The Mishna had stated: A
man may force all of his family members to go up to Eretz Yisroel,
but he may not force them to leave Eretz Yisroel. A man may force
all of his family members to go up to Yerushalayim, but he may not force
them to leave Yerushalayim. This applies to both men and women (a
wife can force the husband).
The Gemora explains that
these halachos are based upon the mitzvah
of furthering the settlement of Eretz Yisroel.
The Ramban says that this mitzvah is a Biblical commandment. The Rambam
omits this mitzvah is his Sefer
Hamitzvos. There are those that explain that the Rambam holds that it’s only a
Rabbinical mitzvah. Other say that the
Rambam holds it is not a mitzvah at
all; the only reason why a man can force his family members to move to Eretz
Yisroel is because this way, they will be able to fulfill the mitzvos
which are dependent upon the Land
of Israel.
The Ritva writes that the
applications of the Mishna apply to nowadays also. Proof to this is from
the fact that Rebbe incorporated these halachos into the Mishna even
though he was living in the times after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh.
Tosfos cites Rabbeinu Chaim Kohen
that there is no mitzvah nowadays because
there are many mitzvos there which entail many punishments, and it will
be impossible for one to be careful regarding all of them. This can be simply
understood to mean that although there might be a mitzvah
to live in Eretz Yisroel, it is simply not worth it, for one will
lose out by transgressing many aveiros there. Reb Avi Lebowitz (and
afterwards I found this logic in the Beis Halevi) explains a little
differently: Rabbeinu Chaim is actually describing the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel to be
for the purpose of fulfilling the mitzvos that apply there. If one were to live
in Eretz Yisroel without properly performing the mitzvos, they are not
only losing out on these additional mitzvos; they are also not
fulfilling the mitzvah of living in Eretz
Yisroel.