Moving to the secular state of israel (SSOI) - Not Kedai for most people

 

A neighbor called the police on a man claiming he married a woman under the age of 18. I don't know her actual age, but it's close to 18. The police came, threw him on the floor, zip tied his hands and feet, and kicked him in the ribs when he asked to know why they were doing what they were doing. This happened in Israel of course. I know the guy. Part of democracy is professional police conduct. The police are not employed to dish out punishment, only to prevent crimes or to investigate them. It's the job of the courts to judge guilt and issue punishment if appropriate. Now American police are quite harsh when a person resists arrest, but throwing a man to the floor and hog tying him over something like this? You are not likely to know a person this happens to, not in the USA. But in Israel, well, I do.

The sales pitch is come to Israel and get a continuous mitzvah, and if you don't move you are violating a chiyuv.  Let's start with the second part of that. It's not a chiyuv. It's an optional mitzvah that you get credit for if you do it, but you don't have to. So says the posek Hador Rav Moshe Feinstein. And so many tzadickim didn't live here: Lubavitcher Rebbe, Satmar Rebbe, Rivnitzer Rebbe, Rav Avigdor Miller, Rav Yaakov Kamenestky, Rav Shimon Schwab, Rav Yosef Breuer, and many, many more. The Yekkes, bless them, are even buried in America as is the Ribnitzer. I believe this is proper as one should not encourage moving to Israel in any way. Didn't the Ramban say it was a mitzvah d'orita to live in Israel? The Ramban didn't come until the last two years of his life.  Is that because it wasn't safe? Is it safe now? Israelis keep telling me how they have to draft the Haredim because we are under an existential threat. That means danger. People ge...