Zadok HaKohen
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Zadok HaKohen Rabinowitz of Lublin
(in Hebrew: צדוק הכהן מלובלין) (Kreisburg, 1823 - Lublin, Poland, 1900), also spelled Tzadok Hacohen, Tsadok Hakohen, Tsadok Hacohen and Tzadok Hakohen, was a Hasidic Rebbe
.
of Izbica, and of Yehudah Leib Eiger (grandson of the famed Rabbi Akiva Eiger and another student of Mordechai Leiner), whom he succeeded in 1888. He is a classic example of a Litvish Jew turned Chasidic.
As a young man he gained widespread acclaim as an illuy (a brilliant talmudist). Rabbi Zadok refused to accept any rabbinic post for most of his life. He eked out a living by his wife running a small used clothing store. Upon the death of Eiger in 1888, Zadok Hakohen agreed to take over the leadership of the Hasidim
. It was then that he began to give his public classes that would take place on Shabbat, Holidays, Rosh Chodesh and special occasions. It is the transcription of those classes were compiled into his work known as Pri Tzadik.
Rabbi Zadok was a prolific writer in all areas of Judaism, halakhah, Hasidut, Kabbalah
, angelology, ethics; he also wrote scholarly essays on astronomy, geometry, and algebra.
One of his lone surviving students was Rabbi Michael Mokotovsky, whose son was Rabbi Avraham Eliyahu Mokotovsky, better known by his penname Eliyahu Kitov
.
. Zadok HaKohen was much more of a prolific writer than Leiner ever was. It is therefore difficult to determine where Rabbi Zadok's radicalism is a mere articulation of ideas left somewhat veiled (albeit possibly purposely) in the writings of Leiner and where Rabbi Zadok is actually breaking new ground.
One does not squelch the evil inclination but rather helps channel its energies positively.
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
(in Hebrew: צדוק הכהן מלובלין) (Kreisburg, 1823 - Lublin, Poland, 1900), also spelled Tzadok Hacohen, Tsadok Hakohen, Tsadok Hacohen and Tzadok Hakohen, was a Hasidic Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
.
Biography
He was born into a Lithuanian Rabbinic family and then became a follower of the Hasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef LeinerMordechai Yosef Leiner
Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica was a rabbinic Hasidic thinker and founder of the Izhbitza-Radzyn dynasty of Hasidic Judaism.Rabbi Mordechai Yosef was born in Tomashov in 1801 to his father Reb Yaakov the son of Reb Mordechai of Sekul, a descendant of Rabbi Shoul Wahl. At the age two he became...
of Izbica, and of Yehudah Leib Eiger (grandson of the famed Rabbi Akiva Eiger and another student of Mordechai Leiner), whom he succeeded in 1888. He is a classic example of a Litvish Jew turned Chasidic.
As a young man he gained widespread acclaim as an illuy (a brilliant talmudist). Rabbi Zadok refused to accept any rabbinic post for most of his life. He eked out a living by his wife running a small used clothing store. Upon the death of Eiger in 1888, Zadok Hakohen agreed to take over the leadership of the Hasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
. It was then that he began to give his public classes that would take place on Shabbat, Holidays, Rosh Chodesh and special occasions. It is the transcription of those classes were compiled into his work known as Pri Tzadik.
Rabbi Zadok was a prolific writer in all areas of Judaism, halakhah, Hasidut, Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, angelology, ethics; he also wrote scholarly essays on astronomy, geometry, and algebra.
One of his lone surviving students was Rabbi Michael Mokotovsky, whose son was Rabbi Avraham Eliyahu Mokotovsky, better known by his penname Eliyahu Kitov
Eliyahu Kitov
Avraham Eliyahu Mokotow , better known as Eliyahu Kitov, was a Rabbi, educator, and community activist. He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1912 as Abraham Eliyahu Mokotowski.-Biography:...
.
Ideas
Zadok HaKohen's radical philosophy of Judaism very much continues the thinking of his teacher Rabbi Mordechai Yosef LeinerMordechai Yosef Leiner
Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica was a rabbinic Hasidic thinker and founder of the Izhbitza-Radzyn dynasty of Hasidic Judaism.Rabbi Mordechai Yosef was born in Tomashov in 1801 to his father Reb Yaakov the son of Reb Mordechai of Sekul, a descendant of Rabbi Shoul Wahl. At the age two he became...
. Zadok HaKohen was much more of a prolific writer than Leiner ever was. It is therefore difficult to determine where Rabbi Zadok's radicalism is a mere articulation of ideas left somewhat veiled (albeit possibly purposely) in the writings of Leiner and where Rabbi Zadok is actually breaking new ground.
Takkanas HaShavim
Zadok HaKohen said that the Oral Law developed to its full potential after the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greek culture, a culture characterized by deep analysis and hair-splitting argument. These virtues were converted to a holy nature with the victory of Israel over Greece. This was the fulfillment of the verse “God will give beauty to Yefet and this beauty will dwell in the tents of Shem” (as per Megillah 9b). After the victory, Jews could begin the successful integration of science, logic and philosophy into our natural world, into the world of the Written Law. Only then could the Oral Law truly begin to flourish.Pri Tzaddik, Genesis
Humanity's first sin was not Adam and Eve's eating of forbidden fruit, but rather the way they ate it. The Tree of Knowledge, says he, was not a tree or a food or a thing at all. Rather it was a way of eating. Whenever a person grabs self-conscious pleasure from the world, he falls, at that moment, from God consciousness, and eats from the Tree of Knowledge.Tzidkas HaTzaddik
You can learn a lot about a person from his dreams. What we dream is a reflection of who we are. It is the measure of our aspirations and goals, and of those values we hold dear and place above all else.One does not squelch the evil inclination but rather helps channel its energies positively.
Works
- Resisei Layla
- Takkanas HaShavim
- Tzidkas HaTzadik
- Machashavos Charutz
- Sichat Malachei HaShareit
- Divrei Sofrim
- Poked Akarim
- Pri Tzadik (Compiled by his students from his weekly classes)
- Otzar Hamelech (comments on the Rambam, and a long Tshuva on Tumas Ohel)