Rabbi Pinto warns against participating in any machloket
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, shlita, head of the “Shuvu Israel” institutions, recently put out a strong statement reminding the wider kehilla to be very careful about staying away from machloket (strife, controversy and arguments).
In a choked voice, Rabbi Pinto asked what good participating in machloket ever did for a person – and also emphasized just how much evil can come about to a person as a result of getting involved in machloket.
You can see Rabbi Pinto giving over this message for yourself, in the original Hebrew, in the clip below:
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Here are a translation of his holy words:
“Stop participating in machloket.
Stop participating in evil. Stop judging people. Two people are arguing, why are you getting involved? What benefit is this going to bring you? What is it going to give to you, and what is it going to add, for you?
On ben Pelet, his wife saved him. She said to him: Why are you getting involved in the machloket between Moshe and Korach? What are you going to get out of it? If Moshe succeeds, it’s not going to give you anything at all. And if Korach succeeds, that’s also not going to give you anything at all!
Why are you getting involved in this?!
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People find themselves getting dragged into it, people find themselves getting involved , people don’t know, that they are losing their life [as a result].
People don’t know, and they don’t understand that they are playing with fire. They don’t know what this ‘fire’ really is. Playing with fire is dangerous, and they don’t understand what they are really playing with.
People need to take responsibility for their own lives, and act wisely in relation to their own lives. They shouldn’t get involved in things that they really don’t know what they are touching.
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Sometimes, there is katnut ha’daat (ignorance), and a person gets pulled into something. Be very careful about where you are being pulled to and dragged to! Things are not all how they seem to you, so wonderful, and you’re doing things in order to look like a big ‘hero’ in front of your friends.
You back me up, and I’ll return the favor and back you up – No!
These things are dangerous!
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You are playing with fire!
You don’t know which match is going to catch alight, and afterwards you are going to enter a field full of thorns. And who knows where all this could lead to.
Because there is always the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This is just a single straw, but it breaks the back of the camel.
Sometimes, the matter is so very delicate, and the person doesn’t know where it can really lead. So, a person needs to be wise, and to look at things with great wisdom.
Increase your prayers, the more a person prays, the more he strengthens his spiritual roots. And the more that a person does mitzvoth, that he doesn’t then go and ruin with his [evil] speech and deeds…
You did a mitzvah? Be happy! This is going to stand for you!
But don’t spoil what you’ve done. It’s a great shame to ruin what you’ve done.
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Rav Yosefi speaks out about the terrible danger of participating in machloket
