Dear Rabbi Simon,
Given the focus on the Land of Israel in all our prayers and the constant yearning the Jewish people have for the country, how can we justify not living there?
Izzy
Dear Izzy
This is a conundrum acknowledged already in The Kuzari by Rabbi Yehudah Halevi in 12th c. Spain, and more recently addressed by the Hassidic master R. Avrohom Bornsztain of Sochaczew (Poland) in Avnei Nezer (19th c.). Notwithstanding the centrality of the Land of Israel in Jewish thought and prayer, the actual mitzvah of living in the Land of Israel is subject to dispute. (Ramban counts it among the 613 mitzvot, whereas Rambam does not.) Rav Moshe Feinstein writes that even according to Ramban, living in the Land of Israel is a mitzvah for which one merits reward, but not a mitzvah which is compulsory per se.
Finally, I would caution against those who regard this mitzvah as trumping all others, to the extent that mitzvot generally are devalued compared to this one mitzvah. Rather, one must consider closely and honestly whether moving to Israel will advance his/her service of Hashem (and that of his family too) or whether the risks/costs involved make it inappropriate for him or her at a particular time. This must certainly be an individual decision.
But there is no doubt that, in principle, the best place for a Jew to live is in the Jewish homeland. And long may it flourish.
עם ישראל חי
Rabbi Rashi Simon