Last night (Sunday) Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto gave a three-hour talk at the Shuva Israel Beth Midrash in the city of Ashdod. Next to him sat his two sons, his successor Rabbi Yoel Moshe Pinto and Rabbi Meir Eliyahu Pinto.
A few hours before the talk, Rabbi Pinto landed in Israel and is expected to stay here for several days. Before that he was in Morocco and the US, where he also spoke several times to the public.
Rabbi Pinto's classes captivate crowds and excerpts from the classes go viral on social networks. Rabbi Pinto combines Torah and ethical values in his talks with day-to-day instructions for successful living.
During his talks, he gives tips according to the Torah’s wisdom for success in business, marital relationships, children's education, and physical and mental health.
Rabbi Pinto leads a line that combines a zealous approach to Jewish law and complying with Torah with extraordinary liberalism and openness. For example, in his talks, he rebukes the opponents of vaccinations and calls on his listeners to consult doctors and follow their instructions.
More than once, Rabbi Pinto harshly attacked the teachers who are not attentive enough to their students. "Educating children is not a trade or a business. Educating children means you are touching the children’s minds and souls," he said in one of the last talks.
He believes that people who run the schools and the cheders sometimes do not understand what education is or its deep impact. "A teacher in cheder who takes out his personal frustrations and all his problems with family members on the children - destroys and fractures the children's psyche. The children will suffer all their lives from this. They will grow up damaged and bruised," Rabbi Pinto added.
Rabbi Pinto has been leading the global Shuva Israel movement for almost 30 years and today his community has about 100 yeshivas and branches around the world which serve as spiritual Torah centers and open houses for anyone in need.
During last night's class, he was asked how to deal with mental health issues. Rabbi Pinto’s reply was to consult doctors and even take pills when necessary, but on the other hand - not to be obsessive about it and only after trying to trying to get control of the situation himself.
He called on his students to stay away from controversies and slander, especially at this time when politics is tearing the people apart. "We need to run away from controversies and slander like from fire. We must not make anyone upset. Only spread good," he said.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel