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Does halakha require Diaspora Jews to move to Israel? Even if it doesn't, Rabbi Chaim Jachter says, a Jew who can't make aliyah should strive to at least keep issues relating to Israel in mind.

That will be Jachter's goal as scholar-in-residence at Congregation Ohav Emeth in Highland Park on April 17. His topics will include whether Israeli soldiers can disobey orders on halakhic grounds (during Shacharit services at about 10:30 a.m.), comparing the halakhic and legal opinions on torturing terrorists to save lives (about 6 p.m.), and whether there is a halakhic obligation to move to Israel (about 7:30 p.m.).

Author of the three-part ''Gray Matter'' series on contemporary halakhic challenges, Jachter teaches at the Torah Academy of Bergen County, is co-rabbi at the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, and is a judge on the Beit Din of Elizabeth. His lectures come, appropriately, days before the April 19 celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.

''It's a huge miracle every day that we have [Israel],'' Jachter told The Jewish State.

This weekend, Jachter said he wants attendees to realize that halakha goes beyond issues like carrying on Shabbat and kashrut to real societal dilemmas.

''I want people to come away with that halakha is not just about ritual law,'' Jachter said.

''These are very real issues, and it's something rabbinical advice should be sought for,'' he said of his lecture topics.

Jachter said his talk on whether soldiers can disobey orders will center on Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005, when some soldiers were faced with the dilemma of figuring out if it served the best interest of the Jewish people to refuse participation in the disengagement mission. A number of soldiers who refused were imprisoned or discharged, Jachter said.

Regarding torturing terrorists or other prisoners, Jachter will use sources such as Talmud and Maimonides, what he called ''the usual suspects,'' but will also delve into civil and international law, specifically examining how Israel's signing onto the Geneva Convention impacts treatment of prisoners.

Jachter said he will present balanced perspective on whether Jews are obligated to make aliyah, acknowledging that it is a ''highly charged emotional issue'' that requires ''serious soul searching.'' He said he already knows that ''Highland Park has a good track record'' when it comes to aliyah.

Steve Deutsch, a vice president at Ohav Emeth and an organizer for the scholar-in-residence weekend, said the issue of aliyah was a very pertinent one for the synagogue given the high number interested congregants there.

''A lot of people are choosing to move that way,'' Deutsch said.