Tzvi Hirsh Eichenstein also known as Hirsh Zydaczower (1763, Sambor - June 22, 1831,

Zidichov Ziditshov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in town Ziditshoyv (as known in Yiddish; or Zhydachiv in Ukrainian), in Galicia (a province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire). It was founded by Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh of Ziditshov. Today, the few who ...

), was a famous

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritu ...

, a noted

Talmudist The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

, Kabbalist and author of novellae on

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and responsa. He founded the

Hasidic dynasty. He was a disciple of rabbis Moshe Leib of Sassov,

Menachem Mendel of Rimanov Menachem Mendel Torem of Rimanov also known as Mendele Rimanover (Alt. spellings: ''Riminov'', ''Rimanev'') (1745–May 29, 1815) was a famous Hasidic Rebbe and one of the first five distributors of the Hasidic movement in Poland and Galic ...

, the

Maggid of Koznitz Yisroel Hopstein (1737–1814), also known as the Maggid of Kozhnitz, was the founder of Kozhnitz Hasidism, and a noted '' hasidic'' leader in Poland during the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a student of both the Magid/Dov Ber of Mez ...

and the Seer of Lublin. His younger brother was Rabbi Moshe of Sambor. Among Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh's students were Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarna, Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov (the ''Bnei Yisaschar''), Rabbi

Yitzchak Isaac of Zidichov Yitzchak Isaac of Zidichov (1805–June 4, 1873) was a noted Hasidic rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Yisachar Barish, who was the brother of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh of Zidichov (1763–1831). Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac was a close disciple of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh of ...

, Rabbi Shimon of Yaruslav, and Rabbi Shalom of Kaminka. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh was very passionate about studying

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

, and the ''Kitvei Ari'' ("writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria") in particular. He made a tremendous effort in encouraging Jews to study these works. With the assistance of his students, some

yeshivot A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish education, Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish p ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

added the study of Kabbalah to their curriculum. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh blended the teachings of the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

with the kabbalah of the ''Ari''. His book ''Ateret Tzvi'' includes his commentary on the Zohar. In his book ''Sur Mei'ra Ve'asei Tov'' (lit., "refrain from evil and do good"),Zevi Hirsch Eichenstein, English translation by

Louis Jacobs Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer and theologian. He was the rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as "The Jacobs Affair" in the ...

, ''Turn Aside from Evil and Do Good: An Introduction and Way to the Tree of Life'', 1995, The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, he shows the path to spiritual growth with the assistance of Zohar study and the ''Kitvei Ari''. Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarna writes in one of his books that the soul of his teacher Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh is "from the root of the soul of Rabbi

Chaim Vital Hayyim ben Joseph Vital ( he, רָבִּי חַיִּים בֶּן יוֹסֵף וִיטָאל; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) and October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremo ...

, which is close to the soul of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...

". Once Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh told his brother Rabbi Moshe of Sambor that in one of his "previous lives" he was Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol (one of a series of high priests of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

, famous for his mystical visions recorded both in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

and in the corpus known as ''Sifrei Heichalot'' - literature of the heavenly palaces). The righteous Jews of his generation said he had the soul of the famous ''Yenukah'', mentioned in the Zohar portion of

Balak Balak ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam for the purpose of cursing the migrating Israelite community. On ...

. Another one of his students, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Zidichov, said, "I heard from the holy mouth of my teacher that he was one of the students of Rabbi

Shimon Bar Yochai Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...

Name

The name ''Tzvi Hirsh'' is a bilingual tautological name in Yiddish. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003),

Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew ''Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew'' is a scholarly book written in the English language by linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, published in 2003 by Palgrave Macmillan. The book proposes a socio-philological framework for the an ...

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

. /

/ref> It means literally "deer-deer" and is traceable back to the Hebrew word צבי ''tsvi'' "deer" and the German word ''Hirsch'' "deer".

References

1763 births 1831 deaths Rebbes of Zidichov Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish Hasidic rabbis Ukrainian Hasidic rabbis People from Zhydachiv {{Hasidic-Judaism-stub yi:זידיטשוב