February 2002 - The Chofetz Chaim

Surfing the Jewish Internet
with Robert G. Evans

Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen Kagan was better know as the "Chofetz Chaim" (Desires Life), the title of the best know of his 21 books. The Chofetz Chaim organized and clarified the Jewish laws regarding gossip or LASHON HARA (the evil tongue).

The Chofetz Chaim was born in Zhetel, Poland in 1838. At the age of 10 he was sent to Vilna, Lithuania to study at a Yeshivah. Although he was an outstanding scholar, he did not want to become a paid Rabbi, instead he helped his wife run a small grocery store in Radin, Poland. He traveled extensively and was a major force in Eastern European Jewish life. He died in 1933. You can read more about this remarkable man at http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/ccbio.html and .http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/chafetzchaim.htm.

The Chofetz Chaim taught that gossip not only harms the person being talked about, but also hurts the gossiper and the person listening. He developed a set of very rigorous rules for avoiding LASHON HARAH, and defining the conditions under which it is acceptable to talk about another person.

There are websites dedicated to the Chofetz Chaim at http://www.chofetzchaimusa.org and .http://chofetzchaim.shemayisrael.com/index.htm. Shema Yisrael will send you a free daily email lesson on avoiding LASHON HARAH. You can subscribe at http://chofetzchaim.shemayisrael.com/lists.htm. These lessons are also available on the web at http://www.torah.org/learning/halashon/.

I have been through the Chofetz Chaim's cycle of teachings several times, and while I am a very long way from strictly observing the rigor that the Chofetz Chaim's recommends, he has had a profound impact on the way that I speak about other people.

The next time you are online, check out a the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim.

© Robert G. Evans 2002

updated 01/15/2002 - rge

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