It is a dilemma with which many families grapple. The children deeply desire to make aliyah but the parents, sometimes elderly, insist that the children remain in Hutz LaAretz. We read this Shabbat of the paramount importance of kibud/mora av va’eim which Hazal compare to respect of Hashem. On the other hand, we were just reminded on Yom Ha’atzmaut of the centrality and yearning for Eretz Yisrael. Our passion for our Holy Land is central to our Jewish identity and belief, as is quite evident from even a cursory examination of the Humash and Siddur. The question is stark—does the mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling in and developing Israel) outweigh the mitzvah of kibud av va’eim.
Hacham Ovadia Yosef unequivocally comes down in favor of moving to Israel despite parental objections. He cites the Sifrei Devarim which relates that Rabi Elazar ben Shamua and Rabi Yohanan HaSandlar were on their way to study Torah outside of Eretz Yisrael. When they reached Tzidon in Lebanon, they remembered Eretz Yisrael. They began to cry and they tore their garments and they recited the pasuk (Devarim 11:31-32): “When you have occupied it and are settled in it, take care to observe all of the laws…” They proclaimed: “Living in Eretz Yisrael is equal to all of the other commandments in the Torah.” Whereupon they turned around and returned to Eretz Yisrael.
Hacham Ovadia quotes Ramban who followed the Sifrei’s approach by ruling that it is a positive commandment to make aliyah and live in Eretz Yisrael. Furthermore, he practiced what he preached, arriving in Jerusalem from Spain in 1267. Hacham Ovadia also notes that the mitzvah of settling Israel is so great that the Gemara permits asking a non-Jewish attorney to prepare a contract on Shabbat to enable acquiring property in Eretz Yisrael, if the opportunity is fleeting. This is not a theoretical ruling. This Gemara has been applied on occasion throughout the generations in our zeal and love for Eretz Yisrael.
Hacham Ovadia avoided ruling without precedent whenever all possible and makes no exception in our discussion. He cites the great Maharam of Rothenburg who explicitly addressed this issue and ruled that the children should move to Israel. This revered authority cited our parsha, noting that Hashem includes the obligation to observe Shabbat in the same pasuk as kibud/mora av. Hazal explains that while we must respect and obey our parents, this obligation does not apply when a parental directive contradicts a Torah law. Indeed, the pasuk concludes “Ani Hashem” which teaches that both the children and the parents must all respect Hashem. Maharam of Rothenburg states that a parent instructing a child not to make aliyah is the equivalent of a parent telling a child to violate a Torah law.
On the other hand, the Gemara in Kiddushin relates that Rav Assi left Eretz Yisrael to visit his elderly mother. This seems to indicate that kibud av va’eim overrides the mitzvah to settle in Eretz Yisrael. Hacham Ovadia responds, citing Maharsha, that Rav Assi left Israel only temporarily but would not have abandoned Eretz Yisrael permanently.
Hacham Ovadia’s ruling may not always be practical to implement. Decisions such as these are usually not straightforward and simple. Indeed, Rav Moshe Feinstein does not concur with Rav Yosef’s ruling. Hacham Ovadia reminds us, though, of the paramount importance of Eretz Yisrael and how we must regard it as a top priority.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter
Rabbi Haim Jachter is the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.
