10 Powerful Teachings About the Holiness of the Land of Israel

As Tisha B'Av approaches, the day when the Jewish people mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and pray for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, our unique connection to the Land of Israel comes into sharper focus. Throughout centuries of exile, Jews turned toward the land in prayer, longed for its return, and dreamed of walking upon its soil once again.

These ten fascinating insights reveal how deeply the Land of Israel has been cherished throughout Jewish history.

1. Loving Even Its Stones and Dust

The profound love for the Land of Israel is deeply rooted in both Tanakh and the writings of our sages.

King David writes in Psalms:

"For Your servants have cherished her stones and favored her dust" (Psalms 102:15).

Rashi explains that the Jewish people loved not only the land itself, but even its stones and dust. This verse became the basis for the custom of kissing the soil of the Land of Israel upon arriving there.

2. A Tradition Practiced by the Greatest Sages

The custom of kissing the land upon arrival was practiced for generations, particularly by Jews immigrating from Eastern lands, and its roots already appear in the Talmud.

The Rambam writes:

"The greatest sages would kiss the borders of the Land of Israel, kiss its stones, and roll in its dust, as it says, 'For Your servants have cherished her stones and favored her dust'" (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings and Wars 5:10).

3. Yearning Brings Redemption Closer

Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi concludes the Kuzari with a powerful idea: the longing of the Jewish people for the Land of Israel is itself part of the redemption process.

He famously wrote:

"Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until her children long for her with the utmost longing."

In other words, sincere yearning for the land helps prepare the way for redemption.

4. Loving the Land Is a Mitzvah

Throughout the generations, many Torah leaders encouraged every Jew to cultivate a deep love for the Holy Land.

The author of Chareidim writes that every Jew should long to return to the Land of Israel:

"Every Jewish person must cherish the Land of Israel and come to it from the ends of the earth with great longing, like a son returning to his mother's embrace."

He explains that exile began because the Jewish people rejected the desirable land, while redemption will come through renewed love and longing for it.

5. Songs of Love for the Holy Land

The author of Chareidim also praises the custom of singing Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi's poems expressing love for the Land of Israel.

He encourages Jews to recite these heartfelt songs with deep affection while praying that Hashem never remove His people from their land.

6. The Vilna Gaon Longed to Live There

The Vilna Gaon and his students spoke extensively about the holiness of the Land of Israel and its unique ability to strengthen Torah, mitzvot, and closeness to Hashem.

In his commentary to the Shulchan Aruch, the Gaon wrote that the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel still applies today.

He even attempted to make the journey himself, although circumstances forced him to turn back.

In a letter to his family written during the trip, he expressed his longing:

"I am traveling to the Holy Land that all yearn to see, the delight of all Israel and the delight of Hashem."

7. His Students Described the Land With Wonder

Many of the Vilna Gaon's students eventually settled in the Land of Israel.

In one remarkable letter, they described its beauty and holiness in glowing terms, praising its air, produce, Torah, mitzvot, and even the privilege of walking its soil.

They concluded that no words could fully capture the splendor of the Holy Land.

8. Rejecting the Land Led to Exile

Psalms describes the sin of the spies with the words:

"They despised the desirable land; they did not believe His word" (Psalms 106:24).

Rabbi David Min writes that this verse teaches there is a great mitzvah to love the Land of Israel and avoid speaking negatively about it.

Other Torah sources connect the exile to the rejection of the land, teaching that redemption will come through renewed love and longing for it.

9. True Spiritual Wholeness

Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschutz writes in Ya'arot Devash that a person's complete spiritual fulfillment is found in the Land of Israel.

He explains that because the Divine Presence rests there in a unique way, anyone seeking closeness to Hashem should aspire to live in the Holy Land.

10. A Story That Left an Entire Town Speechless

Rabbi Dov Sokolovsky, z"l, shared a powerful story passed down from the Lithuanian town of Mir.

A wealthy and respected member of the community sold his successful businesses and moved to the Land of Israel, determined to fulfill the mitzvah of living there and to cherish its holiness.

The townspeople admired his decision and gave him an emotional farewell.

Some time later, however, he unexpectedly returned to Mir.

Curious to hear about life in the Holy Land, the entire community gathered in the synagogue to listen to his experiences.

At first, he spoke enthusiastically about the beauty of the land, the holiness of Jerusalem, and the privilege of walking where generations had dreamed of walking.

Then his tone changed.

He began describing the poverty and economic hardship he had encountered, eventually concluding with the painful words:

"It is better to be a sheep in Mir than to be a person in the Land of Israel."

According to Rabbi Dov's account, immediately after uttering those words, the man suddenly collapsed. His body weakened, he lost the ability to stand upright, and he could no longer speak. Instead, he moved on all fours and could produce only sounds resembling the bleating of a sheep.

Rabbi Dov recalled that as a child, he and his classmates would pass the man's house on their way to cheder. The man would lie on the balcony on his hands and knees, making strange sounds, and the children would point to him and say:

"So you would still dare speak lashon hara about the Land of Israel?"

Whether understood literally or as a powerful moral lesson, the story reflects the extraordinary reverence with which generations of Jews viewed the Land of Israel and the care they took to honor it with both their words and their actions.