Letter from Jerusalem

And now, why is it that I ask you, and beg of you, like a son who begs of his father, that you do everything that you possibly can to emigrate to this holy place? If there is no other reason, then it should be because of that which our sages of blessed memory have said: anyone who resides outside of the land is like an idolater, as it is said: “for they have driven me out this day from being joined to the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods” [b. Ketubbot 110b; 1 Samuel 26:19]. This presents a difficulty, for who would have told King David, peace be upon him, “Go, serve other gods”? Rather, since they had driven him out of the land of Israel, it was as though it were said; it is also known to the masters of truth that it was as though he were an idolater [Zohar II:79b].

It is not my time to elaborate further upon this discussion, especially since there are so many other wonderful things that no book can even write about all of them. And if there were no other reason, then it should be sufficient that our holy ancestors are buried in the area, among them Abraham and his wife, Isaac and his wife, Jacob and his wife, the exalted Samuel, the righteous Yishai, Avner ben Ner, David and Solomon and all of the kings of Judah, and also Aaron in Mt. Hor, and all of the rest of the righteous men of the world; may their merit stand for us! We go and prostrate ourselves over their graves, and we see at all times that we want a house for our holiness and for our beauty. And the land is good and wide, and lacks nothing. It is a land that is satiated with bread, meat, wine, fruits, and all kinds of delicacies of the world. Also, praise be to God and thanksgiving to His Name, we do not have a weak diaspora here, even though it is not possible to be without a diaspora; in any case, it is not even one thousandth of that which they say is the case there. In the end, there is nobody who will say the praises of the land of Israel. Thus, anyone who the Lord has endowed with knowledge, anyone who sees this letter, should close his mouth and his eyes in order to come out of the diaspora (and out of impurity), to this holy place, to a place for which our ancestors yearned. He should do this alone, in the manner of our holy Torah, which states: You shall bind up money in your hand, and shall ascend to the land (Deuteronomy 14:25). And it is not by the glory of the Lord and by your glory that you should do this, as this city is already called the burial place of your ancestors, and this is for the sake of your glory, blessed be the Lord. For the sake of your glory, you should arouse your heart and wake from your sleep, and come out of the diaspora and grasp the hand of the attributes of your ancestors. Your mother Donna shall be more blessed than all women by the hand of those attributes, and by the hand of all of our relatives shall be for them the head, by way of that which is said: Who shall go up first? And He said, Judah shall go up (Judges 20:18). He went up and he prospered, and he came, blessed is the Lord. Now, orient yourself to come to the Holy Land and to prostrate yourself over the graves of your righteous ancestors to consume their ashes.

And that which our sages of blessed memory said should be enough for anyone who is learned in books: “Anyone who walks four cubits in the land of Israel has his transgressions pardoned, as it is said: And His land will forgive His people (Deuteronomy 32:43).”

Thus, for the sake of the Lord, may He be blessed, and for the sake of His holy Torah, come immediately and do not tarry! Anyone who wants to come should come, for all can spend the days of their lives laboring here. And these are the worthwhile professions here: silversmith, tailor or seamstress, carpenter, belt maker, weaver, and blacksmith. And anyone who the Lord has granted a little money can be successful in buying and selling. And in truth, anyone who knows how to learn well will be provided for here, for behold, I, who have no profession except for learning, have been provided for by Torah study. I do not know what more to add concerning the matter of your emigration to this place. I am amazed that your heart has not been filled, causing you to write many lines.

I who speak, Samuel, ben R. Joseph Picho, may his memory be for the world to come, am sitting in the holy city of Jerusalem.