Editing The Rebbe Rayatz (section)

==== Visit to Eretz Yisrael ====
On Monday, 2nd Menachem Av 5689 (1929), the Rebbe Rayatz arrived for a visit to Eretz Yisrael. The purpose of the visit was to pray at the graves of tzaddikim in the land, instead of visiting the graves of Chabad Rebbes which was not possible for him. Immediately upon his arrival in Eretz Yisrael, he traveled to Jerusalem and from there continued to visit graves of tzaddikim throughout the country.

During his visit to the Holy Land, he met important rabbis including the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, and the Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook.

One of the places the Rebbe Rayatz visited was Hebron, where he was received by the Jewish residents and stayed at a hotel outside the city. When he left the hotel, the residents accompanied him in a procession along the outer road to the Cave of Machpelah. With the help of the Chassid Rabbi Eliezer Dan Slonim, who was the manager of Anglo-Palestine Bank and had connections with the Arab government in Hebron, a special entry permit was obtained for the Rebbe Rayatz and three companions. When the procession reached "Jacob's Gate" (from where entry was forbidden to Jews), they were greeted by a delegation of Arab dignitaries who gave those authorized to enter leather soles and laces, so they would not have to remove their shoes at the entrance, as was their custom. Upon entering the cave, the Rebbe Rayatz walked in front with his companions, both Jews and Arabs, behind him. The Arab dignitaries explained to the Rebbe Rayatz about the place and the graves. The visit was especially moving and quiet. When they reached "Abraham's Gate," they descended the stairs, down to the seventh step (which was permitted for Jews) and exited. Later, the Rebbe Rayatz also visited the Chabad community in Hebron.

The Rebbe Rayatz also visited the cities of: Afula, Tiberias, Safed, Meron, Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, and Petach Tikvah.

On the 16th of Menachem Av 5689, he concluded his visit and a farewell ceremony was held beginning in Tel Aviv, from where 15 buses departed to accompany the Rebbe Rayatz to the train station in Lod, where about five hundred people from around the country gathered in a special hall provided by the railway management for the Rebbe Rayatz and his escorts. When the train arrived, the Rebbe Rayatz stood on the train steps, turned to the crowd and said:<blockquote>"A person should not depart from his friend except with a matter of halacha, and since time does not permit to speak, I have hereby delivered a long discourse - entitled 'A person should not depart from his friend except with a matter of halacha.'"</blockquote>The Rebbe Rayatz traveled by train from Lod together with a group of Chabad rabbis and elders who accompanied him to the train station in Rehovot, from where he departed by another train to Egypt on his way to visit the United States.
[[File:ביקור אדמור הרייצ.jpg|thumb|Announcement from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel Calling to Welcome the Rebbe Rayatz Upon His Arrival to Jerusalem]]
Just one week after his departure, the 1929 riots broke out, which he had foreseen during his visit, as he wrote about it:<blockquote>"Scenes of sorrow my heart told me, and spots of blood I saw hovering in the air of Eretz Yisrael, and to the grief of all Israel and my heart, what happened, happened not upon us, and may Hashem have mercy on His people and His inheritance, and send us the righteous redeemer and gather our dispersed from the four corners of the earth, speedily in our days, Amen." — Letter dated 28th Sivan 5690 (1930)</blockquote>