Grave

Chaim Pinto HaKatan

Casablanca

Yahrzeit (Hillula)

15 Cheshvan — Rabbi Chaim Pinto HaKatan of Casablanca

Rabbi Chaim Pinto HaKatan of Casablanca, also known as Rabbi Chaim Pinto (the Younger) – grandson of Rabbi Chaim Pinto HaGadol (the Elder) – was born in Essaouira in 5615 (1855) and passed away on 15 Cheshvan (October 20, 1937). Yahrzeit – 15 Cheshvan Burial place – Cimetière juif Rue Abderrahmane El Mkhanet, Medina, Casablanca In addition to being the grandson of Rabbi Chaim Pinto HaGadol (who is buried in Essaouira/Mogador), he was also the son of Rabbi Yehuda Pinto. The house where he lived in Casablanca, located at 36 Commandant Provost, became a place of pilgrimage for Jews who come there to light candles. The Handkerchief He would collect money for the poor, and after each collection he would wash the handkerchief he used to gather the funds. Once he was asked why he did this, and he answered that there is nothing in the world dirtier than money: "I wash my handkerchief to cleanse it of this filth!" He truly lived on the money people gave him, yet he always said, "Money is dirty!" He had another pious custom. Every day he would go to the home of a poor person and ask, "What did you prepare to eat today? I would like to taste what you've made!" We know very well what a poor person eats: vegetables, a piece of bread (or perhaps some bread with tea and a vegetable salad), and that's all. The holy Rabbi Pinto, may he rest in peace, would sit with them, eat their bread, bring them joy, and bless them before leaving. He did not like eating at the tables of the wealthy. He would say that the Shechinah and blessing rest upon the table of the poor more than upon the table of the rich. He said that the fear of G-d is acquired specifically through poverty and hardship, not through abundance. The Gift of Prophecy Rabbi Chaim Pinto was renowned for his humility and his gift of prophecy, as the following stories attest: One day, a cousin came to visit a Jewish woman and said, "Aziza, you must come to our house!" She came and saw that Rabbi Chaim Pinto was there. He greeted her five times. The woman replied, "May G-d bless you," and he said to her, "You will give birth! You will have a child in two days. You will bring a girl into the world who will become wealthy!" He told her, "Thanks to my father and grandfather, you will have a girl! You already have a son. You will also have a daughter, and you will recover easily after the birth. You will give birth without pain, and afterward you will have a beautiful naming ceremony!" He also said, "After you give birth to a girl, you will give birth to a boy, but please, do not name him after your father!" The woman named her son after her late father, against Rabbi Pinto's words. A year later, the son passed away. Melaveh Malkah Before Rabbi Chaim left Mogador for Casablanca, the townspeople would come to his home on Saturday evening for Melaveh Malkah. After the Motzei Shabbat prayer, he would take up his violin and begin singing the verses of his holy ancestor, Rabbi Israel Najara. It happened several times that he lost track of time and, without realizing it, played until dawn. Afterward he would say to his listeners, "I am tired, and you must be too. Go to sleep, for it is time to rise for the morning prayer!" They would answer him, "Day has already come. It is time to pray!" The rabbis of the town sought to understand a certain mystery: sometimes, certain verses that Rabbi Chaim Pinto sang would make him tremble, and all his listeners would feel the same sensation. The tzadik gave no explanation for what was happening, and when people once insisted that he explain, he replied, "If you ask me again, I will have to stop our Saturday evening gatherings at my home!" After that, no one asked him about these things again. They understood the greatness of the Holy One. HaKatan Once Rabbi Chaim Pinto HaKatan received a letter from a wealthy man living in Rabat, who asked him to find an honest young man, learned in Torah, to be a groom for his daughter. Rabbi Chaim Pinto pondered who might be the right young man in the city, honest and educated. Several days passed and he still had not settled on a candidate. Then one night he could not fall asleep, so he went out with his servant in the middle of the night into the Mellah [the enclosed Jewish quarter of the city] and there he saw people leaving the synagogue. He went inside and saw a young man sitting and studying the tractate Yevamot (Talmud) with great diligence. The holy tzadik said to his servant, "Let us leave the synagogue so as not to disturb him. If he sees us, he will stop studying, and we will bear responsibility for this interruption of Torah study!" They walked through the Mellah and met a Jew who invited them to his home for coffee. The tzadik accepted, and they went into his house. After a while, they returned to the synagogue to see what had become of the young man. When they entered, they saw him lying on the floor, sleeping the sleep of the righteous. The Holy One said to his servant, "This young man fulfills the words of the Tanna [sage of the Mishnah]: 'Sleep upon the ground.' Do not disturb him. Tomorrow morning, bring him to me!" The next day he asked the young man, "Do you have nowhere to sleep?" He answered, "I am an orphan, and my friends at the yeshiva bring me food. I came from another city." He asked him how old he was, and he replied, "Twenty-six years old." Rabbi Chaim told him, "You should get married!" The young man replied, "I cannot even provide for my own needs. How can I marry?" The tzadik gave him money to buy new clothes and sent him to Rabat, where the wealthy man gave him his daughter's hand in marriage. The couple had sons and daughters, and the young man continued his studies. May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (From the website https://hevratpinto.org)