Ingathering Part III – The Vilna Gaon and Sin of the Meraglim – Amalek

[T]he Vilna Gaon’s comments* about those who spurn the opportunity of making aliyah, or at least of wanting to do so. It’s from Chapter 5 of Kol HaTor, which as mentioned previously, is not verified to be authentic GR”A. [I]n the 1700s, when Eretz Yisroel was barren, under the authority of the Ottoman Empire, and dangerous to inhabit:

The sin of the Spies (Meraglim) in the Desert in the days of Moshe is one of the greatest general sins that attaches itself to Am Yisrael in all the generations until today. 

According to the midrash of our sages, a weeping from generation to generation was decreed because of the Sin of the Spies, weeping for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the destruction of Yerushalayim, and the desolation of the land. In a large part, Am Yisrael has suffered and suffers in all the generations the pains of the bitter exile due to the Sin of the Spies. A large portion of the punishment of this sin was brought down in the days that the sin occured during the generation in the desert, as explained in the Torah, but the remainder of the punishment was divided up to pieces that were put upon all generations, G-d save us.

A great tikkun for the Sin of the Spies can come by way of the redemption and building of Yerushalayim, and by way of actions of gathering in the Exiles, according to the known principle of "G-d made this opposing that", and measure for measure, for merit and also for sin, fix what you broke, to fix everything according to the place, according to the time, according to the action, and according to the publicity. And behold the Sin of the Spies which brought weeping for generations according to the explanation of our sages on the verse "And the people wept on that night", that night was the night of Tishah b'Av, on which the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed.

We find that the tikkun for the Sin of the Spies needs to be by building the Beit HaMikdash, and before the building of the Beit HaMikdash, there needs to be the building of Yerushalayim, as explained according to our Rabbi (the GR"A) according to the verse "Yerushalayim will be built and the Sanctuary founded" which is said on the final Atchalta DiGeulah like in the days of Koresh.

And due to our many sins, there are many who are sinning the great sin of "they despised the desirable land", also many that keep Torah do not know or understand that they are caught up in the Sin of the Spies, they are attached to the Klipah of the Sin of the Spies in all sorts of nonsensical, lying arguments, also covering up their logic with the rejected opinion that there is no mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz at this time. This opinion was already rejected by the geniuses of the world, the Rishonim and Acharonim. These Spies want to be bigger than our rabbis the Tanaim and Amoraim that set that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael is equal all the other mitzvot in the Torah, and our rabbi

the Ramban zya"a that set that the mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz is a positive commandment of the Torah from "and you shall inherit it and settle it”, 

and our rabbi the writer of Tosefot Yom Tov that before the Geulah there will be an Atchalta like in the days of Koresh in the days of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash and also our rabbi

the Shla"h HaKadosh (in  Sha'ar HaOtiot) explains the greatness of the mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, that at no time does the holiness of this mitzvah cease, even for an instant. 

And who is greater for us in all the last generations than our rabbi the GR"A, the holy of Israel, that with firey words urged his students to move to Eretz Yisrael and to work in the

Ingathering of the Exiles, 

and urged his students greately to start the Keitz Meguleh to bring forward the Keitz of the Geulah by way of settling Eretz Yisrael.

Almost every day our rabbi spoke to us with great emotion that "In Tzion and in Yerushalayim there will be refuge", and not to delay the appointed time. Who can speak or describe the great worry of our rabbi as he spoke to us with words like these with his holy spirit and with tears in his eyes, and also explained to us many times that the opinion of Rav Yehudah (Ketubot 110) that said that someone who moves to Eretz Yisrael from Bavel violates a positive commandment, even according to Rav Yehudah, this is only said regarding Bavel and not from the rest of the lands. And also Aliyah from Bavel of Rav Yehudah, it is a opinion of a single authority, and it is rejected from its base in the Gemara there and in the commentaries. This and more: Rav Yehudah bases himself on the verse "To Bavel they will be brought and there thay will be until the day of My rememberance" (Yirmiyahu 27). What is the meaning of "until the day of My rememberance"? Behold during the Aliyah of Ezra and Nechemiah was from Galut Bavel and any rememberance from Heaven needs to have first a rememberance in the Awakening from Below, and as our rabbi said to us in many places that the rememberence in the Footsteps of Moshiach will be first like in the days of Koresh in the days of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash from the Left Side, the side of Din meaning the Awakening from Below.

How great is the pain of the fact that many of our brothers Bnei Yisrael and among them many wealthy Jews in the state of Russia who eagerly prepared to come to Eretz Yisrael by the mitzvah of our rabbi the GR"A, and were cooled off davka by some who keep the Torah that don't know and understand. And this is what our rabbi wrote that during the ingathering, the Other Side will be strengthened, G-d save us, and this is what it says in the midrash that when Israel goes out of the Galut, Amalek is made ready for them on the way. And that is the strength of the impurity about which it says "that cooled you off on the way". And see how strong the power is of the satan that put this deceiving opinion also in those that keep the Torah to delay the Geulah, for behold the Spies themselves were amongst the greatest of Israel and the satan enticed them, G-d save us.

In addition to this, amongst the obstacles in the Diaspora, there are also those that interfere in the sending of financial support for the strengthening of the settlement in Eretz Yisrael. We hear from our emissaries a few such horrible stories. For example: On the day of the GR"A's Yartzheit, one of our emissaries gave the drash in the synagogue in the city in favor of supporting the settlement in Eretz Yisrael. After him, the Gabbai of the community came up to the bimah and said that the Gabbai's of the community in Yerushalayim have created a new business, it is not enough that they request donations for food for the poor but also donations for the building of Yerushalayim to buy fields, etc. in order to expand the settlement, and other dreams like this. And if it were really a time of desire in front of Hashem, said this Gabbai, to bring the Geulah, then there would be no need to buy fields, etc.

And behold this Gabbai that has no idea about the ways of the Geulah and doesn't know or doesn't want to know about the words of the prophet "Fields with money will be bought in the land of Binyamin and in the surroundings of Yerushalayim" (Yirmiyahu 32), and the words of the prophet "Expand the place of your tents" that all these were spoken about the Atchalta DiGeulah as I have explained in prior chapters.

And also what our sages said that thus is the Geulah of Israel, little by little it comes, like Ayelet HaShachar, etc, and all this was said about the Atchalta DiGeulah like a poor person on a donkey, as long as we have not merited the full Geulah on the clouds of heaven, speedily and in our days. And the GR"A speaks in many places about the first Geulah from the Servitude of the Nations by the first Moshiach, the Moshiach of the Atchalta, Moshiach ben Yosef, who is responsible for Kibbutz Galuyot in the Awakening from Below. And what is the meaning of the First Moshiach and the First Geulah in the words of the GR"A? It is the preparations that come before Moshiach ben Dovid. And what will those people with their deep explanations say regarding the words of our sages"When Yerushalayim is built, ben Dovid comes" and on the verse "And there will come to Tzion a redeemer" (Yeshayahu 59), about which the Midrash and Rashi say "As long as Tzion isn't built, the redeemer doesn't come". And indeed it is (akin to) the hyssop in the wall coming to defeat the (mighty) Cedars of Lebanon, this is nothing but the Klipah of the Spies speaking from within their throats, indeed this is what our sages said that in the Footsteps of Moshiach, the truth is hidden and chutzpah increases, chutzpah also against the holy words of our prophets and visionaries, chutzpah against the earlier Gedolei Yisrael, and against the opinion and holy command of the holy of Israel, our rabbi the GR"A, and we pray that all those that have the spirit of Amalek dwelling within them will repent from their evil ways, and He is merciful and atones sin.

 What would the GR”A say about Diaspora Jews today?

* Source: Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit”a Essays
(I have highlighted certain phrases but have not altered the wording, it remains as was transmitted to Rabbi Winston.