Sentence:  As he walked about in the village, Isaac saw those inhabitants who had come to the Land <WSD>emptyhanded</WSD> and now own fields and vineyards and houses full of good things, not by virtue of observing the Torah and pious deeds, for the "Biluim" were free thinkers and their feet too are on the ground, but because they're Russians and I'm from Galicia, and even the one small village the Galicians put up fell to rack and ruin. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Impoverished, having no money or resources.