SPIRITUAL DANGERS IN OUR TIMES
Indeed, some may argue that today there is no longer physical dangers in journeying to the Land of Israel, but perhaps there is still a general type of danger.
We need to ask whether the opinions of Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen and the concern for danger presented in the Tosafot are still relevant today, albeit in a different form. If someone wants to dismiss Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen's argument by saying that nowadays one can come to the Land of Israel and easily fulfill the mitzvot, we must consider that in his time, this may not have been so simple. Back then, fulfilling all the land-dependent mitzvot might have been much more difficult, but today, with greater access to Torah learning and guidance, it is feasible and even seen as a great merit.
One could also argue that there is no more physical danger on the journey to the Land of Israel. So, what exactly might be the counter-argument? To answer this, let us look at an example from just a few decades ago.
Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzera, known as the Baba Sali (who was named after the Ba’al Shem Tov) made aliyah from Morrocco in the 1960s. After he spent some time in the Land of Israel, he wrote to the Lubavitcher Rebbe that he planned on returning to Morrocco and that he was recommending that all Moroccan Jews do the same. Why did the Baba Sali want to return abroad? Indeed, it seems that if it were not for the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who insisted that he stay in the Land of Israel because of his responsibility to his community. Did he not love the Land of Israel?
It was because of what he saw what was happening in the country, the spirit of the place, that people were removing their kippot and tzitzit, and cutting off their side curls (payot). There is no need to elaborate on this distressing matter. This is the reason he himself gives and therefore he said that it is better to be a God-fearing Jew in Morocco than to live in the Land of Israel because of the spiritual danger present here.
The conclusion is that the two lower levels of our partzuf—transgression and danger—are still relevant. These two levels correspond to the “that which is revealed are [the responsibility of ] us and our children” and therefore they change from generation to generation, taking on a different form. One must not deny their existence. But in the end, the Lubavitcher Rebbe coerced Baba Sali to stay. He wrote to the Baba Sali: “You are a king, and your people are here—the king does not abandon his people, and the captain does not leave the ship.” Ultimately, Baba Sali accepted the Rebbe's decision and stayed.
Notes
- See 1 Kings 8:48.
- Mishnah Ketubot 13:11.
- Ketubot 110b s.v., Hu omer la’alot.
- He is frequently quoted in Tosafot. His name (ןֵהֹּכַים הִּיַ חּינוֵּבַר) has the same numerical value as “barren” (ּהוֹּת), as in the verse (Isaiah 45:18) “He did not create it [the Earth] to be barren; He formed it to be inhabited.”
- Proverbs 1:8.
- Proverbs 5:5.
- Leviticus 18:5.
- Deuteronomy 29:28.
