The 19th Century: When Conditions Ripe for Jewish Settlement

The blossoming of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in the 19th century didn’t happen on its own. A series of pivotal changes took place that allowed for an increase in settlement.

Muhammad Ali, who ruled over the Land of Israel, wasn’t eager to assist the Jews. However, although he had physical control over the land, he didn’t govern the world, not even the land itself. In 1840, the English provided substantial support to the Turks in their rule over the land, and in return, they demanded reforms for minorities. While the English were primarily concerned with Christians, these laws also benefited Jews.

Once minorities had rights, life in the land became significantly safer. If someone who immigrated from England, Poland, or any other country was harmed or robbed, they could approach their country's consul for protection.

The Turks reinstated the Capitulations Law, which stated that foreign subjects were not subject to Turkish law but rather to the law of their home country. If an immigrant from a particular country was suspected of theft, the local sultan couldn’t simply cut off their hand. Instead, he was required to report to that country’s consul, explaining how the judgment was carried out, on what evidence it was based, and why a certain punishment was given.

This led to the establishment of more and more foreign consulates in Jerusalem. European nations were eager to establish a foothold in another country, assert demands, and protect rights, which also benefited them economically and commercially. They could guarantee the operations of their traders in the East. These developments brought stability to the Jewish community as well; financial support and donations to institutions in the Land of Israel were no longer sent by camel caravans accompanied by armed Bedouins to fend off robbers but were instead shipped via the diplomatic mail of the consulates.

At the same time, steamships entered the maritime market. While the disciples of the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov mostly arrived on sailing ships and faced encounters with pirates and other hazards, by the second half of the 19th century, people boarded giant steamships equipped with cannons from Europe’s major ports. Tickets were sold by shipping companies. The Austrian Lloyd opened a regular line to Palestine, and the Russian shipping company opened a line from Odessa. The journey took much less time, a week to ten days instead of weeks and months. It was possible to purchase a ticket for a visit to the country of origin and garner supplies, relatives from Europe could also visit Eretz Yisrael in an organized manner.

All these events occurred around 1840 - the year 5600 in the Hebrew calendar, when the Zohar states that the gates of wisdom would open and the light of the Messiah would begin to shine.

Historian Professor Czerniejewski writes: "The 19th century achieved greater progress than all previous centuries combined in the understanding of nature and its essence. It solved many of the major enigmas of the world previously deemed unsolvable and uncovered new areas of science and knowledge previously undreamed of a hundred years ago."

In the summer of 1840, English Lord Shaftesbury submitted a memorandum to the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, regarding the return of Jews to the Land of Israel. On August 11, the minister instructed his ambassador in Istanbul to strongly recommend to the Turkish government the provision of all fair encouragement to the Jews of Europe to return to the Land of Israel. On August 17, the London Times supported the plan in its main article to "plant the Jewish people in the land of their fathers," defining it as a "practical plan of wisdom."

On May 17, 1854, Shaftesbury wrote in his diary: "Here is a land without a national people, and now God in His wisdom and mercy guides us to a nation without a land - His beloved since and His beloved now, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Dr. Morgenstern documents in his book "Messianism and the Settlement of the Land of Israel" an extraordinary event: "On Yom Kippur of the year 5600, several hundred Anglican Christians gathered in Liverpool, England, for a special prayer: the main theme of their prayer was a request for divine mercy on behalf of the children of Israel!"

While the motivations of those statesmen were to strengthen their nation’s status in the land, or even for missionary reasons - it doesn’t matter to our issue. The fact is that this year, after 1700 years of Jewish persecution and forceful removal from the Land of Israel, suddenly these Christians concluded that redemption would come through the Jewish return to their land, and they were even willing to assist proudly.

Morgenstern relates that an important missionary in England wrote in a lead article in 1823 that the fact that for 1700 years nothing like it was seen - such a positive Christian attitude towards the Jewish people - to the point of willingness to help them in the process of returning to Zion, indicates that redemption is indeed near. In other words - even the Gentiles felt that extraordinary phenomena were happening that year.