Unfortunately, many Jews pray for the ingathering of our people and yet they themselves have never even visited the Land of Israel. Some do not even send funds to support those who are here, nor invest money to build the country. One has to ask: How many of us actually want to live in Israel? Of course, each of us must make our own decision about when to return to our homeland. But the Jews who live in the Diaspora must remember that they are in exile, they are not home, and they should yearn to come home as soon as possible. Sadly, however, this is not always the case. The woman whose story was related in Chapter 4—who raved about her community’s glatt kosher restaurants and said she hoped to stay in the United States even after the Mashiach comes—is a good example of how confused and inconsistent some can be. For them reciting this tenth blessing of the Amidah is just lip service. Once when I was in Monsey, New York, I was praying in a shul which had a beautiful view of an adjacent forest. The sun was just rising over the horizon, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was admiring the setting when a man approached me and said, “You know, Monsey has a little bit of the status of the Land of Israel.” I turned to him and said flatly, “No, it doesn’t. You are in exile. Don’t pretend that Israel is here when it is not. Monsey is a very holy Torah community, but, nonetheless it is in exile. It is not our national home.” Another story comes to mind. I was at someone’s home, and he was saying, “God-willing, I can’t wait to be in Eretz Yisrael, for my son’s Bar Mitzvah, Im Yirtzeh Hashem …” I said, “Great! So you’re coming to Israel for the Bar Mitzvah?” He responded, “When the Mashiach comes, yes. I hope he comes before the Bar Mitzvah.” I did not understand. Why wouldn’t this man come to Israel for his son’s Bar Mitzvah? Why would the Mashiach have to arrive first? The Land of Israel is ready and waiting for its people to return. Why do we delay? So I asked him, “What do you think about living in Israel?” He became very defensive. “What, and have to hold down two jobs?” A friend of mine recently shared with me his response to a person who asked him how he is making ends meet now that he’s living in Israel. He told the person, “Never in my life have I made so little and felt so rich.” Like the man in Monsey and the woman in California, there are many people who believe that the Land of Israel is simply a state of consciousness that one can experience anywhere in the world. Indeed, the Midrash states that after the Mashiach comes, the holiness of the Land of Israel will extend to the rest of the world. But this Midrash is describing a metaphysical experience. The Torah, however, is not talking philosophy or metaphysics when it outlines the exact borders of the Land of Israel. The Torah gives us real physical borders, and this is what we must establish and defend. Simply, we are commanded to settle and develop the land. The Torah does not tell us to live in California. The Land of Israel is our home, where we can fulfill our life mission. True, some of us may have good reasons why we cannot return to our homeland just yet. It is not easy to uproot oneself or a whole family. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, who was known as a passionate Zionist, had a surprising response to a letter that someone wrote him, asking him about making aliyah to Israel. Rabbi Kook responded, “Be sure that when you make aliyah, you are able to succeed. Plan carefully and do not be too hasty in your planning. Make sure your timing is right.” Even Rav Kook did not say, “jump.” But it is important to understand that if we are praying to God for the ingathering of the exiles, then we must be sincere and really want that. We have to recite this blessing with daat, with realization. Returning to our homeland, to the Land of Israel, is the next step in our national teshuvah process. Only when we return to the land are we able to completely come back to ourselves and to God.