Chazan Tzvi Hersh Tsatskis, 85, OBM

Chazan Tzvi Hersh Tsatskis, a Chazan who was known for singing the niggun “Ech Ti Zimlak” at the Rebbe’s Farbrengens and in later years at the Ohel, passed away on Shabbos, Yud Shevat, 5784.

He was 85.

Chazan Tzvi Hersh Tsatskis was born on Yom Kippur in 1938, in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan, in Soviet Russia. He was educated in Torah by underground Chabad teachers who came to his home to teach them, despite the danger of imprisonment by the communists, he told JEM’s Here’s My Story.

In this oppressive environment, his parents tried their best to be Torah observant. Even after the war when the family moved to Moscow, where Jewish life was even harder, they took great pains to keep kosher and, against all odds, they succeeded.

Tsatskis told that he attended public school, where he tried to avoid desecrating Shabbos as much as he could, and managed to avoid attending classes on the Jewish High Holidays. After that, in 1955, he attended the Moscow Conservatory of Music to become a pianist, and he was arrested twice while trying to attend the great Moscow Choral Synagogue. He was questioned and held in jail a few days each time, but he suffered no further fallout from those incidents.

In 1970, a Chabad Shliach went to the Rebbe in New York to ask for the Rebbe’s blessing that his family escape Russia. “Less than a year later – at a time when this was near impossible! – we received the green light to go. As soon as we arrived in America, of course we came to see the Rebbe to express our gratitude,” Tsatskis told.

That was the first time he participated in a farbrengen and saw thousands of Jews gathered together – something which was forbidden in Russia. “It was amazing to hear the Rebbe speak and to see everyone so happy, singing with such joy. For me, it was an unbelievable experience,” he related.

The Rebbe began to distribute wine from his cup, and he saw people lining up to receive it and say L’Chaim. While at first he was not sure if he should go up to the Rebbe as he did not consider himself a Chosid, he finally got up and stood at the back of the line. Before long, he found himself in front of the Rebbe. The Rebbe gave him a big smile, poured wine into his cup, and he said L’Chaim. As he started to walk away, the Rebbe called him back. He motioned for him to come forward.

“So I came back, and he gave me an even bigger smile and poured more wine into my cup,” he described. “I said L’Chaim again, and then he spoke to me in Russian: “Don’t have any more doubts.” I was so shaken that I almost fainted. Then he said, “Sing!” And I started to sing, the Passover song, “Who knows one?” except I sang it in Russian: “Ech Ti Zimlak…””

From then on, Chazzan Tsatskis was a permanent fixture at kos shel bracha leading the singing on many occasions, often with his trademark song “Ech Ti Zimlak.”

Tsatskis also related that he was once invited to give a concert in Manhattan of Jewish melodies for a secular Jewish organization. During the first intermission, somebody approached him and asked him to take off his yarmulke. He refused to do this. And then, during the second intermission, another person came over to him – he said he was the vice-president of the organization sponsoring the concert, and his organization was very happy that he was performing for them, but they were not comfortable with his wearing a yarmulke.

“I got very upset at this, and I said to him straight out, “You are the second person to come to me and ask me to take off my yarmulke. And if someone else comes, then I will not only not take it off, I will take out my tzitzis and make sure no one has any doubt that I am a Torah observant Jew.”” That put an end to that, he said.

He later related about the incident to the Rebbe, saying, “I was giving a concert to a Jewish audience that was not observant…”

When he said that, the Rebbe interrupted him: “Why do you say that they were not observant? They are observant, they just don’t know that they are observant!”

Tsatskis also related that he once brought his son to a farbrengen but he did not bring his daughter. And right away the Rebbe asked, “Where is she? Where is Tanya?”

When his son heard the Rebbe asking for Tanya, he ran to a make a call to his mother. She brought her right over – Tanya was then just a little girl – and when the Rebbe saw her, he waved to her. After that, he would bring her to Chabad events on many occasions.

One time during Kos Shel Bracha, as the Rebbe was distributing wine at the end of a Yom Tov, the crowd was singing Niggun after Niggun. Standing on the stage not far from the Rebbe, Tsatskis led a song, and Tanya, who was seven or eight years old at the time, began to sing along. When she did that, the Rebbe’s secretary indicated that she should stop, as the men present could not listen to the voice of a girl singing.

The Rebbe noticed this and, concerned that she might be upset, put down his cup of wine, turned to her and motioned to her to clap. He was encouraging her to participate, and he did this for some time. “I was amazed!” Tsatskis said, and related that the incident always remained in his memory. “That the Rebbe should consider the feelings of a child and that he should take so much trouble to engage her!”

Chazan Tsatskis lived in Cedarhurst, NY for many years. For many years, he would spend Yom Kippur at the Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens, where he would lead the crowd in the niggun “Ech Ti Zimlak…” on Motzei Yom Kippur.

He is survived by his wife, Eda Tsatskis and children, Izzy Tsatskis and Tania Weissman.

The Levaya will take place on Sunday, January 21, at 1:00 Pm
Boulevard Riverside Chapels
1450 Broadway, Hewlett, NY 11557

Shiva will be at Tsatskis Home, 454 Broadway, Cedarhurst
beginning on Sunday evening until Friday afternoon 1pm.

Shacharit Monday – Friday at 7:00am
Mincha/Maariv Monday – Thursday at 4:45pm

The family requests no visitors from 6:00-7:00pm or after 9:30pm.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes – R’ Zvi Hirsch Ben R’ Yisroel.

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