According to Jewish tradition, the only place in the world that
is inherently holy is the land of Israel. So when you move to
Many sources say yes. Nachmanides (the Ramban) includes making
aliyah in his list of the 613 commandments. In the Talmud, at
the end of tractate Ketubot, the Mishnah says: A man may compel
his entire household to go up with him to the land of Israel,
but may not compel one to leave. In other words, a husband or
wife can force his or her spouse to move to Israel. The
discussion on this passage in the Mishnah emphasizes the
importance of living in One should always live in the Land of
Israel, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are idolaters,
but let no one live outside the Land, even in a town most of
whose inhabitants are Israelites; for whoever lives in the Land
of Israel may be considered to have a God, but whoever lives
outside the Land may be regarded as one who has no God. The
Sifri says that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael is as
important as all the other mitzvot put