Waiting for Messiah?


Regarding those who think that they must remain in the Diaspora lands until the Messiah arrives, we have already written above in the name of Maimonides that they are mistaken. We also wrote that nothing can work by exclusively relying on G-d; there must always be stimulation and awakening from below.


And so writes the Holy Zohar: 169

All the practical commandments must be fulfilled via practical actions below [in the lower world], in order to arouse the forces of the sefirot above.

Come and see: One who says that there are things in which this need not be done, or that words need not be spoken… let his spirit be evaporated – and this is proven from the fact that we are commanded to light the candles and bring the incense on the altar.


From all the above, we can understand that the Redemption is in our hands; it is dependent on us. We must return to the Land of Israel in order to connect all four letters of the Divine Name – as is written clearly by the Pitchei Chochmah. 170


In this work, we have brought only a small sampling of the vast selection of our Sages' teachings, scattered throughout the hundreds of Torah works, that sing the praises of the Land of Israel and of the great merit of living there.  "Teach the wise man and he will become wiser." 171 The great Torah scholars and spiritual leaders throughout Israel have the great responsibility of delving deeper and deeper into these words and bringing them to the public fore.


And whoever truly loves his nation and his fellow Jews must strive to persuade and convince anyone who will listen to him to move to the Land of Israel. And the sooner the better, because not all times are equal; if the correct action for today is put off, who knows what will be the day after? It could be that the gates of departure that are open today in a given place will be closed tomorrow or the next day.  Or it could be that a war might break out, making the roads [and even international air routes] dangerous for travel – and then those who wish to come will be in the category of those who "cry out but are not answered."


We must learn from the past, from that which our Sages alluded to in the Medrash Rabba of Shir HaShirim on the verse, "What shall we do for our sister on the day that she shall be spoken for." 172 The Medrash says: "What shall we do on the day that it was decreed that whoever passed the Euphrates, passed, and whoever did not, did not."  The Radal explained in his commentary: "They should have gone up to the Land of Israel like a wall before this decree was made, and because they did not, the sin was instrumental in causing the decree to be decreed upon them."


To conclude our words, I would like to present this prayer that was copied from the work Bigdei Yesha.  It is a prayer that every person should recite, and he will thus merit Divine help. This is the prayer:

  1. 169.Emor page 105a

  2. 170.page 26b; see there.

  3. 171.Proverbs 9,9

  4. 172.Song of Songs 8,8



FOOTNOTES

Previous   |  Table of Contents 

        May it be Your will, the Lord my G-d and the G-d of my fathers, that You might help me, for the sake of the glory of Your name, to love the Land of Israel with all my heart - every season, every day, and every moment. May I similarly always fulfill the commandment of living in the Land of Israel, as is written, You shall dwell in it.


        And may I always take delight in living in the Land, and do so with great passion, as a child who misses his mother - just as Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, longed for the land. I too, one of his offspring: please grant me the merit of this trait as well, so that in its merit, I shall be atoned for all my sins and iniquities, from the day I was born until today, and even for those in my previous incarnations, and even for my having disdained the Land in the desert during the Sin of the Spies – as is written, "They despised the beloved land" – and having thus caused a weeping for generations. 


        May the difficulties of the journey to the Land of Israel be a 'ransom of my soul,' as is written, "For Your servants hold her stones dear, and cherish her very dust." And grant me the merit of always living in the Land until the arrival of the Righteous Redeemer, may it be speedily in our times, Amen.


        And enable me to adhere to the Land with joy and good-heartedness, and may this verse be fulfilled in me: "Who is like Your people in Israel, one nation in the Land." And may the light of the upper holiness of the Land of Israel shape my soul, my spirit, and my life to rise up in sanctity, and to be counted and seen there before the Lord G-d of Israel, with the entire community of Israel.

Site created by Kayla Krauss | Kayla Krauss Graphics Studio