Chafetz Chayim
Chafetz Chayim is the name of the first book of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan. It was published in 1873 in Lithuania. As commonly occurs in Orthodox Judaism, the author is often named after his book.
The subject of the book is Leshon ha-Ra (evil speech, or loosely: gossip and slander). Rabbi Kagan provides copious sources from the Torah, Talmud and Rishonim (early commentators) about the severity of Jewish law on talemongering and gossip.
The book is divided into:
- Mekor chayim (Source of Life), the legal text
- Be'er mayim chayim (Well of living water), the footnotes and legal argument
It is commonly printed together with the text Shemirath ha-Lashon, an ethical treatise on the proper use of the faculty of speech.
The title of the book means "[Who] wants life", a direct quote from Psalms: "Who is the man who wants life, who loves the days to see good? Keep your tongue from the bad and your lips from speaking evil" (34:13-14).
