Why the love for Israel?

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R. Chaim Volozhiner zt"l, explains why, in the משנה אבות פ"ה מ"ג, when listing the ten generations from Avraham, it does not say "Avraham Avinu," yet a few lines later, when mentioning the ten ניסיונות (tests), it does say "Avraham Avinu." The lesson is that when parents are מוסר נפש—sacrifice deeply—for a particular מצוה, that dedication becomes ingrained in their descendants. It becomes part of their spiritual DNA, making it easier for later generations to fulfill that same מצוה naturally and wholeheartedly. This may explain why, even today, many Jews—including those not so fully committed to Torah and mitzvos—feel a deep, innate pull to fulfill the מצוה of ישוב ארץ ישראל (settling the Land of Israel). Since Avraham Avinu was מוסר נפש in the test of לך לך, his descendants inherited that devotion to the Land.