## Teshuvot Maharam, Berlin Edition, Part II

###### Teshuvot Maharam, Berlin Edition, Part II 28:1
[Teshuvot Maharam, Berlin Edition, Part II 28:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Teshuvot%20Maharam/s/Berlin%20Edition,_Part%20II/r/28:1)

שאלה. וששאלת אם האב יכול לעכב ע"י בנו מלעלות לארץ ישראל כיון דקיי"ל מצוה לעלות וכתי' אני ד' דבכל דבר מצוה לא ישמע לו דכבוד המקום קודם.

**Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, his life and his works, by Irving A. Agus. Philadelphia, 1947:**
*Q*. Does a father have the authority to restrain his son from emigrating to the Holy Land?
*A*. Since it is a *mitzvah* to settle in the Holy Land, a father has no authority to restrain his son from fulfilling this *mitzvah;* for one must honor the Almighty above one's father.
*Q*. Will a person whose wife refuses to accompany him on his emigration to the Holy Land, be liable to punishment for divorcing her?
*A*. Were any punishment connected with divorcing one's wife under such circumstances, the Rabbis would not have permitted such a divorce, and would not have released the husband from paying the wife's *ketubah*.
*Q*. Have you heard what were the reasons that prompted the prominent men to order their sons to return from the Holy Land?
*A*. It seems to me that the following were the reasons: a) No mercy was shown there; b) they were constantly troubled by the necessity of earning their bread, so that they could not devote their time to study; c) consequently they were lacking in knowledge of the *Torah*, and they were uncertain regarding the details of ritual law. I believe that I heard the above reasons from their children.
SOURCES: Am II, 28; ibid. 79.