Jacob ben Wolf Kranz

Jacob ben Wolf Kranz of Dubno (Hebrew: יעקב קרנץ‎‎), the Dubner Maggid (מגיד מדובנא), was a Lithuanian (Belarus)-born preacher (maggid). (Alternative spelling of family name: Kranc)

The Dubner Maggid is famous for his fables or parables designed to teach or illustrate an instructive lessons based on Jewish tradition. The most famous fable of the Dubner Maggid is about the way in which he was able to find such fitting fables. When asked about this the Maggid replied: Once I was walking in the forest, and saw tree after tree with a target drawn on it, and at the center of each target an arrow. I then came upon a little boy with a bow in his hand. "Are you the one who shot all these arrows?", I asked. "Yes!" he replied. "Then how did you always hit the center of the target?" I asked. "Simple", said the boy, "first I shoot the arrow, then I draw the target".

Kranz was born at Zietil (Yiddish זשעטל Zhetl)(now Dzyatlava), (then Lithuania now Belarus) in about 1740 and died at Zamość on 18 December 1804. At the age of eighteen he went to Międzyrzec Podlaski (Meseritz), where he occupied the position of preacher. He stayed there for two years, and then became preacher successively at Zolkiev, Dubno, Włodawa (Lublin]] region), Kalisch, and Zamość. He remained at Dubno eighteen years and is best known for being the Rabbi here. He left Dubno for Vilnius at the request of the famous Elijah Wilna, who, having recently recovered from a sickness and being unable to study, sought diversion in his conversation.

...
Wikipedia