Igrot Moshe (E. H. I:102), he wrote: “Concerning your question if there is a mitzvah nowadays to live in Eretz Yisrael … most poskim are of the opinion that it is a mitzvah. But plainly, at this time it is not a positive commandment on the body (that is, one who immigrates fulfills a mitzvah, but there is no personal obligation to immigrate). For if so (if it was compulsory to immigrate to Israel), consequently, we would find that it is forbidden to live abroad … and no mention was made of the prohibition; rather, that it is forbidden for someone who lives in Eretz Yisrael to leave in order to reside abroad (Rambam Hilchot Melachim 5:9). And even if so, it certainly is not a Torah prohibition (rather, from Divrei Chachamim). And if it was also forbidden for people to live abroad, Rambam would simply have said – it is forbidden to live abroad, unless there is a severe famine in Eretz Yisrael; this means that only the residents of Eretz Yisrael have a prohibition, prohibited by the Sages, but as far as a positive commandment, it is not a mitzvah chiyuvit (obligatory), rather, one who lives there fulfills a mitzvah … and since it is not a mitzvah chiyuvit, one must take into consideration the concern of Rabbi Chaim in Tosafot (who believes that one should not immigrate to Israel without knowing) if he can be careful about the mitzvot that depend on the land.”


Why Poskim in the Past Did Not Obligate Immigrating to Israel
However, despite my great respect for the great posek, possessor of compelling judgment, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zts"l, his remarks are unsubstantiated from everything I have conveyed about the basic importance of the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha’Aretz for the observance of all the Torah and mitzvot. We can see this from what our Sages, Rishonim and Achronim, instructed about when one spouse wishes to immigrate to Israel – the other must comply, and if not, immigration to Israel justifies a divorce (Rambam, Hilchot Ishut 13:20; S. A., E.H. 75:4).

However, during the years of exile, Jews living in Eretz Yisrael were usually in greater danger than in the Diaspora, for the Gentiles who ruled Eretz Yisrael tended to persecute the Jews in Israel more than in the Diaspora. Initially, in the times of Roman rule, the reason was because they saw the Jews as a threat to their rule, and later in the days of Byzantium and Islam, to prove that the Jews had no right to the Land of Israel. In addition, over time, the Land had become desolate, and the difficulties of economic existence greatly increased. And this, not to mention the difficulty for anyone to immigrate to a different environment where the laws, language, and ways of making a living are different, and in the past, it was very difficult to learn them from afar.

In other words, to the perception of a Jew living in the Diaspora, there was fear that if he immigrated to Israel, one or several members of his family would die in an obscure plague, or die of poor nutrition as a result of difficulties in earning a livelihood. This was the picture presented to the Jews of the Diaspora, and in such a situation, it was impossible to determine immigrating to Israel as an obligatory halakha, because when there is a real danger to the life of one’s family due to severe famine and a deep and ongoing economic crisis that prevents people from securing their livelihoods even at a minimal level, even the residents of Eretz Yisrael are permitted to leave the country (and even then, it is midat chassidut to remain – Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 5:9).

It seems clear to me that our Sages could not imagine a day would come whenJews would be able to exist in the Land of Israel, and simultaneously, some would still claim that this was not an obligatory mitzvah. Consequently, all their discussions centered on a situation in which it is extremely difficult to exist in Eretz Yisrael. But even in such a situation, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi (Kuzari 2: 24) wrote that Jews should have made much more of an effort to immigrate to Israel, and not doing so, our prayers are as “the chattering of the starling and the nightingale.”

But today, when it is possible to live in the Land, it is an absolute obligation for every Jew to immigrate to Israel. The immigration should be well planned, and for that, it can be postponed for a few years, but beyond that, it is forbidden to tarry.


Would I Stand the Trial
I must add: this is the halakha, but regrettably, I cannot guarantee that if I faced the trial the Jews in the Diaspora face, I would be capable of fulfilling the halakha. This is because even when it is possible to live in Israel, it is extremely difficult to leave a familiar place of residence, where one knows how to speak and express himself fluently, how to educate his children, and how to make a living, and move to a place where he needs to learn the language, and all the different ways of life. The obligation to immigration to Israel demands from people who are considered very successful, to abandon their achievements, and start rebuilding themselves anew. That is why I so admire immigrants from the U.S. and other prosperous countries.


Rabbi Rabinovich ztz”l
After I finished writing this column, I heard the tragic news of the passing of one of the true Gedolei Ha’Dor, Rabbi Nahum Eliezer Rabinovich ztz”l, who chose to emigrate from a prosperous country, Canada, and become a partner in the building of Torah and the Nation, in Eretz Yisrael. May this column be dedicated to an aliyah for his neshama.


This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.

The writer is Head of Yeshivat Har Bracha and a prolific author on Jewish Law, whose works include the series on Jewish law "Pininei Halacha" and a popular weekly column "Revivim" in the Besheva newspaper.

The obligation to immigrate to Israel - Judaism

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