Rav Kook, Rav Tzvi Yehuda (Kook) and many other gedolim say that it is the beginning of redemption. In fact, Rabbi Abba says (Sanhedrin 98a), �There is no clearer [sign of the] End [of the exile] than this [verse]: �But you, O mountains of Israel, will give forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are soon to come�(Yechezkel, 36:8). Rashi comments, �When Eretz Yisrael gives forth its fruit in abundance, the End will be near, and there is no clearer [sign of the] End [of the exile].� Contrast with Mark Twain’s comments in 1867: �A Hopeless, Dreary, Heart-Broken Land� (see “Mark Twain in Palestine” online).
