I once had a Jewish classmate. She told me that when she celebrated her bat mitzvah, she would have gone to Israel with her family, but she couldn't at the time, because there was too much war. Is there a Jewish custom to travel to Israel for a bat mitzvah? Is there some custom to visit there at least once in a lifetime? Is Israel the Jewish mecca (it's a pun)?
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2Did your Jewish classmate say that such a custom exists, or did you just assume it based on the fact that she wanted to go?– DanielJul 9, 2013 at 21:38
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2Just FYI, the word "custom" in Judaism means something more than "custom" does in daily life. "Custom" (Heb. minhag) in Judaism means something that, though it's not obligated by Toraitic or Rabbinic law, has a very strong obligation to follow. So people here might not understand your question as "Do Americans have a custom to eat turkey on Thanksgiving?" Instead, they might hear, "Are some groups of Americans required to eat turkey on Thanksgiving?"– Charles KoppelmanJul 9, 2013 at 22:18
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@Daniel My classmate did use the term "custom". I thought it was a family custom/tradition thing. Then again, Judaism can be described as a family.– Double UJul 10, 2013 at 0:16
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@CharlesKoppelman Thanks for pointing that out. That is indeed how I interpreted the question, and hadn't considered the possibility of "custom" being like "custom to eat turkey on Thanksgiving." Then again, if the OP means that kind of custom, is the question really answerable?– DanielJul 10, 2013 at 3:59
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@Anonymous, I'm not asking what she meant by "I would have gone." I'm asking you mean by "Is it really...?"– Seth JJul 12, 2013 at 4:02
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1 Answer
Judaism doesn't have a current pilgrimage obligation the way I understand that Islam does (I believe every Muslim is required to go to Mecca once). However, Israel and, more specifically, Jerusalem is very important to Jews; Israel is our homeland, and Jerusalem is the site of the temples (past and future). Further, Jerusalem used to be a pilgrimage obligation three times a year when the temple stood, as commanded in Devarim 16:16. (See also Pilgrimage Festivals at My Jewish Learning.) So it is not surprising that Jews prioritize Jerusalem as a travel destination even if we can no longer go to the temple. According to Ketubot 111 one who walks four amot in Eretz Yisrael merits a place in Olam HaBa (the world to come) (h/t @sam). Some also hold that we are obligated to move to Israel if we can.
Synagogues, Federations, and other Jewish groups organize tours, and Birthright subsidizes trips to Israel for college-age students. While these groups sometimes organize trips to other destinations of Jewish interest (just last week the local Jewish newspaper advertised for a trip to eastern Europe), by far the majority of such trips are to Israel.
But if you don't go for a visit you're not transgressing a commandment -- just missing an important connection to your land and people that you can't really experience any other way, and the opportunity to do a good thing and gain a place in Olam HaBa.1
1 I should note that Chazal list many things that either secure or preclude one's place in Olam HaBa and it is not clear to me how they interact. Untangling that is beyond the scope of this question.
answered Jul 9, 2013 at 21:00
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2...and before Solomon built the Temple, Shiloh was the pilgrimage obligation, not Jerusalem Jul 9, 2013 at 21:52