Pinto Police Protection
The following incident transpired in the 1980’s, but was allowed to be publicized only recently. At the hilula of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, it was told before thousands. It touched the people there in a deep way and caused a kiddush Hashem.
The man who recounted the story was a retired policeman. At one point in his career, he was involved in stalking a well-known criminal. In a sudden twist of fate, this criminal discovered that a Jewish policeman was following his every move. A tough fight broke out between them. The hardened criminal threatened the policeman with his life.
- Hilula celebration of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto Hagadol, zy”a, at his grave
Then the policeman turned to his adversary, and said, “My name is Pinto. I do not belong to the illustrious Pinto dynasty, but I firmly believe in the merit of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, zy”a. I am sure that his merit will protect me from all harm. Time will tell which of us will die first, at a young age. Then we will know who was right.”
Years went by. One day, when Policeman Pinto was on the beat, he was urgently called on his beeper. In a specific building, he was told, gunshots had been heard. Since his car was closest to the scene, he rushed into the house to find the cause of the shots.
To his complete amazement, lying on the floor was the criminal of long ago, who had threatened his life. Now the man lay writhing in the throes of death, after having shot himself in the head on the heels of an argument with his wife.
The policeman bent down to confirm the man’s identification. The criminal signaled that it was him, and that he, too, recognized the policeman from their former brawl. He indicated that the policeman had been proven correct in asserting that the criminal would die first.
I was touched by this story. Hashem ordained that the policeman who was threatened by this criminal, would be the first on the scene of the death.
But the policeman was still plagued by his conscience. Maybe he had brought a curse upon the man, which led to his untimely death? I calmed him, stating that Hashem arranged things so that he shouldn’t have to kill the man with his own hands. The enemy himself took care of that. I explained that the man himself was responsible for his own death, and the officer’s hands were clean of sin.
