Tzadik ( ṣaddīq , "righteous [one]"; also zadik or sadiq; pl. tzadikim ṣadīqīm) is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ( ṣ-d-q), which relates to "justice" or "righteousness".dictionary item When applied to a righteous woman, the term is inflected as tzadeket singularly or tzidkaniot in the plural.
Tzadik is also the root of the word tzedakah ('charity', literally 'righteousness'). The term tzadik "righteous", and its associated meanings, developed in rabbinic thought from its Talmudic contrast with hasid ("pious" honorific), to its exploration in ethical literature, and its esoteric spiritualisation in Kabbalah.
Since the late 17th century, in Hasidic Judaism, the institution of the mystical tzadik as a divine channel assumed central importance, combining popularization of (hands-on) Jewish mysticism with social movement for the first time.The Zaddik: The Interrelationship between religious Doctrine and Social Organization by Immanuel Etkes, in Hasidism Reappraised edited by Ada Rapoport-Albert, Littman. Adapting former Kabbalistic theosophical terminology, Hasidic philosophy internalised mystical experience, emphasising devekut attachment to its Rebbe leadership, who embody and channel the Divine flow of blessing to the world.God and the Zaddik as the two focal points of Hasidic worship Ada Rapoport-Albert, in Essential Papers on Hasidism edited by Gershon Hundert, NYU Press 1991
Etymology
Ṣedeq in Canaanite religion may have been an epithet of a god of the Jebusites.Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, s.v. ""Sedeq", Melchizedek". The Hebrew word appears in the biblical names Melchizedek, Adonizedek, and Zadok, the high priest of king David.
Nature of the Tzadik
Definitions In classic Jewish thought, there are various definitions of a tzadik. According to Maimonides (based on Tractate Yevamot of the Babylonian Talmud 49b-50a): "One whose merit surpasses his iniquity is a tzadik".Mishneh Torah, Sefer Madda, Laws of Repentance 3:1
According to Shneur Zalman of Liadi's Tanya, a work of Hasidic Judaism, the true title of tzadik denotes a spiritual description of the soul. Its true meaning can only be applied to one who has completely sublimated their natural "animal" or "vital" soul inclinations into holiness, so that they experience only love and awe of God, without material temptations. Hence, a tzadik serves as a vehicle (מרכבה merkavah)Tanya ch.23 to God and has no ego or self-consciousness. Note that a person cannot attain such a level, rather it is granted from on High (or born with, etc.).Tanya, ch. 27 This select level elevates the "Intermediate" person (beinoni) into one who never sins in thought, speech or action. Unlike the Tzadik, they only experience divine devekut (communion) during devoted moments of worship or study, while in mundane life they can be tempted by natural inclinations, but always choose to stay connected to holiness. In the TanyaTanya, Chapter 1 footnote the difference between the former Talmudic-Maimonidean and latter Kabbalistic-Hasidic conceptions is raised. Since the "Torah has 70 facets" of interpretation, perhaps both conceptions are metaphysically true:
Tzadikim Nistarim The Talmud says that at least 36 Tzadikim Nistarim (anonymous tzadikim) are living among us in all times.Sanhedrin 97b; Sukkah 45b.These people's existence ensures the continued existence of all the world. A parallel concept is found in Sufism, where 40 saints are said to rest on the heart of either Noah or Moses. These saints act as intercessors and ensure continued existence of the world. When one dies, another takes that one's place, so there are always 40.
Tzaddik of the generation
Hasidim adhere to the belief that there is a person born each generation with the potential to become Messiah, if the Jewish people warrant his coming. This candidate is known as the Tzadik Ha-Dor, meaning Tzaddik of the Generation.
Miracle workers
While tzadik status, according to its above definitions, is not necessarily related to the ability to perform or call upon miracles, the term tzadik is often used loosely by the Talmud to indicate those who have achieved especially outstanding piety and holiness. In this context, the tzadik's prayers are considered especially potent, as the Talmud states: "A tzadik decrees and the Holy One (blessed be He) fulfills." This is line with the Talmudic dictum: Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Judah haNasi used to say: "Make His Will your own will, that He make your will as His Will."Avot, 2:4
In Muslim countries and Israel The veneration of tzadikim and the veneration of prophets and other figures from the Torah, Bible, and Quran overlapped significantly, as did the veneration of figures from one religion by other local religions. Certain theological concepts overlapped as well. In the Medieval Muslim worldview, places like Egypt, al-Shām (especially Syria), and Karbala were holy or blessed land, though not necessarily as much as Mecca, Medinah, and Jerusalem. Jews never regarded other cities as sacred as Jerusalem, but lands like Syria, Iraq, and Egypt were also seen holy. A more specific location often became holy when someone saw a prophet or saint in a vision and was told to build a shrine. The prophet or saint made the place holy, but their granting of holiness was limited. The holiness was perpetuated via ritual behaviors such as prayer, supplication, votive offerings, sprinkling perfume and water, laying on the shrines and tombs, living in them, circumambulation, touching, and taking soil and rocks away that were thought to heal through baraka. These actions marked the sites associated with saints and prophets as separate from their surroundings. Sites that were destroyed and never rebuilt were seen as having lost favor with God, the prophets, and the saints. Sites also became holy due to their place in scripture, eschatological tradition, legends, local performance of ritual, the import/export of sacred objects and substances, and the production and display of talismans. Saint and prophet shrines were more common in cities, but plenty have been recorded in rural areas.
