Chofetz Chaim

1838 CE–1933 CE · Acharonim · Dzyatlava

Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan (1838–1933), known as the Chofetz Chaim after his most famous work, was a Lithuanian Jewish leader and halakhic authority of towering influence. Born in Zhetel (Dzyatlava), he spent most of his adult life in Radin, where he established a yeshiva that became a spiritual and intellectual powerhouse. Though he lived modestly as a shopkeeper for many years, he became one of the preeminent voices of Eastern European Judaism, revered for his profound piety, sharp halakhic mind, and tireless ethical teaching. He authored numerous works on Jewish law and practice, but is best remembered for his magnum opus, Chofetz Chaim ("Seeker of Life"), a comprehensive code on the laws of lashon hara (harmful speech) and gossip. His teachings on guarding one's tongue became foundational to modern Jewish ethics and mussar (ethical) literature, and he established a school system devoted to character refinement. He lived to age 94, his reputation only growing after his death, and remains a towering exemplar of learning united with moral seriousness.

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Stop 1 of 61838Born

Dzyatlava

What they did here

Dzyatlava, a town also called Zhetel, was where his life began, in 1838.

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In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Chofetz Chaim’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

In the same tradition

Rashash, Yisrael Salanter, Hillel Zeitlin, Moshe Soloveichik, Menachem Ziemba, Yehuda Ashlag, Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Abraham Joshua Heschel

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Chofetz Chaim’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.