Brazil's best-known rabbi, who was charged with shoplifting in Florida last week, was hospitalized on Friday for what doctors called a mood disorder after using drugs that may cause confusion and amnesia.

Rabbi Henry Sobel asked for a suspension from his duties as chief of Sao Paulo Rabbinate on Thursday after media reports that he had been charged with stealing expensive ties.

The Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo said Sobel was admitted "due to an episode of mood disorder, represented by a lack of emotional control and altered behavior." It said he had been taking large quantities of drugs to treat severe insomnia that "cause potential states of mental confusion and amnesia".

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Sobel said on Thursday he was never arrested during his trip and denied the charges. He later issued a vaguer statement that read: "I have never had an intention to steal any object in all my life."

Palm Beach County police said that a Henry Sobel was charged with retail theft in multiple locations. The man was arrested last Friday after a surveillance camera in a Louis Vuitton shop showed him picking up a tie and then leaving empty-handed. Four other expensive ties were found in his car.

Sobel was released the following day after posting bail.