Devarim, 3:23-25: “And I implored God at that time, saying: ‘My Lord, God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong Hand by which who is a god in Heaven who can do like Your deeds and Your might. May I please pass over and see the good land which is on the other side of the Yarden, this good mountain and the Levanon.
Sotah, 14a: “Rav Simlai expounded, ‘why did our Teacher, Moshe so desire to enter the Land of Israel – did he need to eat of its fruit or did he need to be satiated from its goodliness. Rather, this is what Moshe said: ‘Yisrael are commanded in many Mitzvot which can only be fulfilled in Eretz Yisrael. I will enter the land so that all the Mitzvot can be fulfilled through me…

The parsha begins with Moshe recounting his desperate prayers to enter the Land of Israel. The Talmud explains that Moshe so desired to enter the land so that can he could observe the Mitzvot that are unique to the land such as terumot and maasrot (tithes).¹ This seemingly straightforward reason would actually seem to be a proof for one opinion among the early commentators in a dispute pertaining to the nature of the Mitzva to live in the Land of Israel.

The Mishna in Ketubot² teaches that if a husband wants to move to Israel, then his wife must come with him and if she does not, then the husband can divorce her without her receiving her Ketubah. Likewise, if the wife wants to come to Israel and the husband refuses, then the wife can request a divorce and receive the Ketubah. Based on this Mishna, it is clear that it is a very great thing to come to live in the Land of Israel. However, there is a major dispute as to why exactly it is so great.

The Ramban³ writes in a number of places that there is a Torah Commandment to live in Israel. He counts this as one of the 613 Commandments and clearly understands that there is a Mitzva in and of itself of living in the Land of Israel.⁴ However, another early commentator, the Tashbetz,⁵ disagrees and holds that the benefit of living in Eretz Yisrael is that one can perform the Mitzvot that can only be fulfilled in the Land of Israel. He appears to hold that there is no intrinsic Mitzva of living in lsrael for its own sake, rather the purpose of living in the Land is performing the Mitzvot that are unique to the Land. This opinion seems to be held by Rabbeinu Chaim cited by Tosefot⁶ who held that the Mitzva to live in Israel did not apply in his times because people were unable to observe the Mitzvot connected to the Land at that time.⁷

A number of commentaries note that the Talmud in Sotah appears to corroborate the opinion of the Tashbetz, because the Talmud explains that God understood that the reason Moshe wanted to come to Israel was because of the Mitzvot connected to the Land. According to the Ramban, why didn’t the Gemara simply say that God understood that Moshe wanted to fulfil the mitzvah to live in Israel independent of the mitzvot connected to the Land?⁸

Many answers are given to this question, but two will be mentioned here.⁹ Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz explains that when the Talmud referred to the “many mitzvot which can only be fulfilled in Israel,” it meant to include the mitzvah of living in Israel among them. Alternatively, the Kerem Yosef, based on Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik¹⁰ explains that everyone agrees that the purpose of the Mitzva of living in Israel is to be able to observe the mitzvot that are unique to the Land. Thus, when the Talmud referred to Moshe’s desire to perform these Mitzvot, it implicitly meant that Moshe would also automatically fulfil the Mitzva of living in the Land.¹¹

There are varying approaches among the contemporary Authorities as to if there is an actual obligation to live in Israel¹², and needless to say there are many factors that can play a part in this question.¹³ Nonetheless, it is clear that all other things being equal, living in the Land of Israel should be the ultimate goal. In the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, the idea of moving to Israel should be on the agenda of every Jew.

1. The Talmud continues that God understood that Moshe wanted the reward that comes with these Mitzvot and in response, God assured him that he would receive the reward as if he did the Mitzvot. The commentaries ask why Moshe seemed to care so much about receiving reward, when the ultimate level of serving God is to serve without wanting reward. See Aggadot Maharsha, Sotah, 14a for one approach. A different question is discussed here.
2. Ketubot, 110b.
3. Ramban Al HaTorah, Bamdibar, 33:53; Sefer HaMitzvos, Hasagot Al HaRambam, Mitzva 4.
4. The Maharit (Chelek 2, Yoreh Deah, Simun 28) also appears to hold this way.
5. Shu”t Tashbetz, Chelek 3, Simun 200.
6. Tosefot, Kesubos, 110a, Dh: Hu omer.
7. There is a strong argument that nowadays the situation is very different from the time of Rabbeinu Chaim and it is perfectly possible to observe the Mitzvot connected to the Land, hence his argument no longer applies.
8. See Kerem Yosef, Sotah 14a who brings many answers to this question.
9. Both are cited in Kerem Yosef, ibid.
10. Kesavim, Simun 331, p.78.
11. It seems that not everyone agrees that this is the reason behind the Mitzva of the Land of Israel. Rather, it may be because of the intrinsic holiness of the land or the fact that there is greater Providence over the Land.
12. See Igrot Moshe, Even Ha’Ezer, Chelek 1, Simun 102 who holds that most early commentaries rule that it is not an obligatory Mitzva to live in the land of Israel. In contrast, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky was known to be very strong in encouraging people to live in Israel, and held that there is an obligation to do so (heard from Rabbi Aaron Pessin).
13. One obvious consideration is which place of residence would be the best for a person’s Torah observance. In addition, involvement in great activities such as teaching Torah, outreach and so on may justify living in chutz l’aretz. Needless to say, one should consult with their Rav for advice in this area.