Saints and prophets in the view of Medieval Jews and Muslims possessed baraka (which can be translated as "blessing"), an innate force which was also conferred into objects they'd used or places they'd been, both of which are very important to saint veneration. Jews also use the word qadosh ("holiness") in the same context. In both religions, God is the ultimate source of holiness, and holiness comes from being or having been in service of God. While some ideas, such as these, are shared, and saints were common in popular Jewish practice at various points in time, Judaism does not have a doctrine for sainthood in the way Islam does. This is despite the fact that saint veneration was common among Medieval Jewish communities in the region. One of the key traits throughout history, from the writing of 1 Kings to the Modern era, of a Jewish saint is their ability to produce rain.
Holy places, particularly the shrines and tombs associated with saints and prophets, were associated with supernatural sensory phenomena, particularly in the pre-modern era. This includes unnatural lights descending to holy sites or emanating from them, visions, unexplained pleasant smells, and clouds ascending from shrines or hovering over them. Both Jews and Muslims also said that a shrine of a prophet or saint would evoke a feeling of awe or holiness.
Hagiographic style literature, called ma'asiyyot (meaning tales, legends, or deeds), was published by Medieval Jews, such as A Book of Belief after Advertisity, published in the 11th century by the Jewish sage Ibn Shahin.
Both votive and free will offerings were common at saint's shrines, and could be done for an individual's sake, or for the sake of an entire community.
Some Jewish literature places the tzadikim above the angels. Egypt In Egypt, Jewish saint veneration is not often a topic of research and is not prominently practiced today, though a number of Egyptian saints are said to be Jews who converted to Islam. There are three Jewish mausoleums in Egypt currently associated with the practice: Maimondes' tomb in Musky, Cairo; Sidi al-Amshati's tomb in El-Mahalla El-Kubra in Gharbia, which has not hosted any celebrations for some time; and Hatsera's mausoleum near Damanhur in Beheria. The Synagogue of Moses at Dammuh was also well regarded as a holy pilgrimage site, and in the Medieval era, other synagogues devoted to Moses and many shrines to Elijah existed. Such shrines commemorated the various places Elijah had taken refuge from King Ahab in.
Moses was venerated highly in part because of the Islamic admiration for him. The interfaith veneration of Moses made him a powerful tool for Jews in polemics against conversion to Islam, and part of why Moses is known as the highest prophet of Judaism today are these polemics, which sometimes borrowed Islamic epithets and titles typically used for Mohammed. The most famous of these were the defenses written by Moses Maimonides. This high regard meant that some Muslims also made pilgrimage to the Synagogue of Moses. The Synagogue of Moses was important to both Karaite and Rabbinic Jews, and was particularly important on Shavuot (which commemorates the giving of the Torah), and on the 7th of Adar (Moses's birth and death day). The 7th itself would be full of fasting and prayer, while the 8th was a more festive occasion. People would travel from all over Egypt to visit the Synagogue at these times. Pilgrims lit candles, burned incense, played music and games, and danced. Pilgrimage here was considered by some to be a substitute for pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Part of this was likely the Crusades. When it was too dangerous to travel to Jerusalem out of fear of Christian violence, the Synagogue may have seen an increase in visitors. Entire families regularly traveled together for pilgrimage to Dammuh. Certain behaviors were banned at points in the site's history, including: merry making, marionette shows, beer brewing, bringing in gentiles and apostates, unaccompanied women, men accompanied by boys (likely a reference to pederastic couples), desecration of Shabbat, chess, instrumental music, clapping, dancing, and men and women socializing. Of course, this list of prohibitions serves to tell us exactly what many Jews were doing during their pilgrimages to Dammuh. The letter declaring these prohibitions was published during the reign of al-Hakim, and may have been a pre-emptive attempt to avoid persecution (and therefore some of the restrictions may have been retracted once the more extreme decrees of the Caliph were rescinded).
The Synagogue was destroyed in 1498 on the orders of Qansuh al-Ghawri, but even after this it remained in the popular consciousness of Egyptian Jews. Even after its destruction, accounts of traveling to the site continue for another century. This may indicate it was only partially destroyed. By the 17th century, it was completely in ruins. Legends persisted after this point about the synagogue.