For the source text click/tap here: Ketubot 111
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Based on passages in Shir HaShirim (2:7, 3:5, 8:4), Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina understands that there are three oaths that bind the Jewish people in their relationship with the non-Jewish world:
That the Jews should not return to the Land of Israel be-homah – “like a wall”;
That the Jews should not rebel against the nations of the world;
That the nations of the world should not oppress the Jewish people overmuch.
Rashi interprets the first oath to mean that the Jewish people should not return to Israel by force, all together (in fact, some manuscripts have ka-homah, which would indicate “all together”). The Maharsha argues that it refers to the actual building of a wall – which would indicate a rebellion against the ruling nation. Such building could not be done without the permission of the nations that ruled over the land, as took place with the return of Ezra and Nehemia at the beginning of the Second Temple era.
We continue our exploration of the prohibition to return to Eretz Yisrael according to various poskim as well as a review by Gil Student.