ByMARK FISH

More than 50,000 people participated in the grand Selichot event at the Western Wall, led by Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, according to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.

For the first time in history, the Selichot service at the Western Wall included an emotional completion of thousands of volumes of the Zohar and the dedication of a Torah scroll.

(credit: Shuva Israel)


Alongside Rabbi Pinto were his sons, Rabbi Yoel Pinto and Rabbi Meir Eliyahu Pinto, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Ades, as well as other rabbis and public figures.

The historic Selichot service, led by Rabbi Pinto, was broadcast live to numerous locations in Israel and around the world and was magnificently projected onto the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

(credit: Shuva Israel)


As a reminder, every year on the 25th of Elul, the day commemorating the creation of the world, Rabbi Pinto holds a completion of thousands of volumes of the Zohar at the Menorah Hall in Tel Aviv, attended by tens of thousands of participants.


This year, the completion of the Zohar was held at the Western Wall, along with the dedication of a Torah scroll in honor of the Pinto family. Following the event, the Selichot service was held with the participation of more than 50,000 people.
(credit: Shuva Israel)


Rabbi Pinto traveled to Israel for a special spiritual journey, during which he delivered dozens of Torah and ethical lessons throughout the country and held mass Selichot events.


He also met with prominent rabbis and leaders, including the Rebbe of Vizhnitz, the Rebbe of Machnovka-Belz, the tzaddik Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon, and others.
(credit: Shuva Israel)


On Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Pinto will be in Uman, near the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, along with thousands of his students. On Yom Kippur, he will lead prayers in Jerusalem.

This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel