The sage of Manhattan

No doubt that some of the rich and powerful need God blessing or Devil help. King Arthur's Merlin or Louis's XI astrologer helped with business decisions. Here comes Rabbi Yoshiyao Pinto with his advise to the thriving Israeli big money community in N.Y.





The sage of Manhattan
By Haim Handwerker


NEW YORK - On the dais of Gotham Hall, one the largest and most luxurious banquet halls in Manhattan, Michael Stern, who used to organize such glittering, high-profile events in Israel, tried to calm the audience. Sitting at the head table was Rabbi Yoshiyao Pinto, and admirers in the crowd were trying to rush the stage in an effort to exchange a word with him, clasp his hand, kiss him. "We would like to start the evening," pleaded Stern, who in honor of the event wore a black yarmulke. But emotions were running too high. Earlier, the organizers had placed tables at the entrance, and several ushers were trying to match arrivals with names on lists and hand out tickets with table numbers on them. But the crush was overpowering. Finally, about a thousand people, all men, crowded into the hall, though some had no place to sit. They all wanted to see Rabbi Pinto. It was not difficult to discern that a great many of those sitting at the front tables were Israeli and Jewish-American businessmen, mainly from the real estate, textile and diamond industries. Next to Rabbi Pinto room was made for the Israeli tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva, who rarely attends public events but was there to honor the rabbi. And little wonder, as it was Rabbi Pinto who installed the mezuzah at the entrance to the Park Plaza Hotel after Tshuva bought it.
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Also in attendance were Ralph Nakash, one of the three brothers who bought Arkia Airlines last year; the real estate and clothing magnate Haim Revah, who flew in from Los Angeles; Ofer Yardeni, also in real estate; the president of Israel Bonds, Joshua Matza; Eli Almo, an American Jew from Seattle who owns a large company that builds old-age homes; David Benrimon, owner of art galleries in New York; and many others. Many of those on the guest list make it a habit to consult with the rabbi and spend hours with him in private. They are people who are assiduously courted by charity organizations that hope to add them to their mailing list. Figures around the other tables included Michael Shvo, the owner of a real estate marketing company that handles luxury residential homes and is currently marketing the prestigious project of Africa Israel and Shaya Boymelgreen in the Wall Street area; Moshe Azogui, the director of a large real estate firm; and Yoav Oelsner, who was Tshuva's middleman in the Plaza deal. There were also well-known American businessmen, who were there because they had heard terrific things about the rabbi from their Israeli colleagues; for some of them, it was the second or third time they had come to hear him. Business intuitionYoshiyao Pinto, 35 years old, has enjoyed a meteoric rise among sector-crossing spiritual mentors. He is the scion of a distinguished, centuries-old rabbinic family from Morocco. On his father's side, he is the great-grandson of Rabbi Haim Pinto, a revered Moroccan sage; on his mother's side, he is the grandson of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, better known as the wonder-working Baba Sali. At age 20, Pinto married Rivka, daughter of the chief rabbi of Argentina, Rabbi Shlomo Ben Hamo; the couple has a 6-year-old son. Rabbi Yoshiyao's father, Haim Pinto, is also a well-known rabbi, with a large court in Ashdod. Rabbi Haim Pinto began to cultivate his son from an early age, encouraging him to open an independent yeshiva and sending him supplicants seeking advice and blessings. Yoshiyao Pinto founded his yeshiva, Shuva Yisrael, 13 years ago, after completing his studies at the Maalot Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Rabbi Pinto established a second yeshiva in Kiryat Malakhi, not far from Ashdod, and in time two others, in Ashkelon and Jerusalem, along with soup kitchens that provide meals for some 3,000 needy individuals. Thousands of students attend Pinto's four yeshivas. In the secular sector, Pinto is a spiritual adviser and guide for dozens of local celebrities, who draw from him good advice and strong belief, and pay with generous donations. Businessmen speak of Pinto's amazing intuitive faculty, which guides them both in both professional matters and personal affairs involving family and health. The politicians and businessmen who have attended his yeshiva in Ashdod include MK Danny Naveh, attorney (and former justice minister) Yaakov Neeman, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra, tycoon Nochi Dankner, former Bank of Israel governor Jacob Frenkel, advertising magnate Yafit Greenberg and entertainer Dudu Topaz. Serge Hoyda met Rabbi Pinto half a year ago and has become an ardent admirer. "I am not religious, but still, I can say that it was a great honor to meet him," says Hoyda, who arrived in New York from Israel 20 years ago and conducts large-scale real estate deals, mainly in Manhattan. "He has powers that no one can explain, and both religious and nonreligious people alike can feel a connection with him. I do not ask anything of the rabbi. When you meet him, you are filled with energy, you are strengthened, you simply feel great." Eli Almo flew in from Seattle for the Gotham Hall event. "The rabbi is the most amazing person I have ever met in my life," says Almo, who has known Rabbi Pinto for six years. "I am happy to meet him at every possible opportunity. I believe he is a genius, a person who wants only to be a benefactor to others. He has great love in his heart for human beings. "I met him through my father-in-law - the rabbi told him that he wanted to talk to me. He knew things about me that no one had told him. He wanted to bless me. One day, after sending me a new tallit and tefillin [prayer shawl and phylacteries] via a special messenger who arrived from Israel, he invited me to his home in Ashdod