tzadik

Alternative Spellings

tsadik, tzaddik, tsadek

Definitions

• Someone who does extremely righteous deeds.
• 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." (http://revach.net/stories/gedolim-biographies/Rav-Shimshon-MiOstropolia-and-300-Tzadikim-In-Burial-Shrouds/2572)

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

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 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).
JPS: The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001)

Notes

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