The mishna says a man or wmen can force their spouse to move to eretz yisroel. Why can they do this and what gives them the zechoos? Is it because there is possibly a mitza to live in eretz yisroel or is it for some other reason?
Ari, israel
This is the topic of a long discussion. I will mention the basic opinions on the matter. First, it should be noted that the same Mishnah states that one can force his spouse to live in Jerusalem. Surely, this is not due to the Mitzvah of living in Israel, since there is no source that says one must live in Jerusalem more than in any other place in Israel. This implies that it is due to the higher sanctity of Jerusalem and the wish of one spouse to benefit from that sanctity.
The Ramban, however, specifically states that the reasoning behind this is due to the Mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael. He also specifically states that this applies in our time as well (Sefer ha'Mitzvos, questions of the Ramban, Mitzvah 4, and in his commentary on Bamidbar 33:53).
The Rashbash (who was actually a great-grandson of the Ramban) explains (Teshuvos #1) that the Ramban understood the Torah's commandment to live in Israel as stemming from the great sanctity of the land, and therefore the more sanctity the better. Since Israel is more sacred than other countries, and Jerusalem is more sacred than other place in Israel, it is a possibility to force a spouse to live in these places.
Others explain that this is not due to a Mitzvah but is an enactment of Chazal to encourage people to live in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem.
However, the Maharam mi'Rottenburg (in his Teshuvos) presents a contradiction on this matter between the Bavli and the Yerushalmi. In the Bavli, it appears that each spouse can force the other to live in Israel, while in the Yerushalmi it seems that only the man can force his wife to live there. He explains that during the time of the Beis ha'Mikdash, both spouses could force each other to immigrate to Israel and Jerusalem, whereas now there is no such Mitzvah, but the husband can force his wife to follow him as she is beholden to him regarding where to live, and if he wants more sanctity she must follow him.
(Rav Yechiel Michal Tukachinsky zt'l (Ir ha'Kodesh veha'Mikdash) writes that the basis for one spouse's right to force the other to live in Israel is the Halachah (Shulchan Aruch, Even ha'Ezer 75:1) that says that when one spouse wants to live in his/her hometown, and the other wants to live in a place which is neither one's hometown, one can force the other to live in his/her hometown. Since Israel is the "hometown" of every Jew, one can force the other to live there. -YS)
There is considerably more on this topic but these are the basic ideas.
Yoel Domb
Thank you for your reply. You wrote that some hold its "an enactment of Chazal to encourage people to live in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem". I was wondering who holds like that. Also I wanted to know where the chiddush of Rav Yechiel Michal Tukachinsky zt'l is as I would like to look it up inside. Thanks again for all your help
This is the view of Rabeinu Tam as explained in the Shitah Mekubetzes to Kesuvos 110b. (See also Eretz Chemdah 1:1:3, p. 21.)
This is also the view of the Pe'as ha'Shulchan (Hilchos Eretz Yisrael 3, Beis Yisrael 22). The Eretz Chemdah says this is also the Ramban's view as he does not cite this point in Sefer ha'Mitzvos regarding the Mitzvah of living in Israel.
Rav Tukachinsky's view is that the reason for this is because Eretz Yisrael is every Jew's home and therefore couples can compel one another to go to their ancestral home. This is cited in Ir ha'Kodesh veha'Mikdash, vol. 3, pp. 196-197.
Yoel Domb
Thank you for your reply. Are there any seforim that you can suggest that will be more "raid" on this deep inyun. Both english and hebrew are fine (as long as its not heavly modern ivrit type of hebrew).
Thanks,
Ari
The most comprehensive, modern books on the topic were written by Rav Yakov Zisberg, who wrote two volumes on the Mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael, Sefer Nachalas Yakov. (They can be ordered from the publisher, Har Berachah, 02-9709588, or har_beracha@shapaz.biz). He includes a chapter on this topic.
ALso, there is a practical Teshuvah on the subject by Rav She'ar Yashuv Cohen zt"l (the former chief rabbi of Haifa). It appears in his Chikrei Halachah (1993) as well as in Torah she'Ba'al Peh (1984, a booklet based on a symposium that year).
Yoel Domb
Thanks for your suggestions. I called the publisher and unfortunately they no longer have that sefer. Do you know another way I can get the sefer and if not do you have a different suggestion?