The Land I Will Show You, sec. 3, chapter 3

Divine Decrees, the Good, and Mitzvahs

May 15, 2023

(For the previous chapter of “The Land I Will Show You, click here. For the ToC, click here.)

At the root of the opinion are two points that preclude considering residing in Eretz Yisrael a mitzvah in these times: There is a decree of exile, and it is therefore impossible that there be a mitzvah the notion of which is the opposite of the decree, and that the good hidden in this decree makes it impossible that this be a mitzvah. These two points require consideration, and the conclusion too – that Ramban never intended to say that there is a mitzvah in these times to ascend to Eretz Yisrael from the exile – is not at all simple.

We will treat of these points one at a time.

Firstly, what, essentially, is a “decree of exile”? This isn’t a mitzvah that we were commanded to fulfill, but rather a warning in advance, a prophecy and prediction. As is written:

After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of Hashem your God and arousing his anger,I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. Hashem will scatter you among the people (Deuteronomy 4:25-27).

How was this decree from above fulfilled? Just like all the actions of God, through reality. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his whole army set upon Jerusalem and waged war against it. The enemy was victorious and exiled the nation of Israel from its land. Thus was fulfilled the warning of the Torah “that you will quickly perish,” as the children of Israel were forced into exile against their will, and even had they wanted to, they wouldn’t have been able to reside in their land. That is “exile.” It emerges that the “decree of exile” is only the description of the reality of exile, i.e.: The fact that we exiled from our land and lost control of it is not happenstance, but is rather the fulfillment of the will of Hashem Who warned us and cautioned in advance from the punishment that will come as a result of certain sins. The exile is only decreed, as a direct result, of a situation that is forced upon us. Therefore, the moment that there is no reality of exile – meaning the moment that from the point of view of reality it is possible to return to Eretz Yisrael – it is permitted to do so, since there is nothing withholding this from us. The decree of exile is nothing but the realistic impossibility. As the decree was executed through reality, so is its continued fulfillment expressed in reality, not in halacha.

One who says “decree of exile” when there is a possibility to return to Eretz Yisrael, is similar to someone who says that there is a “decree of death” from Hashem on a living person – but he is alive in front of our eyes! Indeed, had Hashem decreed the exodus from the land as a mitzvah upon us, it would be incumbent upon us to fulfill the decree of His mitzvah in the same way we are obligated to kill one who is punished by death in a rabbinical court. But it was not decreed upon us to exile from the land as a mitzvah, rather the blessed Who decrees and fulfills decreed and fulfilled His plan, through the reality, that we should not be able to continue residing in the land if we sin. In accordance with this, when the reality changed – the decree changed. Just as there was certainly a mitzvah to attempt saving any Jewish life from the attack of the Babylonian army at the time of the destruction, although sword and death were decreed upon Israel, so too is there a mitzvah to reside in Eretz Yisrael although exile was decreed on Israel. As a rule: Would the clay say to its molder, “What are you doing?”?! Blessed is He Who says and does, blessed is He Who decrees and fulfills.

Thus far about the argument that there is a “decree of exile” regarding the fulfillment of which we must concern ourselves. This isn’t a decree that obligates us to act in its spirit at all, but rather a decree that the Holy One, blessed be He fulfills. The same applies to the second point, that exile was decreed for the good. The ability to understand the good that is latent in exile doesn’t compel us to increase exile, just as we can understand the good in death (that it atones, brings the battle with the evil inclination to its end, causes reward for the righteous,[1] and in general: “’And behold it was exceedingly good’ and behold death is good’[2]), and despite this, it is a mitzvah upon us to save a life whenever possible!

Clearly, the considerations that guide us are not the same considerations that we attribute to the actions of the Holy One, blessed be He. The fact that there are good reasons for exile – as there are reasons for all the actions of God, whose actions are all pure good – does not, in and of itself, contradict that there should also be a mitzvah to run from exile as one runs from death.

Nonetheless, there is an important argument for our purposes: If we would indeed base the mitzvah of residing in Eretz Yisrael as an absolute mitzvah of the 613 mitzvahs, as per Ramban’s opinion, then there is no purpose to discuss what good might be achieved by violating the mitzvah; but if we base the mitzvah of residing in Eretz Yisrael on the good in its residence, and there is in fact good in the situation of exile from it too – then how would we know what the preferred good is? In other words, how could we learn form the Torah what to do when the Torah teaches conflicting things: the goodness of residing the land and also the goodness of exiling from it? This is a great and important question, that requires us – if we are to find the good path and direct our lives on the rule of integrity and truth – to understand that idea of residence in Eretz Yisrael and the idea of exile. Me must probe this matter deeply and understand what is the good of Eretz Yisrael and what is the good of exile, so that we should know when is it appropriate for the general community to adopt one and when the other. To what can this be compared? To an individual residing in Eretz Yisrael during the era of the Shechinah being revealed who is considering perhaps going to exile in the diaspora in order to publicize the faith in the whole world or to atone for his sins (for “exile atones for sins”[3]). He must understand what is good for him in Eretz Yisrael and what is good for him by leaving it, and decide based on these considerations. Exactly the same applies to the general community.

So would it seem. And indeed, we will delve into this later;[4] as we will see in its place, it is very plausible that there is a shortcut to know what is appropriate for the general community without us being compelled to decide based on such esoteric considerations.

Let us now return to the opinion of Rabbi Yoel of Satmar. According to his conclusion, Ramban never intended to say that there is a mitzvah in these days to return to Eretz Yisrael from exile, even for individuals. The intention of Ramban in his words that “it is a positive commandment that is in force in all generations, and every individual is obligated by it, even during the era of exile” is that there is a mitzvah in principle, which is fulfilled by those who are anyhow located in Eretz Yisrael, not that any obligation is incumbent on any person.

However, the words of Ramban that obligate every individual can’t take this explanation, and the expansion of Ramban’s opinion in the words of the Rashbash leave no room for forcing this reading into them. He says:

There is no doubt that residing in Eretz Yisrael is a great mitzvah at all times, whether the Temple stands or not, and my master and ancestor the Ramban counted it as one of the positive commandments… and that is also the opinion of my master, my father the Rashbatz… However, this mitzvah is not a general mitzvah for all of Israel during this exile, but is rather impossible, generally, as they said in the Gemara Kesubos that it is included in the oaths that the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured Israel not to hasten the end of times and not to ascend as a wall… but it is a mitzvah incumbent on each individual to ascend and reside there. [5]

It is all clear and there is no room for doubt: The oaths and the oaths alone withhold a complete fulfillment of the mitzvah that is incumbent on the nation as a whole, and the obligation remains – as a matter of halacha and practice, in actuality – on every individual to ascend from the diaspora and reside in Eretz Yisrael.

(For the next chapter of “The Land I Will Show You,” click here.)

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Ha'Aretz asher Areka

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