Yisrael Meir Kagan

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Yisrael Meir (HaCohen) Kagan (1838 - 1933) was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, Kabbalist, and ethicist. He is widely referred to as the Chofetz Chaim, for the title of his best known work.

1 Biography
2 Works
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Biography

Rabbi Kagan was born in Zhetel (Dziatłava), Hrodno guberniya, today's Belarus on February 6, 1838, and died in Radun, Wilno Voivodship, Poland (pop. 250), today's Belarus September 15, 1933. He was one of the most influential rabbis within Orthodox Judaism during the late 19th and early 20th century taking a central leadership role in the World Agudath Israel movement in Eastern Europe. He served as the town rabbi of Radun for short period. He then resigned from this position to set up the yeshiva in Radun, which eventually became world famous. By all acccounts he was a modest and humble man. For a while he had a shop selling household provisions. However he brought his career as a merchant to an early end. His scrupulous honesty in business became a byword and all Jews flocked to buy at his store. He therefore felt that he was depriving other shopkeepers from earning a fair living and gave up his business.

One major American yeshiva named in his honor is the Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America centered in Queens, New York, with several branches in the United States and Israel. An Orthodox kibbutz was named Chafetz Chaim in his honor. Many smaller Jewish religious institutions throughout the world also carry his name. The Chofetz Chaim's teachings have inspired some modern Haredi English-speaking American Jews to establish the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation dedicated to the dissemination of his teachings to Jewish communities around the world.

[edit] Works

Chafetz Chayim (חָפֵץ חַיִּים "Seeker/Desire [of] Life") Rabbi Kagan's first book, (published in 1873), deals with the Biblical laws of gossip and slander (known in Hebrew as Lashon Hara, meaning "Evil tongue").
Sh'mirat HaLashon ("Guarding [of] the Tongue"), is a comprehensive discussion of the philosophy behind the Jewish concepts of power of speech and guarding one's speech. It also serves as an inspirational work designed to motivate the reader to be vigilant in the ethical usage of his speech and avoidance of others' unethical speech.
Mishnah Berurah ("Clarified teachings") is a unique commentary on the Orach Chayim section of Rabbi Yosef Karo's comprehensive compilation of practical Jewish Law, the Shulkhan Arukh. It combines his own elucidations and differing opinions with those of earlier commentators.
Bi'ur Halacha ("Explanation of the Law") is a commentary tangential to the Mishna Berurah. It usually provides complex analysis of the legal rulings of earlier Jewish legal decisors.
Sha'ar HaTziyyun ("Gate of Distinction") serves primarily to document sources for laws and customs quoted in the Mishnah Berurah, but sometimes serves also to clarify ambiguous legal statements. The name Sha'ar HaTziyyun derives from the phrase sh'arim m'tzuyanim ba'halacha, translated as "gateways distinguished in (or marked in) Jewish Law," referring to the Torah study and scholarship that would distinguish Jewish homes. Rabbi Kagan chose the title as a double entendre, hinting at the distinguishment of scholarship referenced in his work, but primarily referring to (as he writes on his title page) the function of Sha'ar HaTziyyun to document (mark) sources.

[edit] See also

Chofetz Chaim (disambiguation).

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Yoshor, Moses Meir [1937] (June 1986). Chafetz Chaim, the life and works of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, rendered into English by Charles Wengrov, 1st Revised (in English), New York, NY: Mesorah publications. ISBN 0-89906-462-0.