The time: the Seder eve of Passover 2010.
The place: Manhattan, the core of world materialistic culture.
The streets are never still for a moment. The skyscrapers which seem menacing from below look as if they bow their heads in awe as they gaze into the large chamber which was once a library and now has been transformed into a Beis Medrosh (hall of Torah learning). This is the center where many say a world transition is taking place. It is called Shuva Yisroel.
Many who, out of curiosity, have entered and have been inspired feel that this is a universal superpower. For every place in the world and for every person in the world, Shuva Yisroel has a reply, Jewish warmth, counsel and direction and is bringing people closer to Hashem. Rich and poor, young and old - everyone seeks to be a part and feel that something has budged inside of them.
It is identical all over – giant Batei Medrosh with the sign "Shuva Yisroel" hanging over them in Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi and Jerusalem in Israel, along with Manhattan, Brooklyn, Miami, Los Angeles in the US, Buenos Aires and Caracas in South America and London. These are just a few on the list. These Batei Medrosh are not the standard types. The scholars do enter inside in order to learn, but they aren't the only visitors. There is a steady influx of people from all walks of life- those to whom Jewish traditions are a part of life and those who have been detached from them.
The shiurim, the lessons and discourses of the rabbi, Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto are the foundation for this transition which is spreading over the globe. With no relation to age group, family or religious status or Jewish ethnic circle- they all listen. Everyone feels a deep rooted tie, an effect which maintains surprisingly broad perimeters.
Quietly, with no media advertisements and far from any external element- they find the resplendence, the direction and guidelines to their way home to Hashem.
Rabbi Pinto, like a seasoned captain, is successful in a unique way in piercing the hearts of each individual. One can find here academic alumni and senators sitting next to Chassidic mentors and Rosh Yeshivos. The "Rav", as he is called reverently by everyone, goes from place to place - at times traveling 12 hours one way to give a lesson, receive audience and move on further. He succeeds in kindling the spark dormant in the hearts of Jews.
They all adore Rabbi Pinto. "Return your thanks to Hashem," he answers them. People are likewise encouraged to themselves take part in the activities, giving them the feeling that they are a part of this great movement which Judaism has not seen in the last generations.
In the heart of a material environment, where people whose deity was once their wallet and bank account, are now being inspired. They like what they hear.
In the weekly discourse of Rabbi Pinto, he stands opposite them , his voice carressing them. There is no rest for a minute for anyone. Hundreds of such discourses and classes have been taking place annually for ten years, functioning in varied places worldwide. First there are classes and then consultations, in which thousands take part –mostly from business, financial and political echelons.
He is the one who taught them to relate to the internal cry of their souls, to address themselves to the pilot light still burning inside of them. This spark is later enkindled into a flame.
Victims of the downfall of Western society in need of a drop of spirituality find solace in Shuva Yisroel. Jews come in search of a blessing, advice and a word of encouragement wait to convene with Rabbi Pinto. Many are politicians and businessman of various fields whom never knew before what it meant to enter the room of a rabbi.
People active in the media and in industry in Israel have, after a visit to Shuva Yisroel became supporters. Jewish families around the world who had no contact to their "neshomah", their soul, who never felt the fragrance of Judaism, await the arrival of Rabbi Pinto to the Bais Medrosh amidst the riffraff of the urban surroundings. They are willing to pull themselves away in order to spend a Shabbos with Rabbi Pinto and recharge their spiritual batteries.
Journalists have made efforts to enter and discover what is taking place. To them it's as if something mystical or a temporary whim is taking over those involved. Some of them have even joined as Rabbi Pinto's students, being inspired at the broad spectrum of his activities, void of public relations or advertisement, and his personality. All of the powers are unified in the effort to unite all Jews.
All feel they are part of a community through the encouragement of Rabbi Pinto, a vast community of "chessed', of kindness. The Yeshiva in Ashdod houses a huge kitchen which prepares weekly thousands of meals for needy families, some of these being their only warm meal they have. Done in a community society framework, care is taken that there be meals prepared also for schools and Talmud Torah children who unfortunately aren’t receiving from home enough to take with them.
Our volunteers are our constituents. They cook, allot and disperse everything wholeheartedly, happy to be a part of it all. Others donate foodstuffs, feeling they fulfill their objective in taking part in such a monumental mechanism. None feel that "this belongs to me."
The influence of Shuva Yisroel upon its surroundings is felt wherever Rabbi Pinto decides to present his discourse to a designated community. One of the secretaries of the yeshiva remarked -"It's difficult to believe to where Rabbi Pinto has arrived," he says. Many towns in Israel where the Israeli elite live, who before never had a rabbi amidst them now are active areas of blossoming futures. Likewise in the US, places where a rabbi never stepped upon their soil or was never welcomed there are now locations of classes, rallies and seminars.
