Elimelech of Lizhensk

Who was Elimelech of Lizhensk?

Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk, a Rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement, was known after his hometown, Leżajsk near Rzeszów in Poland. He was part of the inner "Chevraya Kadisha" school of the Maggid Rebbe Dov Ber of Mezeritch, who became the decentralised, third generation leadership after the passing of Rebbe Dov Ber in 1772. Their dissemination to new areas of Eastern Europe led the movement's rapid revivalist expansion.

Rebbi Elimelech authored the classic work Noam Elimelech. It developed the Hasidic theory of the Tzaddik into the full doctrine of "Practical/Popular Tzaddikism". This shaped the social role of mystical leadership, characteristic of the "Mainstream Hasidic" path. As the founder of Hasidism in Poland-Galicia, his influence led numerous leaders and dynasties to emerging from his disciples through the early 19th century. Among them the Chozeh of Lublin, together with the Maggid of Koznitz and Menachem Mendel of Rimanov one of the three "Fathers of Polish Hasidism", furthered the spread of Tzaddikism in Poland.