Saturday, June 27, 2009

When a Spouse Wants to Move to Israel

by Mystical Paths

When the Land of Israel and the Jewish people are together, the mishnah at the end of Ketubot describes what happens if one spouse wishes to move to Israel and the other doesn't...

All (every person) can bring up (compel all the members of his or her household to accompany him) to Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel) but none can take out (cannot coerce members of his or her household to leave Israel),

All (every person) can bring up (compel all the members of his or her household to accompany him) to Jerusalem but none can take out (cannot coerce members of his or her household to leave Jerusalem),

whether they be men or women. (Either spouse can insist, if the wife refuses she loses marital rights [ketubah] and is divorced. If the husband refuses, he is forced to divorce and pay the ketubah.)

The commentary notes the spouse can even be forced to move from a good house (outside of Israel) to a bad house (in Israel), from a complete Jewish community outside of Israel to a town with a majority of non-Jews in Israel.