Whether it is correct to guide children to move to the land of Israel against the will of their parents

Blessed is the Lord, 21 Adar 5724 (1964)

To the esteemed spirit and man of understanding, R. S. Z. Shragai, may his Rock protect him and grant him life - peace and much salvation!

I have received his letter from the 19th of this month, in which he referred two questions to me, which are actually one:

Is it correct to prepare and guide children to move to the land of Israel against the will of their parents? Is there not an offense to the commandment of honoring father and mother through this? And due to the urgency of the matter, I will reply with great brevity:

The Mabit in Part I:139 was asked if a child could move, to live in the land, even if his father and mother are preventing it and are not allowing him to move. And he wrote that the commandment to live in the land of Israel pushes off the commandment of honoring father and mother, so that he may move even against their will. And the Mabit arrives at this from the verse (Leviticus 19:3), "You shall each revere your mother and your father, and you shall keep My sabbaths, I am the Lord." For the Sages, may their memory be blessed, learned from this about all of the commandments - if the father or mother say to the child, "Do not fulfill this commandment," he should not listen to them. For they, the parents, are also commanded by that commandment. And likewise with the commandment of settling the land of Israel, the parents are also commanded to move and to settle in it.

The author of the Shut Ben Yehudah (Part I, Yoreh Deah 54) [also] dealt with this question. He was asked if a clever son whose heart inspired him to move, that glory may dwell in the holy land, yet his separation was difficult on his father and his mother, so they were impeding him from moving - is he obligated to listen to them on account of the commandment of honoring father and mother? And our teacher, Rabbi Yehudah Ayash also determined that he could move to the land in spite of his father and his mother's opposition, due to the reason stated above.

It therefore comes out that we learn that youth movements outside of Israel are permitted to teach [about] and prepare the youth for moving to [Israel], even in opposition to the will of their parents. And this is only if their education is according to Jewish tradition.

Yitzchak Nissim