Rabbi Yisroel Hopstein, commonly known as the Maggid of Kozhnitz, was a towering figure in the third generation of the Hasidic movement, a noted Kabbalist, and the founder of the Kozhnitz Hasidic dynasty in Poland. His profound influence extended through the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was a student of both the Magid/Dov Ber of Mezeritch and Elimelech of Lizhensk, and wrote many books on Chassidus and Kabbalah.