Faith in Tzaddikim Begins With Zohar

Rav Tzvi Hirsch taught that a person cannot grasp or understand the holy Rebbes without knowing the Zohar and the Kisvei HaAri, which are the source and root of Chassidus. A lack of faith in tzaddikim, he said, comes from lacking this knowledge. He therefore blended the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov with the Kabbalah of the Ari, and saw a lack of connection to them as the root cause of chisaron emunah (weak faith).