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

Żydaczów Zhydachiv (, ) is a city in Stryi Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Zhydachiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Local government is administered by the Zhydachiv City Council. Its populati ...

), was a famous

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () 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 Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

, a noted

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

, Kabbalist and author of

novellae In Roman law, a novel (, "new decree"; ) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publishing of the ''Codex Theodosianus'' in 438 and ...

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and responsa. He founded the Zidichov 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 Galici ...

, the Maggid of Koznitz and the

Seer of Lublin Yaakov Yitzchak HaLevi Horowitz (), known as "the Seer of Lublin" (), ''ha-Chozeh MiLublin''; (c. 1745 - August 15, 1815) was a Chasidic Judaism, Hasidic rebbe from Poland. "Rabbi Yaacov Yitzchak, the Chozeh of Lublin, is one of the truly beloved ...

. His younger brother was Rabbi of Sambor. Among Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh's students were his nephew Rabbi , Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov (the ''Bnei Yisaschar''), his nephew Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Zidichov, Rabbi Shimon of Yaruslav, and Rabbi

Shalom of Kaminka Shalom haLevi Rozenfeld, known as Rabbi Shalom of Kaminka (1800–1851), was a Galician scholar in Hasidic Judaism known as a '' zaddik'' and kabbalist. His sayings or lessons often appear in collected works of Hasidic stories or tales. He was ...

. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh was very passionate about studying

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

, and the ''Kitvei Ari'' ("writings of Rabbi

Isaac Luria Isaac ben Solomon Ashkenazi Luria (; #FINE_2003, Fine 2003, p24/ref>July 25, 1572), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as Ha'ari, Ha'ari Hakadosh or Arizal, was a leading rabbi and Jewish mysticism, Jewish mystic in the community of Saf ...

") in particular. He made a tremendous effort in encouraging Jews to study these works. With the assistance of his students, some

yeshivot A yeshiva (; ; 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 philosophy are studied in par ...

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

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue f ...

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, Jewish theologian, and 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 Bri ...

, ''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 (; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) / October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachi ...

, which is close to the soul of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 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. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...

". 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 () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

, famous for his mystical visions recorded both in the

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

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 son of Zippor ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet and sorcerer Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam the son of Beor for the purpose of c ...

. 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: , ''Šimʿon bar Yoḥay'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: ), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century tanna or sage of the period of Roman Judaea and early Syria Palaestina. He was one ...

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 offi ...

. /

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsh, Tzvi, of Zidichov 1763 births 1831 deaths Rebbes of Zidichov Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish Hasidic rabbis Ukrainian Hasidic rabbis People from Zhydachiv