In his latest Torah lecture, the esteemed Admor Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto delivered a piercing message aimed at awakening his listeners from spiritual slumber and disengagement with the past — calling instead on every individual to rise and actively build a future, even after personal or national setbacks.
“The problem of our generation,” said Rabbi Pinto, “is that people don’t understand, in their moments of failure, that there is hope. There is a future. You can take the fall — and soar with it. Turn it into a springboard. But what did people do? They clawed at the past. They relived it over and over. They didn’t rebuild themselves, and they refused to see the light ahead.”
According to the rabbi, those who fail to grasp the purpose behind life’s challenges don’t fall alone — they pull down with them their families and entire surroundings, into a world of despair, bitterness, and darkness.
“The wise person,” emphasized Rabbi Pinto, “recognizes that this is a stage of ‘nesira’ — a temporary separation. A process. Like a slumber — it requires time. But from that slumber comes the stage of ‘face to face’ — the moment to build, to stand tall, to create a new and better world.”
Rabbi Pinto warned that those who do not understand this process remain asleep, even after the crisis passes: “They don’t know how to awaken. And when a person fails to awaken — he may cause destruction of the worst kind.”
In conclusion, Rabbi Pinto urged: “Do not let the past imprison you — transform it instead into a powerful force for renewal, rooted in faith, wisdom, and rebuilding.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel