Chofetz Chaim Biography
Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen Kagan is commonly known as the "Chafetz
Chaim,"
the name of his famous work on guarding one's tongue. Born in
Zhetel,
Poland on February 6, 1838, he was taught untill age 10 by his
parents and
then moved to Vilna to further his Jewish studies. Refusing the
pulpit
rabbinate, the Chafetz Chaim settled in Radin (Poland) and subsisted
on a
small grocery store which his wife managed and he did the
"bookkeeping"-watching every penny to make sure that
no one was cheated.
He spent his days learning Torah and disseminating his knowledge
to the
common people.
As his reputation grew, students from all over
Europe
flocked to him and by 1869 his house became known as the Radin
Yeshiva. In
addition to his Yeshiva, the Chafetz Chaim was very active in
Jewish
causes. He traveled extensively (even in his 90s!) to encourage
the
observance of Mitzvos amongst Jews. One of the founders of Agudas
Yisrael,
the religious Jewish organizaion of Europe and later the world,
the
Chafetz Chaim was very involved in Jewish affairs and helped many
yeshivos
survive the financial problems of the interwar period. Exemplifying
the
verses in Psalms 34:13-14, "Who is the man who desires life...?
Guard
your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit,"
the Chafetz
Chaim passed away in 1933 at the ripe age of 95.
The Chafetz Chaim's greatest legacy is the 21 sefarim (holy books)
which
he published. His first work, Sefer Chafetz Chaim (1873), is
the first
attempt to to organize and clarify the laws regrding evil talk
and gossip.
He later wrote other works, including Shmirat HaLashon, which
emphasized
the importance of guarding one's tongue by quoting our Sages.
The Mishnah
Brurah (1894-1907), his commentary on the Daily Laws of a Jew
(his first
series in the Shulchan Aruch), is found in many Jewish homes and
is
accepted universally to decide Halacha.
Firmly believing that
he was
living right before the time of Moshiach and the rebuilding of
the Holy
Temple, the Chafetz Chaim wrote a work that stressed the learning
of laws
concerning sacrifices, the Holy Temple, and related topics. He
also
published seforim to strengthen certain aspects of Jewish life
including
kashrus, family purity, and Torah study.
