He went out of his way to perform an open miracle for its sake.
That same desire and will is also reflected in his famous ruling that integral to the mitzvah of Torah study is the enjoyment and desire one derives from engaging in the Torah’s study. "When I was young, there were people with minds like mine," he said later. "But I wanted, I wanted so much! How intensely I wanted...." This triple emphasis reveals how the tzaddik's desire penetrates the three highest levels of the soul: faith, pleasure, and will. The same desire (רצון) is also found in the essence of the Land (ארץ), as both words can be understood to stem from the same two-letter root. Based on this linguistic analysis, the sages explain the meaning of the word “Land”: “Because it desired to perform the will of its Owner."
Following this approach, let us delve deeper into his quoted words on the virtue of Jewish settlement in the Land:
It is a great mitzvah to lobby the government to grant permission for a group of people to make aliyah. This is certainly of great benefit in several ways:
- Making it possible for others to immigrate freely.
- Residing there with the goal of fulfilling the commandments in general, and especially the mitzvot that can only be kept in the Land, as so many are not familiar with them. And if there are many committed Jews, “each will help his fellow,” etc.
- With regard to the holiness of the Land and its blessings. For through the fulfillment of mitzvot in the Land of Israel, especially the mitzvot dependent on the Land which are called “property obligations,” just as a person strengthens his soul through fulfilling mitzvot, so too the Land increases its holiness through the fulfillment of its mitzvot, and the blessing of the Land depends on its holiness.
These three benefits described by the Avnei Nezer correspond in order to the three dimensions of: Worlds, Souls, and Divinity. These are the three dimensions of reality mentioned by the Ba’al Shem Tov in his letter about bringing the Redemption. In his letter, he explains that these three, “ascend, connect, and unite with one another,” and it seems that each action is particularly related to one of the three aspects, as we will now demonstrate:
Free immigration to the Land of Israel corresponds to the ascent of the Worlds within the Jew. Encouraging a large gathering of Torah-committed Jews in the Land corresponds to the connection of Souls, as each will help his fellow to fulfill the mitzvot dependent on the Land. Finally, God's blessing—His response to the deeds of those who believe in Him and do His will—corresponds to the unification of Divinity in our efforts. In the Land of Israel, holiness and blessing unite, as "the blessing of God is what makes one rich" and "there is no [true] wealth except knowledge."
The Avnei Nezer's efforts to settle the Land of Israel with Jews who seek God is, in essence, a striving for “the earth shall be full of consciousness of God as the waters cover the sea.”
1. Avnei Nezer, Yoreh De’ah 454.
2. Proverbs 10:22.
3. Following Nedarim 41a.
4. Isaiah 11:9.
