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In the summer of 1952, the Baba Sali traveled from Eretz Yisroel to France in order to take care of some business and then move to Eretz Yisroel, as the rabbis of the generation had advised him. When he arrived in Paris, he found out that the holy Rebbe, fighter of the wars of Torah,…

Regarding your question if there is a mitzvah nowadays to live in Eretz Yisroel, as the Ramban says, or if there is no mitzvah nowadays, as Rabbeinu Chaim says, quoted in Tosafos on Kesubos 110b: Most poskim hold it is a mitzvah. But it is obvious that this is not an obligatory mitzvah in our…

It was claimed by Rav Yitzchok Isaac Herzog that Rabbi Eliyahu of Izmir said that the three oaths are no longer in force today. The source for this is his commentary on Shir Hashirim called Dana Pishra, on 3:5. Since the pesukim above are discussing the redemption, Hashem placed an oath again that they should…

The agreement of Agudath Israel to the establishment of a state before the coming of moshiach is based on the rulings of the Gedolei Torah. However, those rulings depend on two basic conditions, which are far from reality and possibility: 1) the state must be conducted in accordance with Torah and tradition; 2) there must…

I have been asked about a very delicate question. Basically it is almost like religion and politics, something you do not discuss. Is it wise to talk about something that divides us? Yes it is. I would like to be heard with light and not heat, as I would like to make this into an…

Hebron, may it be rebuilt, 27 Nissan 5660/1900 To the publishers of the book “Ohr Layesharim” in Kovno, I was honored to receive your book and your letter, in which you ask me to express my opinion about the book and your activism. Although I don’t have free time, since I am busy writing my…

Keynote Speech at the Agudah National Convention, Motzaei Shabbos November 24, 1990 (just days after the assassination of Meir Kahane on Nov. 5). The following is a loose translation from a recording made available by the Agudah archives. For all of you here who spent Shabbos here in such an uplifted atmosphere, we don’t have…

Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Reines (1839-1915) was a leader of Chovevei Tzion and the founder of the Mizrachi movement. In 1902 he published a book called Ohr Chadash Al Tzion calling for settlement in Eretz Yisroel, but cautioning (p. 240) that it must not violate the oaths: What is the point of Chanukah? Seemingly, there is…

The challenges facing the Jewish people today are unique in history, and so one would think that Chazal would have left us some hints or guidelines on how to approach them and survive. And indeed, if one looks carefully, one can find such hints throughout Shas. This page will be dedicated to searching for these…

From Michtavim u’Ma’amarim, Letter 8, written 1979, translation from the book “Rav Shach Speaks,” p. 12: There is a well-publicized campaign afoot to oppose signing a peace treaty with our neighbors under any condition. To me this is incomprehensible. Every reasonable person understands that [so to speak] a life of austerity is a price that…