Chofetz Chaim

Desirer of Life

Rabbi

Israel Meir Kagan

Ha’Kohen

Chofetz Chaim, Desirer of Life is the magnum opus of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan who later became known simply as The Chofetz Chaim. The book deals with Jewish ethics and laws of speech and is considered the authoritative source on the subject.

The title of the work Chofetz Chaim by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan is taken from Psalms 34:12-15 – Come, children, hearken to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see goodness? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully. Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

The Chofetz Chaim was born in Dzyatlava, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire (today Belarus), on January 26, 1838, and died in Radun, Wilno Province in Poland, on September 15, 1933.

Although the anti-religious attitudes which pervaded Zionism greatly distressed him, Kagan initially refused to become personally involved in the matter and refrained from publicly denouncing the movement. When his views became known, he cautioned his students about joining the Zionists and declared its political aims as being contrary to the Torah. He nevertheless cherished the Holy Land and in 1925 it was announced that he would be leaving Warsaw with his daughter and son-in-law to permanently settle in Petach Tikvah, Palestine. Upon discovering his plans, prominent rabbis and yeshiva deans persuaded him to remain in Radin, and he died there on September 15, 1933, aged 95.