Against the backdrop of the complex security situation in Israel and the Iranian missile attacks, Rabbi Yoel Pinto, son and successor of the Admor Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, delivered a powerful and uplifting message from the protected space in his home, where he was staying with his family.
“We, like all of the people of Israel in the Land of Israel, are now in shelters, filled with fear and anxiety—what will happen? What lies ahead?” Rabbi Pinto began, sharing a story from the past about one of the great sages of Israel.
Rabbi Pinto recounted the story of Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l, the head of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, during the Six-Day War. “Over fifty years ago, he too sat in a shelter in Jerusalem with his students under heavy bombardment. Fear and dread for life itself filled every corner. Inside that shelter, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz turned to his students and said: ‘I promise you—nothing bad will happen to any of you. No one will be harmed, not even in the slightest.’”
According to him, once the bombardment ended, it was indeed found that none of those present in the shelter were harmed, unlike others in various parts of Jerusalem at the time. When asked how he knew to give such reassurance, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz explained that he had heard a certain agunah (a woman whose husband had abandoned her) sitting in the shelter. Her husband had left her 25 years earlier, and she was unable to remarry or have children. At that very moment, she prayed: “Master of the Universe, I forgive him. Despite all the suffering I have endured—I forgive him.”
Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz then explained: “When a Jewish woman can forgive such a severe wrong during a moment of danger—that is the highest measure of mercy. Because of her merit, everyone will be saved.”
From this, Rabbi Yoel Pinto sought to strengthen the public during these difficult times: “The most effective thing we can do at this time is to forgive one another, to accept good resolutions concerning interpersonal relationships. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees the people of Israel as one person with one heart—all harsh decrees are sweetened, and Divine mercy descends upon the people of Israel.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel