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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Did you know?

The Chofetz Chaim was born before Morse's telegraph and died the year Hitler rose
The Chofetz Chaim was born in February 1838, six years before Samuel Morse sent his famous first telegraph message. He lived 95 years, long enough to pass away in September 1933 — the same year Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.
How we know
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) born February 6, 1838; died September 15, 1933, at age 95. Morse's first public message was May 24, 1844. Hitler was appointed Chancellor January 30, 1933.

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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

Sender Minsker, Rashash, Jacob Barit, Yisrael Salanter, Aleksander Mōše Lapîdôt, Yeruham Perelman, Hyman Weinshel, Hillel Zeitlin, Moshe Soloveichik, Menachem Ziemba, Yehuda Ashlag, Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Tzvi Hirsch Glickson, Mordechai landinsky, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Yehoshua Hutner, David Wajsbrod, Simcha Elberg

The world in their lifetime

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