The Land of Israel receives its holiness from the Jewish people, through whom God is glorified. Since God watches over the Jewish people, His eyes are always on the land. Even the air of this land makes people wise.

The holiness of the Land of Israel is due only to the fact that God watches over it; He is always taking notice of the Land of Israel, as it is written, “Always the eyes of the Lord your God are upon it, from the beginning of the year until year end” (Deuteronomy 11:12). Because of this, the Land of Israel is sanctified, and its air makes one wise (Bava Batra 158b)…. But what spurs God to have it be as though His eyes are watching? It is because of the souls of the Jewish people [who live there], in whom God glories, as in the verse, “Israel, in whom I glory” (Isaiah 49:3)…. This is why it is called the Land of Israel; it receives its holiness from “Israel, in whom I glory.” (Rabbi Naĥman of Breslov, Likutei Moharan Tinyana 40)

Since the Land of Israel is connected with the Jewish people specifically, before they entered the land it would devour its inhabitants, spewing out the nations that settled there. The land reveals its hidden good only when the Jewish people are settled in it. The superiority of the Land of Israel is not evident externally, but all blessings derive from the land.

The Land of Israel is designated only for the Jewish people, and the benevolent light that is concealed within it is revealed only to them…. Therefore, before the Jewish people arrived, its hidden good was not discernible, and the spies said that the land “devours its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:32). Based on this alone they should have understood that the Land of Israel is designated only for the Jewish people, and this is why it “spewed out the nation that was before you” (Leviticus 18:28).… Therefore, Caleb and Joshua said, “The land is exceedingly good. If the Lord is favorably disposed to us, He will bring us to this land and will give it to us” (Numbers 14:7–8), meaning, at that time the hidden good will be revealed…. The superiority of the Land of Israel is not evident externally, but the root of all blessings depends on the Land of Israel. (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, Sefat Emet, Shelaĥ 5661)

Further reading: Read the story of the spies in A Concise Guide to the Torah, p. 372; A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 187.

The Land of Israel, a place of sanctity and divine illumination, was given to the Jewish people so that they could truly serve God.

The intention of the Creator, blessed be He, was to give the holy land to the Jewish people because it is a land whose air makes one wise, as it corresponds to that upper land that is called the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, one can easily come there to truly serve God. (Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein, Ma’or VaShemesh, Kedoshim)

Further reading: For more on the Land of Israel and its holiness, see A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 387.

My Heart Is in the East

My heart is in the east and I am in the farthest west.

How can I taste what I eat and how can it be pleasant?

How can I fulfill my vows and [self-imposed] prohibitions, when Zion is shackled by Edom [Rome, or the Church], and I am in the chains of Arabs?

It would be easy for me to leave all the delights of Spain,

An honor for me to see the dust of the ruined Temple.

An emissary from Safed came to the city of Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritch and sang the praises of the Land of Israel. He described the air, the views, the greenery, and the fruit. In rich language he painted a picture of the beauty of the holy sites and the graves of saintly people. Finally, he became so moved that he cried out, “Even the stones in the Land of Israel are actually precious gems!” The rebbe, who for a long time had wanted to immigrate to the Holy Land, could not rest. He traveled to the Land of Israel and settled in Safed.

Some time later, the emissary returned home from his journey and asked the rebbe: “Did the rebbe find here what he had expected to see?”

“Yes indeed,” replied the rebbe, “The land really is ‘exceedingly good.’ I have seen the holy sites and the graves of the saintly ones, the Western Wall and Rachel’s Tomb, and the air of the Land of Israel truly does make one wise. But, when you said that the stones in the Holy Land are actually gems, that was a slight exaggeration.”

The emissary responded emphatically, “Rebbe, those who are deserving see it!”

When the rebbe heard this, he stood up and went into his room without a word. He remained there for an entire year without emerging. After a year, he came out and invited the people of Safed to a feast.

Everyone assembled, longing to hear the reason for the rebbe’s seclusion and for the gathering. The rebbe declared, “I have secluded myself, sanctified myself, and purified myself, and indeed my eyes have been opened! I bear witness before you that the stones of this land are shining, precious gems.”

The Land of Israel is the Shekhina itself. (Rabbi Menaĥem Mendel of Vitebsk, Peri HaAretz)

No matter where I go, I am always headed for the Land of Israel. (Rabbi Naĥman of Breslov)

Israel among the nations, the Torah among the faiths, and the Land of Israel among the lands; these are the three epicenters where the treasures that nourish and sanctify the entire world are concealed. (Rabbi Avraham Yitzĥak HaKohen Kook, Orot 151)