to sit next to him on the Seder eve. He invited me for Yom Kippur, and during the Kol Nidrei prayer he held my hand. When my father was hospitalized, the rabbi came especially to Seattle to be with him and put on tefillin. In another case he healed someone else in the family who was sick." Does he give you business advice? "The rabbi does not have a business education, but he has exceptional understanding. Show him an economic or business scenario and he will give advice on it. In 2000 the rabbi gave me important advice that saved me a great deal of money in business. We were heavily invested in the stock market and the rabbi told me to get out of the market. He said that there were going to be four-five hard years when everything would go down. I took his advice, and I thank him for it. He has a great love for humanity and he has tremendous knowledge. He gives you the basic knowledge of Judaism that makes it possible for you to go on living without tension or anxieties." Rabbi Pinto speaks in Hebrew, and when he meets with English-speakers, one of those present acts as an interpreter. A professional interpreter was present at the Gotham Hall event and provided simultaneous translation through earphones for those who needed it. Still, even English-speakers who meet with him say that even with the interpreter they feel something in the air. One of them says that he simply closes his eyes and enjoys the rabbi's voice; there is something very soothing about it. Another says that he feels the energy the rabbi projects. The Gotham Hall event, which took place several weeks ago, was the zenith of Rabbi Pinto's activity in Manhattan. It was not only a demonstration of love for the rabbi, but equally important, it was aimed at raising funds for the establishment of a Shuva Yisrael yeshiva in New York. The event raised $6 million for the project, more than meeting the target. At present, Rabbi Pinto directs a yeshiva in a rented apartment located in what is considered a rundown section of the Upper East Side. The rabbi's aides, in partnership with Israeli and Jewish-American businessmen, purchased an old building on the Upper East Side. Their plan is to tear it down and erect a new structure on the site, which will contain a yeshiva, synagogue, large hall, mikveh (ritual bath) and kindergarten. Among those involved in the project is Ofer Yardeni, who has been a consultant on the purchase. Stern, who organized the Gotham Hall fund-raiser, to which he also gave a donation, says that it was all done within a week. "We said it would be difficult, but the rabbi said we could do it if we did everything fast. We started by organizing an event for 350 people. Two days before the event, the number jumped to 650, and finally it hit a thousand. It was madness, but we did it and it was a great success." Stern, who was born in Manhattan, lived in Israel for 25 years after immigrating in 1979 at the age of 21. He was the owner of a flourishing company that organized prestigious social events (including balls for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Museum, Ted Arison and the Eisenberg family). He returned to New York three years ago; he now works with Ofer Yardeni in interior design. Are you religious? Stern: "I am not religious, but I definitely feel the rabbi's vision. During the whole time I was organizing the event there was tremendous energy in the air. I felt that it was a great privilege to advance the rabbi's vision. Look, the rabbi does not expect me or anyone else to be religious. He says, 'Go on being what you are, but do good deeds.'" According to Stern, "The famous names of the evening donated several hundred thousand dollars, and those who did not attend also gave." One of the donors was Shaya Boymelgreen, the Israeli-American real estate man who this year began to be active in Israel. Boymelgreen bought the public company Gambit and changed its name to his own. A few weeks ago he bought the Azorim construction company from Nochi Dankner, who is also close to Pinto. Two weeks in Israel, two in New YorkPinto has two assistants in New York: Igal Ashur, originally from Kibbutz Dovrat, and Ofer Biton, who owns an apparel business and who also changed the direction of his life. Their mobile phones are the nerve center of the rabbi's activity. The rabbi sometimes matches up people to do business together, and when the business is launched he checks to see that all is going well, offering advice and guidance. In addition to his success in Israel, Rabbi Pinto has developed large-scale activities throughout the world. He has yeshivas in Los Angeles and Miami, among other places, and visits Bulgaria, Argentina and Venezuela, where he also has followers. Pinto first came to New York seven years ago for medical treatment. The treatment obliged him to spend long periods of time in the city, and thus he met many of the Israelis and Jewish Americans who live there. Now that his major base of operations outside Israel is about to be built in Manhattan, he has effectively decided to divide his time. According to his confidants, he will spend half of each month in Israel and half in New York. There is no charge for visiting the rabbi, say his confidants, and if one wants to make a donation to the yeshiva, that is fine. The rabbi, they add, is a modest person who takes nothing for himself. In Israel, he has always been opposed to taking government funding for his yeshiva. He tells his aides that accepting such funds adversely affects the advancement of Torah in Israel and generates hostility toward the religious public. The rabbi has emphasized on various occasions that he has no ties to any political party (despite marital ties between the Abuhatzeira family and the family of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the founder and spiritual mentor of Shas) and that he wants to maintain a separation between religion and politics. When the rabbi's aides are asked why activity is being concentrated in New York, they reply that New York is a central place in the world and one that can have a considerable impact on Israel's future. The