The story beautifully reflects the great love of Israel the Baba Sali had, together with his powerful blessings, and his deep concern for the observance of Torah and commandments by other Jews.
In this context, it is recounted that Baba Sali came to the Land of Israel three times before settling there. During his first visit, he stayed in the country for about a year, but when he saw that the spiritual state of the country was deteriorating, he returned to Morocco. The same reason caused him to leave the Land of Israel after his second visit, and even on his third visit, Baba Sali was so shaken by the state of Jewish education in the country that he considered leaving.
When he came to Israel for the second time with his family, Baba Sali shared his doubts with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The tzaddik, who testified that since the age of fifteen he had not opened a book that was not in the spirit of the Ba’al Shem Tov, saw in the Rebbe the continuation of the Ba’al Shem Tov's way in our generation and sought his opinion.
The Rebbe replied with a long and wonderful letter, filled with exceptional praises and deep Kabbalistic matters. In his letter, he called Baba Sali "a universal man and a leader in Israel," and wrote to him that he is like a king who should not leave his people, who are in the Land of Israel. The Rebbe defined Baba Sali's special strength and role with the words: "The duty of the hour is to conquer, with a strong hand, the entire younger generation," a phrase that illustrates the messianic power attributed by the Rebbe to Baba Sali, since one of the missions of the Mashiach is “to compel all Israel to follow [the way of the Torah] and rectify the breaches in its observance....”
