Question:

When Moshiach comes will everyone have to move to Israel? What if I already own a comfortable home in the U.S.?

Geulah is a transformation, a release from straits and personal barriers, but never something oppressive.

It is important to first understand the ultimate objective of Moshiach's coming, which is to make the world more complete. Therefore, anything that will make us feel uncomfortable or under stress will obviously not happen. Anything that will "squeeze" us, either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, will not exist in the age of Geulah. Geulah is a transformation, a release from straits and personal barriers, but never something oppressive.

Accordingly, our comfortable homes will be taken along with us to Israel, especially if they were used for Torah study and other Jewish functions, and permeated with good deeds. How this will be accomplished is still a mystery which our finite minds cannot yet comprehend. However, we are assured that the finest things in our lives will go along with us. All of the rubbish, undesirable, depressing objects, experiences and attitudes will be dropped on our way to Israel. Once we are there, things will only improve and change for the better.

The concept of Geulah, in truth, is not that we uproot ourselves or make drastic changes in our lifestyle. Geulah means taking the life that we have now and transforming it, by introducing a higher dimension of holiness and connection to G-d. This is reflected in the Hebrew word Geulah, which is comprised of the same letters as Golah, exile, with the addition of the letter Alef. By introducing Alef - the first letter of the alphabet, representing G-d, into the exile, it automatically becomes transformed into Geulah.