7 Tevet · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Tzvi ben Baal Shem Tov
Rabbi Tzvi ben Yisrael - son of the Baal Shem Tov.
When the Baal Shem Tov lived in Brody, he married the sister of the well-known scholar Rabbi Avraham Gershon of Kitov. The Besht was blessed with a son, Tzvi, and a daughter, Adel. Rabbi Tzvi studied Torah with his father and his uncle, Rabbi Gershon.
His father, the Baal Shem Tov, told him not to seek the position of rabbi and to keep his words. His friends could never get him to reveal a single word of his father's wisdom. Rabbi Tzvi accompanied his father everywhere on his missions to rescue Jews in distress. Like his father, he gave all his money to charity. He was known for his great humility and conducted himself as a simple man. He is considered a hidden tzadik (Tzadik Nistar).
Luxury and Charity
Once Rabbi Tzvi accompanied his father, the Baal Shem Tov, to the home of a wealthy man in Medzhybizh. His father, noticing how his son's eyes widened at the sight of the expensive silver ornaments and costly furniture, exclaimed: "My son, I see that you envy this man and his expensive possessions, while your father's house is devoid of such luxury. But believe me, my son. Even if I had enough wealth to acquire these trinkets, I would give it all away to the poor."
Before his passing, the Baal Shem Tov said to his son Tzvi: "Had I instilled in you the soul of Adam HaRishon (the first man), you would know all of Creation. Instead, I gave you a holy soul, and you have no need for all that."
By this, the Baal Shem Tov was warning his son that he need not lead the movement. Adam HaRishon symbolizes leadership, as it is said: "Let us make man, and he shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals, and all the earth" (Bereishit 1:26). He believed that Tzvi's holy soul was meant to perfect itself, not others.
After the Besht's passing, out of respect for the Baal Shem Tov, his son was appointed as temporary leader.
A year later, on the yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Tzvi stood at the head of the community, and as soon as he finished delivering his Torah discourse, he rose and said: "Today my father appeared to me and told me that the Shechinah and the Heavenly Assembly, which had previously been with him, have now passed to Rabbi Dov Ber, and so he asked me to hand over the leadership to him in the presence of the Chevra Kadisha (the Holy Society). Let him take my place, and I will sit in his."
He removed the white garment symbolizing leadership and placed it upon the shoulders of Dov Ber.
Rabbi Tzvi was buried beside his father in Medzhybizh. He left behind righteous sons, Rabbi Aharon of Tetiev and Rabbi Dov of Olnov.
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/139-Rabbi-Tzvi)