Not only that. In the room where they converse with Rabbi Pinto, they experience for the first time what unyielding self demands are, of a kind of dislodging of wordly preferences and grasping of values which have eternal meaning. There are no discussions or debates in theology. The demands are clear and committing. All those who come feel they are equal with everyone, as their social levels make no difference in the yeshiva surroundings or to the Rabbi.
We see in the US yeshiva and traditional Jewish personalities side by side with public figures well known in politics, comedy, business and professional fields in America. They take part in the seminars and absorb into their hearts the words and ideals Rabbi Pinto stresses to them and he, in contrast, presents to them today's demand from Above, arousing each Jew to perform and activate himself, to trigger his heart to make the turn around and abolish his selfishness.
Being connected anew, each one stays in contact through e-mail and receives elaboration on the issues stressed to them in their meeting with Rabbi Pinto or in the seminars. Issues in the news are stressed and demands for commitment are coupled with warmth to accept upon themselves to improve, to be more, to be closer to Hashem and focus upon eternal objectives and not allow the daily blare blind one's vision.
Step by step, our community comes across new vistas and locations. The first seminar is what results in declaring the new community, opening an activity center, a new Beis Medrosh. It may seem at the start as a fantastic dream, but it later forms into a reality as the ideal develops into an actuality. Many difficulties and unforeseen hindrances are bridged as new locations in other states and countries make their presence on the map of new centers of activity.
"Such was the approach of the grandfather of Rabbi Pinto, Rabbi Meir Abbuhatzera, of blessed memory, the oldest son of Rabbi Yisrael Abbuhatzera, the renowned "Babba Sali", is said in the yeshiva, hailing the name of Rabbi Chaim Pinto, chief Rabbi of Ashdod, director of his grandfather's institutions and father in law of Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto.
The USA today isn't what it used to be. The present government is different and the economic stress has taken its toll on the country. How, in the words of the New York Times, has under these conditions Rabbi Pinto became one of the more dominating influences ? What causes so many people to abandon their pursuit of money, of wealth, of the "golden calf" of America to start to listen to their soul? The riddle has yet to be solved. The reality, though, presides over the imaginary, as thousands have improved themselves under the guidance of Rabbi Pinto to become closer and better.
Kimcha dePischa Pesach Fund
The performance and organization encompass many fields, educational institutions and facilities in many places. Rabbi Pinto demands that we must perform. Here, everyone feels the fingerprint of Shuva Yisroel, of the responsibility of every individual regardless of background. It makes no difference where you were born or where you came from- if you possess a Jewish heart, address your activity for needy Jews. This is the motto and way which bring thousands of Jews to many assorted communities. It is indeed surprising to see people leaving their personal burdens and coming to hear Rabbi Pinto address them and kindle their neshama, their soul- and mainly to help others.
Pesach is a season where chessed activities work at a pace which is difficult to keep up with. Arrangements for public seder gatherings and ceremonies in Israel and scattered countries around the world, In Ashdod, Ashkelon, Kiryat Malachi to Manhattan NY, Miami and Los Angeles, participants come in throngs and the seder is conducted by the kollel staff of the yeshiva. Such ceremonies take place each Shabbos as people merit for the first time to experience what a Shabbos celebration means.
Recemtly the group concluded a monumental project called Kimcha DePischa, a Pesach necessities fund. Throughout Israel food was distributed in 12,000 parcels where needy families were aided with their holiday necessities along with matzos, wine, and scores of basic foods for the holidays. A logistic staff made the necessary preparations outlet which encompassed 3200 sq mtrs with stacked crates of food to be allotted to the hundreds of families in need for their means for Yom Tov. Tens of volunteers from all walks of life packed everything up into crates and boxes.
In the US, 2,500 families in need in the Brooklyn-Queens vicinity along with Miami and Los Angeles received food parcels from the Pesach food fund- a breakthrough of the penetration of chessed. Like the hallmark stratagem of Shuva Yisroel that we must help Jews in need, thousands were put together in a speedy paced project directed by Rabbi Pinto to provide thousands of coupons and gift certificates for the needy- the sums rolling in the tens of thousands.
Another huge project is the free kitchen for meals for the needy, a product of the reverie of Rabbi Pinto. We don't only refer to the hungry for whom these meals are life sustaining. Amiram means those who come to the seminar of Rabbi Pinto and pass by the kitchen and witness the sight of thousands of prepared meals ready to deliver to various cities and neighborhoods. They perceive that Torah and kindness go hand in hand.
We detach ourselves a little more from the hubbub of society and take a step forward for our Father Above. Such a broad array of kindness activities has convinced many to be partners. The food parcels and coupon allotments have brought about chain store and supermarket CEO's to want to donate merchandise, sponsor seminars and stipends, to facilitate the yeshiva and needy families. They were immediately redirected to those responsible to aid in financing the family's needs. "Send them the coupons," they were told- are they did, taking part in the Shuva Yisroel operations.