A world-wide journey of prayer: After celebrating the holiday of Purim with thousands of his students in Manhattan, Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto left for Morocco at the end of last week. He arrived in the seaside city of Essaouira where the righteous sage Rabbi Chaim Pinto (haGadol), who died in 1845, is buried.
Rabbi Pinto prayed a special prayer for the peace of all Jews in the world and in particular for the citizens of Israel who are in the midst of a deadly war on its southern and northern borders.
He elaborated at the event on the great suffering that the Israelites experienced in Egypt, and on the great deliverance that occurred unexpectedly when the Reed Sea split in two. This culminated with the Israelites’ subsequent entry into the Land of Israel and their victory over all their enemies.
"We are all praying for peace in the Land of Israel and peace in the entire world," said Rabbi Pinto. "May we soon see the attribute of justice cease and the world filled with the attribute of lovingkindness and mercy."
Following his remarks, Rabbi Pinto praised the Kingdom of Morocco, headed by King Mohammed VI, and the Moroccan law enforcement which he felt kept the Jews in Morocco safer than the Jews in New York and Europe.
From Morocco, Rabbi Pinto headed to Poland. Thousands of his students from all over the world joined him to celebrate the date when Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, the author of the Noam Elimelech, passed away.
For the event in Poland, a plane from Israel arrived with his eldest son and successor, Rabbi Yoel Moshe Pinto.
Besides visiting the grave of the Noam Elimelech, the thousands of students together with Rav Pinto and his son Rabbi Yoel are planning to pray at the graves of many famous rabbis in Poland.
In Lublin, they will visit the shrines of Rabbi Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin, the author of the Tzidkat haTzadik, and Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, known as the Seer of Lublin.
In Riminov, they will visit the shrine of the chassidic rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel. In Cracow, they will pray at the graves of Rabbi Yoel Sirkin, the Bach; Rabbi Moshe Isserlish, the Rema; and Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman haLevi Epstein, the author of Meor v’Shemesh.
Besides the thousands of Rabbi Pinto's students who will be in Poland to celebrate the occasion with him, Rabbi Pinto’s words will be transmitted live to dozens of locations around the world.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel