Question:
Is there an inyan (a concept) to travel to graves of tzaddikim who are buried in chutz l’aretz (outside of Eretz Yisrael), such as the kever of the Baal Shem Tov, and other tzaddikim? Or should I should daven by graves of tzaddikim buried in Eretz Yisrael?
Answer:
It is better to daven [by the graves of tzaddikim] in Eretz Yisrael. However if there is a certain guarantee that davening by the grave of a certain tzaddik will be beneficial to you, or if your soul feels very attached to a certain tzaddik, of if the tzaddik was part of your ancestry, of if you are connected with the derech (path) of the tzaddik, this connection is a valid reason to go daven by his kever.
However, you should weigh out the pros and cons involved. Will you gain more holiness from it, or will you encounter tumah (inappropriate sights) as you go to these places? Will you be better off staying in Eretz Yisrael rather than dealing with the spiritual challenges involved with traveling to the gentile countries? There are spiritual challenges involved just by travelling there, as well as in your stay there. Sometimes a person travels abroad to daven by the grave of a tzaddik but he slowly becomes “a person of the big world” out there, because he becomes familiar with the world. Sometimes a person has a subconscious motivation deep down in him to journey to other places precisely for this reason, and sometimes a person is completely not aware of this motivation, and at other times a person is more aware of this subconscious motivation.
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