Having studied Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed as a young man, Phinehas later gave primacy to the study of the Zohar which he considered a means of strengthening faith. He was active in small circles, and his disciples included R. Jacob Samson of Shepetovka, R. Ze'ev Wolf of Zhitomir, R. Aaron Samuel b. Naphtali Hertz ha-Kohen, and R. Raphael of Bershad. His sermons were published in various collections: Midrash Pinhas (Bilgoray, 1931), Pe'er la-Yesharim (Jerusalem, 1921), Nofet Zufim (Lemberg, 1864), Ge'ullat Yisrael (Lemberg, 1864), and Likkutei Shoshannim (Czernowitz, 1857). They appeared also in the works of his disciples: Benei Yissakhar (Zolkiew, 1850), Ve-Zivvah ha-Kohen (Belaya Tserkov, 1823), and Kodesh Hillulim (1864). Extant manuscripts of his works are preserved in Jerusalem, Cincinnati, and in private collections. A great number of his sayings are given in brief, in the original Yiddish. Although Phinehas met R. Israel b. Eliezer, the Ba'al Shem Tov, he should not be considered his disciple in the full sense of the word. He opposed many teachings of the Maggid of Mezhirech, mainly on the question of devekut ("devotion"). Phinehas, who represents the enthusiastic trend in Hasidism, prayed with particular devekut. He emphasized the special value of prayer and its influence on the upper worlds. Unlike other Hasidim, Phinehas held that the mitzvot should be performed for their own sake, believing that when a man observes a mitzvah, he raises the world to its highest point of origin, i.e., he abolishes its material presence. Expressing a measure of opposition to praying according to the prayer book of the "Ari" (R. Isaac Luria) with kavvanot ("meditations"), he stated that this evades the main issue: "To unite the heart to God in truth." Thus Phinehas opposed contemplative prayer, stating that man should pray explicitly for human needs, believing that God would fulfill his request. He thus opposed the custom of delaying the time of prayer, which had become widespread among the Hasidim. It is related that R. Phinehas praised highly the writings of R. Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye. He advised his followers not to take part in disputes with the Mitnaggedim.

The second work is Em le-Binah by Jekuthiel Aryeh ben Gershon Kamelhar, a biography of R. Menahem Mendel Rymanower (of Rymanow), (d. 1815), hasidic zaddik. A pupil of R. Elimelech of Lyzhansk, he was born in Przytyk but spent most of his life in Rymanow. Hasidic tradition relates that in his youth he attended various yeshivot, finally settling at that of Shmelke of Nikolsburg (Mikulov). Legends about Menahem Mendel are included in stories concerning his pupil, R. Naphtali Zevi Ropshitser. An ascetic, he became known for his regulations dealing with women's dress; he also instituted regulations concerning weights and measures. According to legend, he saw the Napoleonic wars as the battles of Gog and Magog which will precede redemption and the coming of the Messiah and he prayed for Napoleon's victory. R. Menahem Mendel appears in David of Makow's list (1798–1800) of the cursed zaddikim of the generation (Shever Poshe'im, in M. Wilensky's Hasidim u-Mitnaggedim, 2 (1970), 102). R. Menahem Mendel's works are Ilana de-Hayyei (1908), a commentary on the Pentateuch; Menahem Ziyyon (1851), sermons for Sabbath and festivals, collected by his pupil R. Ezekiel Panet; Divrei Menahem (1863), sermons for Sabbath; Ateret Menahem (1910), practical talks and interpretations of the law; and Torat Menahem (1876), sermons on the weekly portions.