He lived in the palatial home constructed by his father, Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhyn, who fled to the Austrian town of Sadhora (Sadigura in Yiddish) due to persecution by the Russian Tsar.

He was considered the greatest Rebbe of his era,[3] attracting hundreds of thousands of Jews as well as prominent Christian leaders to his court.

His eldest son, Rabbi Sholom Yosef Friedman (1813–1851),[10] remained in Sadigura to continue leading the court his father had founded, but died ten months later.

[14] The Rebbe also entertained visits from prominent Christians, including princes, counts, and writers who published articles about him in newspapers in Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, Prague, and other cities.

[13][15] In the 1870s he received a visit from Laurence Oliphant, who wanted to establish a fund to buy Palestine from the Ottoman Empire for the purpose of Jewish colonization.

Presiding as he did over a court filled with beauty and splendor, giving inspiration to the downtrodden Jews of Galicia, Romania and Ukraine,[18] the Rebbe aroused the envy of the local maskilim, who sought to topple him as they had done his father.

The Hasid fell ill that evening and died shortly after, while the Rebbe's health improved and he lived for many more years.

His yahrtzeit coincided with that of his elder brother, Rabbi Sholom Yosef, who died on 11 Elul thirty-two years earlier.

[25] He was buried in the same plot as his father, the Ruzhiner Rebbe, and his brother, Rabbi Dov Ber of Lieov (1822–1876), in Sadigura.