rabbi wants to draw American Jewry close to Israel; assimilation is rampant, and there are many people who need advice. Together with the strong and affluent Jewish community in New York, there are also a great many poor Jews who have a hard time providing for their families. The rabbi's staff has begun to supply food to indigent Jews in Brooklyn, but they note that a large portion of the funds collected here are transferred to Israel to provide food for the poor there and make it possible for people to study Torah. Rabbi Pinto's father, Haim, also had followers in New York. For 30 years, Haim Pinto had ties with Edmund Safra, the Jewish banking tycoon, who died in his Monte Carlo home in a fire in 1999. (The nurse who treated him, Ted Maher, was found guilty of starting the fire.) Rabbi Haim Pinto and Safra prayed together on Yom Kippur every year, and the tradition continued even after Safra fell ill - he came to New York especially for the service. At first they prayed in a hotel, but when the number of worshipers grew they moved to Safra's synagogue on the Upper East Side. Worth the waitMidday Monday. In the very modest apartment on East 61st Street in which the Shuva Yisrael synagogue operates, one finds a group of young yeshiva students, along with a number of people wearing business suits. Some of those present relate that there are usually a hundred people here waiting to see the rabbi, but that today it is a bit quiet. Among those present are Morris Missry, an attorney who specializes in real estate and corporation law, and Joe Edri, who is in real estate. This is a working day - so what are you doing here? Missry: "We are both very busy people, but this rabbi has very unusual spiritual power. We came here to take in the holiness and the spirituality from the rabbi. We come to consult on business affairs and personal matters when we have to make important decisions." Edri: "What goes on here has no logic. You come to him and he gives you a feeling of euphoria. We feel fortunate that he is meeting with us." The partnership between Missry and Edri is basically the rabbi's doing. Edri asked the rabbi to meet with the potential partner. The meeting was arranged. The rabbi was impressed by Missry, gave his blessing and the partnership was launched. Now the rabbi is overseeing the new venture they have begun. Nadar Bolor, a 39-year-old who deals in old carpets, emerges from the rabbi's room. He was born in Tehran and eventually made his way to New York. The family has been in the business for three generations. He first met the rabbi three years ago and afterward decided to move his office close to the yeshiva. He sometimes also visits the rabbi in Ashdod. "The only problem is that there are a lot of people here," Bolor says. "But it's worth it. When I reach an impasse and don't know what to do, whether it's business or private life, I come to the rabbi. He has solved very deep problems in my family life. He sat with me and my wife for three hours and we were able to deal with the problem." There are several businessmen in the rabbi's room. Jack Avital, for example, brought with him two local businessmen for an initial meeting with the rabbi. One of them has a problem he wants to discuss privately with the rabbi. A few more businessmen enter; one of them is known as "the manager of the Safra bank." Many of those who come to consult with the rabbi are seeking answers to financial questions. However, confidants of the rabbi say that he sees money as a corrupting influence and asks those who have money to turn it to a good end - in other words, to donate to charity. Ofer Yardeni, the real estate magnate, manages assets worth about $1 billion. He relates, "I came to America from Bat Yam with $600 in my pocket and I built a big business. I even bought myself a couple of luxury cars: an Austin Martin and a Porsche. Rabbi Pinto brought order into my life. He explained to me that money corrupts and that it is wrong to flaunt your wealth, and that all is vanity. He came to my house and saw my cars and told me to get rid of them fast. "Showing off is bad and I don't need that. A simple life is better than all that craziness. And that is what I did. I sold the cars and lost money on them. With the rabbi's advice I improved my family life. He explained that one's wife is the most important and best thing in life." How did you get to the rabbi? "I am not religious. I met him a few years ago through an Israeli friend, a diamond merchant named Atzmon Levy. When I just shook hands with the rabbi I felt a special energy. He started to ask me questions and very quickly told me, 'You are not doing enough with yourself, and it is not a matter of making more money. A person who does not go forward goes backward." He asked to come to my office, installed a mezuzah and started to give me advice in a great many areas. "Buying the Olivia Building in Manhattan was the hardest deal of my life. The price was $240 million and the rabbi pushed me and my Canadian partners, who are not Jewish, to make the deal. The rabbi was with me all the time. He would call and check until in the end we signed the deal. I am now being offered $350 million for the building. The rabbi tells me not to sell. He says that in two more years the building will be worth $500 million." How do you explain this? "I can't explain it. Everything that is happening here is pure fantasy. Beyond what I am capable of grasping, there are many things I don't understand. The rabbi has extraordinary strength, very powerful senses. He has a very high level of morality." Yardeni, and others too, bring to the rabbi's public meetings American Jews who do not speak Hebrew, as well as non-Jews. "My partners from Canada, who are also non-Jews, went to see the rabbi in Ashdod," Yardeni relates. "I also brought a non-Jewish business partner here. His name is Andre Collin; he controls hundreds of millions of dollars, and he too came to meet the rabbi. It is just unbelievable. The rumors about the rabbi's special powers are spreading fast. After they meet him once, they want to come again and again."W