Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen Dushnitzer

Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen Dushnitzer (5636—5709)

Yahrzeit – 22 Av

Resting place - Petach Tikva, Israel

Rabbi Eliyahu Dushnitzer was the mashgiach of the Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikva.

Once the Chazon Ish said of him that he was one of the 36 "Lamed-Vav" (hidden tzadikim).

Rabbi Eliyahu was a talmid of the Chofetz Chaim and one of those chosen to remove a dibbuk from a woman, in the well-known story told by Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman.

Stories of the Tzadik

Once he boarded a bus and, after paying the driver, forgot to take his ticket from him. A few minutes later, noticing his oversight, Rabbi Dushnitzer turned anxiously to his two companions: "What should I do now?! If I ask the driver for a ticket now, he might suspect that I didn't pay when I got on — and because of me the Name of the Almighty would be desecrated! But if I leave things as they are, an inspector might appear at any moment: finding that I have no ticket, he'll conclude that I didn't pay my fare — and again, because of me, the Name of the Almighty would be desecrated! What's more, in the evening, when counting the earnings, the driver will find a small surplus and might not turn it over to the company owner, but keep it for himself. That would mean I pushed him into unwitting theft." In the end, Rabbi Dushnitzer found the only solution that satisfied his sense of justice. "You are witnesses that I am forgiving the driver the money I paid him," he announced to his companions. "Now this money becomes his property." Then he approached the driver and, paying him a second time, received a ticket (Maasei Avot, Vayishlach).

Another time Rabbi Dushnitzer gave his coat to a tailor for repair. He picked it up on the eve of Shabbat, and once home he noticed that the tailor had sewn on an extra button that had not been discussed between them. Fearing that this button remained unpaid for, Rabbi Dushnitzer did not use the coat until he met with the tailor after Shabbat and found out from him the price of sewing on the button (ibid., Kedoshim).

Rabbi Dushnitzer showed even greater scrupulousness when it came to large financial transactions.

His son Rav Asher moved to America and left him a large orchard in Ramat Hasharon. The economic crisis that Mandatory Palestine was going through made the orchard unprofitable, and in order to cover the costs of caring for the trees, Rabbi Dushnitzer was forced to go into debt. He prayed that the Almighty would give him the opportunity to sell the orchard and pay off his debts. Finally, an American businessman was found who was willing to make the deal.

Arriving at the orchard together with the buyer, Rabbi Dushnitzer said to him: "It is written in the Torah: 'When you sell anything to your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.' (Vayikra 25:14) Therefore I am obligated to point out to you all the flaws of this orchard." Rav Dushnitzer proceeded to lead the American through the orchard and show him all the problem spots, commenting: "This tree is infested with pests! This one has dried out! This one has stopped bearing fruit! And here a gully is forming!..." Having patiently heard out all the remarks, the businessman said firmly: "I'm buying it!"

However, when on the way back, on the bus, it turned out that the American suffered from a serious heart condition, Rabbi Dushnitzer immediately called off the deal. "I have no right to sell an orchard involving so many problems to a man with a bad heart, even if the buyer himself is not yet aware of these problems," he explained. (Gedolei HaDorot)

In the last years of his life, while studying Torah at night in his small office at the yeshiva, Rabbi Dushnitzer began turning off the electricity and using a kerosene lamp instead.

When asked why he denied himself such basic comforts, Rabbi Dushnitzer explained with embarrassment: "I am an old man, and at any moment I might doze off over a book — and it would turn out that I am using the yeshiva's electricity for no reason at all. ...But for the kerosene I pay out of my own pocket." (Maasei Avoteinu, Kedoshim)

Rabbi Eliyahu Dushnitzer was called up to the Heavenly Yeshiva on the twenty-second of Av, 5709 /1949/.

A Segula for Selling a Home

A segula associated with Rabbi Eliyahu Dushnitzer for selling a home (or property) is to make a donation to a fund that supports children who study Torah, and to ask the children to say a prayer.

(from the Toldot.ru website)