Tzvi ben Yisrael

For a time the Baal Shem Tov lived in Brody, where 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 with his uncle, Rabbi Gershon. His father, the Baal Shem Tov, told him not to seek a rabbinical position and to guard his words. His friends could never get a single word of his father's wisdom out of him. Rabbi Tzvi accompanied his father everywhere on his missions to save Jews in distress. Like his father, he gave away 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). 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 of any of that." By this, the Baal Shem Tov was warning his son that he did not need to lead the movement. Adam HaRishon symbolizes leadership, as it is said: "Let us make man, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, and all the earth" (Bereishit 1:26). He held 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 was presiding over the community, and as soon as he finished his Torah discourse, he stood up and said: "Today my father appeared to me and told me that the Shechinah and the Heavenly Assembly, which had been with him, have now passed to Rabbi Dov Ber. He therefore asked me to hand over the reins of leadership to him in the presence of the Chevra Kadisha (Holy Society). Let him take my place, and I will sit in his." He removed the white garment symbolizing leadership and placed it on 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 Olyka. May the merit of the tzadik protect our people. (Dailyzoar.com)