Do Charedim Encourage Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael?

To answer this properly, we need to separate out the noise from the soul.

There’s a common misconception that Charedim are lukewarm—or even opposed—to aliyah, moving to Eretz Yisrael. But when we look at the Torah, the mesorah, and the Gedolim of the generations, the picture is far richer, deeper, and more beautiful than soundbites suggest.

A Mitzvah with Roots

Many Charedi poskim and Rishonim hold that living in Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah d’oraysa, an ongoing Torah obligation when circumstances allow.

• The Ramban, in his Hasagos to Sefer HaMitzvos (Positive Commandment #4), famously writes that we are commanded “not to abandon the Land to other nations” and to “live in it and inherit it.”¹
  
• The Sefer HaCharedim lists yishuv Eretz Yisrael as one of the mitzvos that can be fulfilled constantly, with every moment a Jew resides there.²
  

In Charedi thought, the ideal is clear: if a Jew can live in Eretz Yisrael in a way that enhances their ruchniyus and connection to Torah, they should do so.

But that word “can” carries a lot of weight.

Aliyah: A Personal Cheshbon

The decision to make aliyah isn’t just a logistical move. It’s a spiritual accounting. Charedim don’t view aliyah as a political or nationalistic duty — they view it as a matter of avodas Hashem.

Will this move bring me closer to Torah? Will it strengthen my children’s chinuch? Will I be able to thrive in my avodah in this new environment?

If the answer is yes — then aliyah is not only encouraged, it's embraced.

That’s why Gedolim have taught: don’t move for the weather, or the prices, or the culture — move for Torah. If your move allows you to live with greater kedushah, among bnei Torah, near Gedolei Yisrael, and within arm’s reach of Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh — then you're fulfilling something extraordinary.³

The Reality on the Ground

Just look around Eretz Yisrael today.

Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Yerushalayim, Elad, Kiryat Sefer — these are not “Zionist projects.” They are Torah cities, home to hundreds of thousands of Charedim who chose to live here, raise families, and grow spiritually.

• American yeshiva families have been making aliyah for decades
  
• French, South African, British, Belgian, and Australian Charedim have formed vibrant kehillos
  
• Major Chassidic groups — Belz, Ger, Vizhnitz, Breslov, and more — have thriving centers here⁴
  

This isn’t a modern trend. In the early 1800s, talmidim of both the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov made aliyah — driven by yearning for the kedushah of the Land.⁵

The Old Yishuv predates Zionism by over a century. Their aliyah wasn’t nationalism — it was mesirus nefesh to answer Hashem’s call.

Torah-Guided Encouragement

While every community and posek may differ in nuance, there is clear evidence of warm encouragement for aliyah when it serves a Torah purpose.

• Rav Yaakov Hillel שליט״א (Rosh Yeshiva of Ahavat Shalom) said: “If a person has the opportunity to live in Eretz Yisrael and serve Hashem better — and doesn’t take it — he will have to answer in the next world why he left the gift unopened.”⁶
  
• Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l moved to Eretz Yisrael in his later years and described it as being “closer to the whispers of the Shechinah.”⁷
  
• Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt”l and Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l welcomed bnei Torah from abroad and encouraged them to settle near Torah centers.⁸
  

But again — the encouragement is always measured through the lens of Torah and ruchniyus.

In Conclusion

Do Charedim encourage aliyah?

Yes — when it’s aliyah for the sake of ruchniyus, not nationalism.

Not for flags. Not for slogans. But for Torah. For kedushah. For the chance to raise generations of Jews in the land Hashem gave us — not as a symbol, but as a sacred reality.

In the end, it’s not just about moving to Eretz Yisrael. It’s about moving closer to Hashem—in the holiest place on earth.

Sources

1. Ramban, Hasagos to Sefer HaMitzvos, Positive Mitzvah #4
   
2. Sefer HaCharedim, Mitzvos Asei Hatluyos B’Eretz Yisrael
   
3. Rav Avigdor Miller, Rejoice O Youth, p. 234; Rav Dovid Cohen, Halachah and Hashkafah on Living in Eretz Yisrael
   
4. See Yalkut Yerushalayim and History of the Chassidic Settlement in Eretz Yisrael by Rav Yisrael Friedman
   
5. Kol HaTor, letters of Rav Hillel of Shklov; Beis Rebbe on the aliyah of Chassidic leaders
   
6. Rav Yaakov Hillel, Faith and Folly, Chapter on Living in Eretz Yisrael
   
7. Rav Hutner, as cited in Pachad Yitzchak: Igros u’Kesavim
   
8. Testimonies recorded by Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, Rav Asher Weiss, and others in Binyan Olam and Torah l’Shmah