Son of Rav Nechemia Feivel of Kolomaya. Son-in-law of his uncle, Rav Zalman. Part of the inner circle of disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and nicknamed "Rav Kopel Chassid'.
Rav Chaim Meir Hager, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz said that Rav Yaakov Kopel used to dance Friday night with great enthusiasm before he washed his hands for the Shabbos seudah. The Baal Shem Tov recognized that Rav Yaakov was a great light and drew him near to chassidus. He saw him singing the niggun for zemiros “Yom Shabbos kodesh hu, and when he reached the verse, “meat, and fish are set out,” he would arrange the table with these foods and dance; in this manner he derived spiritual bliss from the food before partaking of it.
He davened with a special niggun before the amud and it is this unique melody which became the cornerstone of the Kosov-Vizhnitz nusach hatefillah till today. Rav Chaim Meir Hager, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz used to say that from heaven, this nusach was revealed to Rav Yaakov Kopel Chassid.
According to tradition, the region of Marmorosh, Romania was granted to Rav Kopel Chassid and his descendants by the Baal Shem Tov to spread Torah and chassidus. The Baal Shem took him for a stroll through the fields and mountains of Marmorosh saying: “A beautiful garden lies before you. I place it in your care; do see that you safeguard it.”
His son Rav Menachem Mendel of Kosov was a tzaddik nistar who lived first in Kolomaya and afterwards in Tismanitz. He sustained himself from running a small store and spreading the derech hachassidus. His other children were: Rav Yitzchok of Kolomaya, and a daughter Bluma, who became the second wife of Rav Uri of Strelisk.
Rav Yaakov passed away on the 15th of Elul, 1787 (תקמ"ז) and was laid to rest in Tismanitz.
Shvisinik
Rav Chaim Meir Hager, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, used to say that his illustrious forebear, Rav Yaakov Kopel Chassid was the “holy of holies – kodesh kadashim!” Often, he would interrupt whatever he was doing, business or otherwise, close his eyes in concentration, and call out loud rapturously – “Shvisi Hashem l’negdi tamid – I place Hashem before me at all times.” It was from his regularly intoning this pasuk that earned him the term of endearment, – “shvisinick!” (Sarfei Kodesh)
