Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Eichenstein of Zhidachov—the Ateres Tzvi רבי צבי הירש אייכנשטיין מזידיטשוב — עטרת צבי
founder of the Zhidachov court; the man who brought Lurianic kabbalah inside chasidic teaching
He studied under the Chozeh of Lublin and under Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov. He set up his court in Zhidachov in Galicia.
What set him apart. Chasidut grew out of kabbalah but spoke of it by hint: the tzaddikim taught of service, not of sefirot. He turned otherwise—he began teaching Lurianic kabbalah directly, from the Etz Chaim, and requiring knowledge of it from his students. The Ateres Tzvi is his commentary on the Zohar; Sur me-Ra va-Aseh Tov is his instruction on how such learning is to be approached and by whom it should not be.
What came of him. His nephew and student settled in Komarno and carried the same line further; the Zhidachov-Komarno house remained the corner of Chasidut where kabbalah is studied aloud.
He died on 11 Tammuz 1831.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Acharonim and later rabbinic literature
- The Ateres Tzvi—a commentary on the Zohar — kabbalah as the court’s teaching itself
- Sur me-Ra va-Aseh Tov—an instruction on approaching kabbalah — who may learn it and how
Basis: documents and evidence.