The Moroccan Rabbi, Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, recently raised nearly $15 Million dollars. As President of Casablanca’s Hebrew Court and the grandson of Moroccan Rabbi Haim Pinto, he helped collect this money from Jews around the world during last weekend’s Yom Kippur, also commonly called the Day of Atonement. This celebration is a popular time when the Aliyah Torah ritual is performed in synagogues, in which prayers are recited and God’s blessings are requested. Many Jews find this a great time to donate to charities because on this day all prayers are accepted.
The money was donated by businessmen, billionaires, famous personalities, and the Jewish Elite who respect and love Rabbi Pinto. The donations will be used in part for the Rabbi’s Yeshiva that’s located in Morocco. Through this, special projects are carried out to benefit the Jewish community living in the country. Other portions of the donations will be reserved for destitute and poor Jews who live in the Kingdom, and for synagogue maintenance required during the next year.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is among the most sacred of all Jewish celebrations. The holiday is reserved for prayer, seeking forgiveness, and fasting. For this reason, some rituals and activities are prohibited during this time such as driving a car, washing, writing, and lighting fires. Yom Kippur is the day that’s commonly regarded as the last chance to change the destiny of the world or a person for the coming year.
Yom Kippur was celebrated under different circumstances this year due to the Coronavirus and the strict social distancing measures currently in place. Everyone was careful not to gather in large crowds within synagogues or homes for prayer. Nonetheless, thousands followed Rabbi Pinto’s lessons. He prayed for God to take the virus away, bless the coming year, and send the Messiah to relieve the Jews of their pain and mark the approach of the world’s end.
However, Rabbi Pinto wasn’t the only one praying to God. His many followers also prayed for him, asking God to heal the Rabbi and extend his life. Amen ve amen.
Shuva Morocco
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto operates a charitable organization called “Shuva Morocco”. Through this outlet he was able to donate hundreds of boxes of wine, food, and other necessities required for the celebration. These were distributed to Morocco’s underprivileged Jewish residents.
Shuva Morocco has worked with many associations that help take care of Jewish affairs in Morocco, in cooperation with Moroccan authorities. They work together to ensure the food and other items arrive to the recipients before the celebration begins, which helps bring happiness to their lives.
The Coronavirus pandemic has caused problems around the world, but Rabbi Pinto has remained present for his community during the entire period of confinement. In fact, he and his disciples, who are students at his Casablanca Yeshiva, even put themselves in harm’s way to ensure food and other necessities were gathered for Morocco’s impoverished Jews. He also distributed over $10 Million dollars per week so that Morocco’s poor Jews could live in comfort within the country, and not be required to move to Israel.
This was Rabbi Pinto’s way of thanking HM King Mohammed VI who is known for extending much kindness to Muslims and Jews alike, just as he does his own family and the other Moroccan people.
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