What it comes down to is – either you are a part of the solution, by being in Israel and working to rebuild it along Torah ideals; or you are a part of the problem, by remaining in the exile and thereby prolonging its existence.
(The following is a condensed excerpt from his book, “The Jewish Idea,” Vol. 2:)
WE HAVE no clearer picture of the degradation and abhorrence which Israel face in the exile and which result in Chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d). In response to this Chilul Hashem, G-d comes in anger and wrath to take revenge against the nations and sanctify His name which was profaned through Israel’s abject state.
It, therefore, says, “I had pity for My holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, whither they came” (Ezek. 36:21). When the time for redemption arrives, G-d has pity on His holy people, profaned among the nations by Israel’s very presence in exile among them, living under them, subject to and dependent upon them. Even when the nations allow Israel to live in peace among them, Israel still depend on their goodness and tolerance, and that, too, is a Chilul Hashem. The fact that Israel live as a minority constantly dependent on the kindness of the nations, itself diminishes the glory of Israel, and of G-d, so to speak.
This is the intent of Targum’s rendering of the verse, “There [in the exile] you will serve other gods” (Deut. 28:36,64): “There you will serve nations that worship idols.” Israel, by being subject to these nations, even if this just means living under their sovereignty as a minority in the territory of the alien majority, magnify and exalt the gods and culture of the nations, and belittle G-d’s omnipotence, not to mention where the nations humiliate, murder and exterminate them.G-d, thus, intends to blot out the Chilul Hashem among the nations, occurring through Israel, in the only way that the nations will understand, namely, Israel’s redemption and their victory over the nations who blasphemed G-d.
Therefore, although Israel are unworthy of redemption in terms of their deeds, which are insufficient, still, a certain “time” arrives in G-d’s calculations when He has compassion for His holy name, profaned among the nations.
“And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in the midst of them. The nations shall know that I am the L-rd, says the L-rd G-d, when I am sanctified through you before their eyes” (Ibid., v. 23). Read more
