Rabbi Yakov of Dubno, known as The Dubno Maggid, is now buried in Zamoshetz, Poland. His Allegories and parables have so influenced the Jewish people, and a sign has finally been placed above his approximated gravesite.

Non-profit organization, Oholei Zadikin has recently placed a sign marking the Ancient Jewish Cemetery of Zamoshetz, Poland. There, Rabbi Yakov of Dubno, widely known as The Maggid o Dubno, spent the last years of is life.

Rabbi Yakov Crunch was born in year 5511 in Zettel, Lithuania, to his father, Rabbi Zev Wolf Crunch.

Yakov studied Torah with his father up until age eighteen. Then, he traveled to Masaryk, Ukraine where he would study at the beit midrash and from time to time would speak before his peers.

Slowly, slowly he was heard of and became known as a maggid. More and more members of the Masaryk communities came to hear his talks and eventually he was designated as The Official Maggid in Masaryk.

Rabbi Yakov moved on from Masaryk to become a maggid in another Ukrainian city, Zolkiev. He later moved on to Dubno. There, he served as the maggid for eighteen year, and was therefore known as The Dubno Maggid. It was his custom to alternate between towns in order to preach his most famous parables and bring his people closer to their heavenly father.

Finally, Rabbi Yakov settled in Zamoshetz, Poland where he served as the maggid for the fifteen years prior to his death.

Rabbi Eliyahu, The Vilna Gaon, was very fond of Rabbi Yakov and many times asked him to preach before him.  Rabbi Yakov refused, as he did not feel that he was worthy of preaching to the great Vilna Gaon. Though, after many pleas, Rabbi Yakov conceded. "Your righteousness is incomplete", he told the Vilna Gaon, "for you enclose yourself in your own house instead of circulating amongst your people."

In Sefer HaMidot Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Flam describes Rabbi Yakov's daily duties and patterns. He writes that time was of great value to Rabbi Yakov. He did not wish to waste time and become famous from writing down his innovations. But what he wrote, he wrote for himself and not to be published.

Not only was Rabbi Yakov wise, intelligent and brave, but also his righteousness, asceticism and innocence were astounding. He would rise, like a lion, at midnight to cry and pray over the loss of the holy Temple. After that he would study until the first light, at which time he would go to the mikvah and then drape himself in a talit and tefillin which he would wear all day until after Mincha.

Rabbi Yakov would cry constantly to Hashem. Though he was heavy, the whole time he prayed he would stay bent over not moving a muscle and when he finished, his chair was wet as though someone had spilled a bucket of water on it.

It was Rabbi Yakov's custom to read several pirkei tehillim in the middle of the day, daily.

The reason that he said those pirkei tehillim, daily, was unknown. But when he died, the beadle said, "I think I know". The beadle went on to explain that everyday Rabbi Yakov would ask him to seek, find out and tell him all the troubles and distress that the people of the town went through. He would then return and report to the rabbi what he knew: So-and-so was sick, someone else having trouble providing for his family, etc. Rabbi Yakov asked the beadle to keep these activities a secret. Zamoshetz was a large city and there is no telling how many benefitted from Rabbi Yakov's prayers. 

In contrast to other maggids, Rabbi Yakov would tell spicy but simple parables and stories, which were savory to the ear. He did not like to frighten people with stories of Hell, and he even had a parable about this: A dealer requested from a messenger to bring a package from the harbor. After an hour, the messenger returned, panting. He entered the dealer's office and said, "Here, I brought the package". The dealer told him, "That’s not my package!" The messenger became angry saying that the dealer hadn't looked inside the package to be sure. The dealer replied that here was no need, his package was meant to be small and weigh little, and if the messenger was panting so, the package must be heavy and therefore, not his.

The lesson is simple: The way of the Torah is simple, and if a person must pant and breathe so hard, he must be carrying the wrong package.

In 5565, on the 17^th of Tevet, his soul ascended in a storm to the heavens. His resting place is Zamoshetz, Poland.