tzadik

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Pronunciations

tzadik (TZA-dik) listen
tzadik (tza-DEEK) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Someone who does extremely righteous deeds.

  • n. A highly learned and esteemed rabbinic leader (sometimes used as an alternative name for a Hasidic rebbe).

  • Common name for the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (tzadi / tzade).

Example Sentences

  • Josh always volunteers at the food bank; he is a real tzadik.

  • "The Ramchal and the Bnei Yisaschar as well as many other great tzadikim quote Rav Shimshon in their works." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish
  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • צדיק

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      tsadik, tzaddik, tsadek

Notes

  • Fem. tzadeket / tsedeykes / tsedekes. Plural tzadikim, tzadikot.

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