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Letter by R. David Moses Friedman (1828–1900), the fifth son of R. Israel of Ruzhin, author of Divrei David, and one of the greatest Zaddikim of his time. His center was first in Potek, but in 1859 he moved to Chortkov. His followers were the aristocracy of the Hasidim of Poland.
R. David Moses was born in Ruzhyn. When he was a child, his father predicted that "this great soul will bring the hearts of Israel near to their Father in heaven." He was known as the Tzitzit Yid because he cried bitterly if he forgot to put on his tzitzit. He married Feigele, the daughter of R. Aaron of Chernobyl, and after her death, he married his niece, Rachel Leah, the daughter of his elder brother, Sholom Yosef.
After the death of his father, he lived in Potok, and in 1859, he settled in Chortkov, where he established a palatial residence. He was renowned for his love of every Jew. He even refused to curse Jew-baiters. "I pray constantly," the rabbi said, "that the children of the House of Israel be uplifted, and that no gentile should harm them." He reacted with silent fortitude to the onslaught launched against the house of Ruzhyn by R. Hayyim Halberstam of Zanz. His discourses are found in Divrei David (Husiatyn, 1904), in Bet Yisrael (Piotrokov, 1913), and in Knesset Yisrael (Warsaw, 1906). |
