tzadik

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Pronunciations

tzadik (TSA-dik) listen
tzadik (tsa-DEEK) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Someone who does righteous deeds.

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

  • n. A common name for the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tzadi.

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)

  • "I remember his grandmother. A real tsadeykes she was..." (Glinert)

  • "You want to send a New Year's Card to the IRS? What, are you some kind of tsadik!" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish
  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • TH צדיק > Y צדיק tsadek, MH צַדִּיק tsadík

      • 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)
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
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      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

  • feminine singular: 'tzadeket', 'tsedeykes', or 'tsedekes'
    masculine plural: 'tzadikim'
    feminine plural: 'tzadikot'

    See also tzedakah.

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