Kedushat Levi (Sanctity of Levi)

Levi Isaac (Yitsḥak) of Berdichev, born in Hoshakov, Galicia, to a rabbinic family, was introduced to Hasidism by a follower of Dov Ber, the Magid of Mezritsh. As a fervent Hasid, Levi Isaac clashed bitterly with Misnagdim and, living in a hostile environment in Zelechów and Pinsk, found sanctuary in Berdichev in 1785, where he remained until his death. While he neither established a Hasidic court nor had a large number of disciples, he stressed the role of a tsadik as an intermediary between the human and the divine. His teachings influenced later Hasidism; he became a well-loved figure about whom many tales abound.