“Blessed are the people of his congregation. Whoever is privileged to have him serve as their rabbi will be led to the springs of Torah and reverence …”
Certificate of rabbinic ordination handwritten by one of the primary leaders of Hungarian Jewry, the av beit din of Paks, the sacred gaon Rabbi Zussman Sofer, with his signature and personal stamp. Granted to the young scholar Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, later av beit din of Galanta, Chust, and then Jerusalem. Paks, 1893.
Each disciple who desired to become a rabbi required a heter hora’ah – a letter of rabbinic ordination from a recognized Torah authority. This particular certificate of ordination was written with exceptional enthusiasm, and the close personal relationship between the certificate’s recipient and its giver is evident.
R’ Zussman concludes this certificate of ordination with a warm blessing: “I pray that Hashem will raise his banner as a ray of light to spread his springs [of knowledge] for a long time. Paks … 1893. Signed with much love, Zussman …” The writer’s rare personal stamp is imprinted on the certificate.
This certificate of ordination was given to the gaon Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, who received rabbinic ordination when he was only 26 years old! The text of the letter of ordination was printed in the book Mazkeret Paks Part II, p. 105.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the sacred gaon Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer and the gaon Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky .
[1] leaf paper, 17×21 cm.
Very fine condition. Light aging stains. Professional restoration from the back. Fold mark.