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As promised, this week’s post is about why we should make aliyah (move to Israel). Last school year, we learned the halachos (laws) about it. Here are a few reasons:

A person should always live in Israel even if he lives in a city filled with non-Jews. If you live in Eretz Yisrael (Israel) it is as if you have a G-d and if you don’t live in Eretz Yisrael it is as if you don’t have a G-d. However, is this really true? The Gemara clarifies that if one lives outside the land of Israel, it is as if they are worshipping idols.

The Ramban explains that from a quote in Bamidbar (Numbers) perek (chapter) 33:50-56, we see it’s a mitzvas aseh – a biblical commandment of the 613. It is a mitzvah to settle there and it is forbidden to leave.

However, the Megilas Esther Shachacht Ha’ashin argues that it was only a mitzvah (commandment) in the times of Moshe, Yehoshua and David, and in the times of Moshiach (the Messiah). We are not obligated to live in Israel unless there is a Beis HaMikdash (temple), but it’s not a mitzvas aseh until Moshiach.

The Tzitz Eliezer has two reasons to move, though: 1. It used to be dangerous to travel, but not anymore, and it used to be hard to make money and it could harm your life; you could get a job now, ever since Israel became a state. 2. With the rebirth of the state, there are a lot of enemies around – we have an obligation to go to Israel to protect our brothers and help protect and support the army.

Also, you get a mitzvah every time you walk dalet amos (four measures; around a yard and a half or so). So why not?

(By the way, thank you to Mrs. Natalie Williams for teaching me this last year! She taught it very well! I got 100% on the test.)

On a different subject, we’ve narrowed down the schools we’re interested in: 1. Bait Shulamit (http://www.nbn.org.il/component/content/article/12588-bet-shulamit.html) and 2. Chorev (http://www.nbn.org.il/component/content/article/1688-chorev-ulpana.html). More research, I guess. We’re thinking Machon Lev for my brother.

Also, we’ve looked at Givat Mordechai on Google Maps, and we think Masat Moshe is a very nice street. But we can’t really choose what street we want, because it depends on what’s being sold and such.

And on a completely different subject, this Tuesday night/Wednesday is my thirteenth Hebrew birthday! Yay!