A feature article from IsraelNationalNews' Real Estate Section
The high real estate prices in Jerusalem only show how dear this mitzvah is to the Jewish people.
It is a great mitzvah (positive deed) to live in Jerusalem, and therefore anyone who is able to do so, should try to fulfill this Jewish ideal.
Although, in the technical sense, it is not any more of a mitzvah than living anywhere else in Israel, we can nevertheless derive from the teachings of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the esteemed twentieth century rabbi from New York, that it is nevertheless considered a mitzvah.
Rabbi Feinstein concluded this by resolving two conflicting Talmudic exegeses. The sages of the Talmud ask: “Why did Moshe Rabeinu want to enter the Land of Israel? Did he merely crave the delicious fruits?” One answer they give is that “he wanted to fulfill the agricultural mitzvoth that can only be fulfilled in the Land of Israel.”
According to another Talmudic legend, Moshe prayed to God that He should allow him to enter the Land even as a bird. Rabbi Feinstein points out that if that were the case, then he wasn’t only yearning to fulfill the agricultural mitzvoth because birds are not obligated to keep mitzvoth. He elaborates that Moshe wanted to fulfill the mitzvoth of the Land because he craved its sanctity. He was willing to enter even as a bird without the technical obligation of mitzvoth because he wanted to be in a holy place.
So Rabbi Feinstein concludes that anytime someone lives in a holy place, it is considered a mitzvah. The holier the city, the greater the mitzvah, and since Jerusalem is the holiest city of Israel, it follows that living there is more praiseworthy than living anywhere else in the rest of the Land of Israel.
We are so fortunate that we live in a day and age that this mitzvah is feasible. The high real estate prices in Jerusalem only show how dear this mitzvah is to the Jewish people. So although we may complain about the high prices, we should be thankful that the Jewish people have the opportunity to live in the beloved and holy city that we have dreamed about for two thousand years.
Baruch Finkelstein is an owner/broker of Remax Center in Jerusalem. The office is in the shopping center of Ramot and Baruch has agents that service all of Jerusalem.
cell: 972-545-251-219
office:
baruch.finkelstein@remax.co.il
www.remax-israel.com/center