[pl. “Tzadikkim”]; a righteous man [for the female equivalent, see “Tzidkanit”] – based on the Hebrew word “Tzedek,” or Justice. The Jewish hero is not the swashbuckling warrior, but rather the “Tzaddik,” the “mighty warrior” who conquers his “evil inclinations,” towards pride, power and oppression, and practices righteousness and humility, and who is, like G-d, always on “the side of the oppressed.” (“Kohelet,” or Ecclesiastes 3:15) Examples were the three “Avot,” the forefathers of the Jewish People, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who exemplified what a person can be.
