I knew a Lamedvavnik… Remembering Harvey Dolinsky, The Miracle Making Tzadik

The 36 Lamed Vuv are very holy Jewish men. Their purity is what allows the world to continue. The Lamed Vuv appear when tragedy and hardship threaten mankind. They have the ability to help the people through tough times – and then disappear before they can be thanked. A Lamed Vuv is a hidden, righteous man.

My great grandmother, Minnie Dolinsky, a Holocaust survivor, always said her son, Harvey, was a Lamed Vuv, and knew he was very special. Minnie was a very holy, extremely religious woman who lived her life according to Torah in every way. A Lamed Vuv is a holy man and nobody knows who they are. They themselves may not know that they’re a Lamed Vuv. For the sake of these 36 hidden saints, Hashem preserves the world.

Harvey Dolinsky was a Tzadik, many thought that he was a Lamed Vuv, but he would never say this or acknowledge it. People came from all over the world to go to Harvey Dolinsky if they had a stuttering speech impediment. Harvey had a miracle as a child, and was able to help others get their miracles too.

As a young orthodox boy, Harvey Dolinsky was bullied for stuttering. He could barely talk and kids made fun of him. Harvey never fought back and always prayed for everyone. As Harvey davened (prayed) for others, he would try to teach himself not to stutter. He begged Hashem to heal him so he could speak without stuttering. Harvey developed his own method and cured himself with Hashem’s help. To everyone’s surprise, Harvey began to talk as if he never stuttered. He never saw a doctor, never got help from anyone, he had a miracle but the story only begins here.

Harvey got married to Edith Bleichfeld, the love of his life and had three daughters. Harvey was married to Edith for 62 years before passing away. He was extremely poor and lived in the same small ranch home in Lakewood, New Jersey where he raised his family until the time of his death. There were times that Harvey could barely afford food and that just meant he would work more. He was the most honest man and hardest worker there could ever be. Harvey never took out loans, never owed anyone money, and if someone was in need, he would give them whatever he was able to. Harvey lived the most humble and modest life where material objects meant nothing but family meant everything. Harvey’s life and struggles were not easy but he was always seeking to do the “right thing.” He would tell his family about the afterlife, the angels, and things he knew from studying Torah.

Harvey was a miracle worker. People from all over the world would come to Harvey if they had a stuttering problem. He would work with them for free, and he never asked nor would he accept a single penny. People who had severe stuttering problems their whole life would spend a short time with Harvey and walk out of his house no longer stuttering! Miracles happened every day with Harvey.

Hundreds of people began to talk and the phone was constantly ringing to make an appointment with the miracle healer for stuttering. Harvey would wake up in the morning and his day would be seeing appointments and working with people who stutter. He would teach the methods that he used to heal himself and pray to Hashem for whoever he worked with. Everyone who went to Harvey got healed. Doctors began referring their patients to Harvey to get a miracle and they would call up Harvey wondering how he helped cure some of the worst stuttering cases. Harvey didn’t make a business out of his gift, he didn’t want to be in the news for it, and he absolutely would accept no gifts or money in return. He felt that Hashem healed him and gave him the ability and gift of helping others.

Someone once came to Harvey and said he wanted to get married but couldn’t talk because of his stuttering, but with Harvey, he got a miracle and was married shortly after. People came from other states and even other countries to visit Harvey because of his gift.

Harvey was a kindhearted man who liked to make jokes and see people smile. He worried about his family all the time and would always check in on them to make sure they knew that he loved them and was thinking about them. When Harvey struggled with Alzheimer’s and had to stop seeing people, he would think that he was still helping people and it was the one thing he spoke about frequently through his episodes of losing his memory. This was something he couldn’t ever forget.

Harvey was a Lamed Vuv but no one will ever know since he passed away in 2015 at the age of 84. His miracles and love are forever missed.

*Photo of Harvey and Edith Dolinsky*