Letter on Touring the Land of Israel

I went to the grave of the Tanna Ila, a man from the village of Yavneh who is mentioned in the tractates Berakhot and Avot, and afterwards we went to the grave of the pious Tanna R. Judah bar Ila‘i, and then to the grave of his father, R. Ila‘i. Inside of the cave are buried twenty tannaim and their disciples. From there we saw the place of Mt. Zion, where Hillel and Shammai and their courts and their disciples are interred, along with R. Yoḥanan the Sandal-maker, and R. Simeon bar Yoḥai, and R. Eleazar and his son, and R. Isaac and R. Ami, and R. Yosi ben Kasma, and R. Judah ben Batrya, and R. Binyamin bar Yifat. And indeed, on that same day we did not go there, because I was tired from all the mountains and hills of the caves of the righteous men. I turned my face from this place and I came to the cave of Abba Shaul, who is laid to rest there with his wife. And I returned to my home on Thursday in time for the afternoon prayers. And behold, I write this for you on the day of the weekly reading ḥaye Sarah.

Behold, I shall make known to you that we will be traveling from here, God willing, in early morning this Tuesday, to the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established speedily, in the order of the verse: and God will give you of the dew of the heavens, etc. (Genesis 27:28).

Here you have the order by which I will act, God willing: On this Sunday, we will go to the place that I mentioned, in which are buried the group of tannaim—Shammai and Hillel—and a special prayer is to be said over the grave of each and every righteous person there. And over the grave of R. Simeon bar Yoḥai we will study the Zohar with fear and reverence and with great devotion, and afterwards, with gladness of heart. I too will take up the Zohar, for many miracles happened there. Indeed, we need to study the Zohar with fear and reverence and with great devotion, and afterwards, we need to gladden the heart with spiritual gladness, and no mourning or sadness should enter into the picture; for it is the former that R. Simeon bar Yoḥai desired, and this is tried and tested. Afterwards, we will make vows and promises, and we will pray. Then on Tuesday, we will happily travel to the holy soil that is sanctified more than all others, Jerusalem, may it be built and established speedily. On the first night we will be in Tiberias, and God willing, we will bathe there in the hot springs of Tiberias. Then we will go to the graves of the tannaim; it is impossible to remember all of them, and thus, I will only mention a few of them: R. Akiva and his friends and disciples, R. ḥiya and his sons, and hundreds of others. We will go to their graves because they are given over to our materiality. And on Sabbath of the Toldot reading, if God wills it, we shall wake up early in the morning. And in Shkhem [Nablus] is buried the righteous Joseph, and Joshua ben Nun, and many others, including the seventy elders. On Monday of the Vayetze reading [that includes Genesis 28:17]: “And this is the gate of heaven,” we will come to the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established speedily. The Lord who was with us and who brought us to Safed, may it be built and established speedily, will also be with us and will bring us to the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established speedily, in life and in peace. And there, we shall serve the Lord by learning and by teaching and by keeping and doing and upholding His commandments.

You, my righteous and upright children, should make it known to all whose souls yearn for the Holy Land that they should reside in the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established speedily. No man should think that I advise this because of the mere fact that I am going to reside there, if God wills it; far be it from me, and from my future offspring! Rather, I advise this with true faith and with the belief that there everything is good and nothing is lacking, and the city is framed and surrounded by a wall. It is a big place like Lvov, and in principle, is more and more holy, as it “is the gate of heaven.” I am also confident that the Lord will spread out by way of much Torah, and the verse: Out of Zion shall go forth Torah (Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2) will be upheld.