Chapter 11
Evil Inclination Entices for its Own Good
Based on these teachings of the AriZal, it is clear that the reason for the passivity of those religious Jews who continue to remain outside the Land - and especially those who actively write against coming here - is all because of the Evil Inclination. It seduces them merely for its own benefit, in order to benefit from their Torah and good deeds. As the Sages teach: The greater a man is, the greater is his Evil Inclination. The Evil Inclination places stumbling blocks and makes all sorts of claims in order that the people should remain abroad, and they in turn cause others to remain there - and this is the very joy of the evil angels Samael and Plonit.
The issue is that every righteous person is of the element yesod (foundation), and every country has an element of malchut (royalty): The Land of Israel is "royalty of holiness," while the other lands are "royalty of impurity (shell)." As we saw in the words of the Shlah above, G-d does not want prayers from outside the Land, because they merely help outside and impure forces to gain a foothold in the Heavens.
The upshot is that the righteous person living outside the Land is totally involved in and surrounded by impurity: Above him is the angel minister of the impure land, and below him is the impure land itself. How then can he expect his prayers to ascend to Heaven? But he who is privileged to immigrate to the Land of Israel - just as here on earth he is connected with the "royalty of holiness," so too he causes yesod and malchut to be connected in the upper worlds, causing Unification of the Name above, as the Rakanati wrote (in the beginning of Parashat Emor): "Just as is done below, so is caused above."
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