Please read this introduction before searching the Q&A

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There are three reasons to move to Eretz Yisroel.

1. It is a Mitzvah. 

2. It is the best place (by far) to serve Hashem and perform our holy mission.

3. To bring or witness the long awaited Mashiach.

Reasons number one and two apply with or without the coming of Mashiach, and should be the main reasons to make Aliyah as soon as possible.

Reason number three, unfortunately, has no perfect answer because no one knows the exact time of the coming of Mashiach. But if one would simply take a look at the history of the Jews over the last 2,000 years and the teachings of Chazal, it would be extremely obvious that we are in the very final stage before Mashiach's arrival.

Here are some of the most obvious points: 

- Eretz Yisroel has been a dry, disease filled desert wasteland for the most part of the last 2,000 years. And now, in a miraculously short period of time, with the arrival of a small amount of Jewish settlers, our land has been rebuilt to a point where it is an exporter of produce and is one of the military and technological leaders of the world.

- Chazal tell us in many places that the most obvious signs that Mashiach is about to arrive is that Eretz Yisroel will start growing trees, fruits, and vegetables again. And just to help understand how great of a miracle this is, the Ramban (who lived about 800 years ago) writes about how empty and desolate the land was when he came to Eretz Yisroel. And Mark Twain who lived a little over one hundred years ago wrote the following about his trip to Eretz Yisroel:  "We traversed some miles of desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds – a silent mournful expanse…. A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We reached Tabor safely…. We never saw a human being on the whole route….we pressed on toward the goal of our crusade, renowned Jerusalem.  The further we went the hotter the sun got, and the more rocky and bare…the landscape became.… There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country"...

- And lastly, as the Jewish people returned to Eretz Yisroel in the last 70 years, we have been attacked by the surrounding Arab countries again and again. On every one of these occasions we were outnumbered 100 to 1, and yet we won every single one of these wars.

If all this (and much more) isn't enough of a sign that Mashiach is arriving and that we should return, then you need to ask yourself, what sign are you actually waiting for? 

Throughout Tanach, we indeed have many prophecies about how Hashem will gather the remnants of Klal Yisroel back from the four corners of the earth. But if one reads through these prophecies, particularly in Sefer Yechezkel, where there are many prophecies about the coming of Mashiach, you will find that before Hashem gathers back the remaining Jews of the world, Hashem will first perform many miracles, including the miraculous wars of Gog U'Magog for the Jews who already live in Eretz Yisroel. Only after Hashem destroys our enemies and performs great miracles will He then, in the final stage gather those who have not yet come on their own.

Also according to many Rishonim, much of the work of bringing Mashiach and rebuilding the Bais Hamikdash will need to be performed by us with our own actions and will not happen through miracles as many believe.

The truth is that all the prophecies on this matter are vague, and as the Rambam says "we shouldn't delve too deeply into these matters, and that they will be revealed to us when the time comes." 

But for one to say that he will wait for Mashiach to come and gather the Jews back, he is taking a very big chance on missing a large part of the redemption. And there is very strong reason to believe that it will take Mashiach a lot longer to come if we don't actively pursue his coming.

Although no one can truly know the reasons behind the actions of every great Tzaddik, it is clear that the vast majority of great Jews did not live in Eretz Yisroel for the reason that it simply wasn't possible.

For the large part of the last 2,000 years, traveling to and living in Eretz Yisroel was a grave danger to one's life. The trip to Eretz Yisroel was extremely dangerous, and life in Eretz Yisroel was near impossible due to the murderous Arabs that lived here and the complete lack of food and clean water.

It is safe to say that if any of the Gedolim over the last 2,000 years had the opportunity that we now have to settle safely in Eretz Yisroel, the vast majority of them would have done so.

And the truth is that even with all these dangers and difficulties, hundreds of our greatest sages have lived here even though it was a very difficult task.

Any Rabbi that doesn't believe that living in Eretz Yisroel is very important should not in any way be considered a Rabbi because he obviously never read the Torah.

But it is important to understand the difference between recognizing the greatness of Eretz Yisroel, and telling someone that they must make Aliyah immediately.

Every Rabbi and Torah Scholar recognizes the greatness and importance of living in Eretz Yisroel, but the job of a community Rav or a great Jewish leader is to guide each individual Jew in the proper path to serve Hashem on his/her individual level.

Now although every single Jew should live in Eretz Yisroel, not every Jew is ready to make that commitment. Therefore, the Rabbanim understand that although every Jew should make Aliyah, not every Jew is mentally or physically ready.

This is not a reason for someone to feel absolved of this great mitzvah. In fact the opposite, people should feel a certain level of shame on account of the fact that the Rabbanim don't think many Jews are spiritually strong enough for this great and holy task. 

The truth is, in an ideal world the question of living in Eretz Yisroel shouldn't even exist, because if one would read the Torah and teachings of Chazal and truly comprehend the opportunity in front of us, every single Jew would come running as fast as he can to be able to come back to our holy land, the palace of our King, and feel the greatest joy of being able to return home after 2,000 years of exile.