The Chafetz Chaim (“Desirer of Life,” a reference to Psalms 34:19) is the first legal work that comprehensively organizes the laws of proper speech, authored in the 20th century by Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan (who later became known as the Chafetz Chaim). It draws on sources from the Torah, Talmud, and early commentators to address the details of lashon hara (evil speech) and rechilut (gossip), and is considered the authoritative work on these subjects. The text consists of two parts: Mekor Chaim (Source of Life), the legal text, and Be’er Mayim Chaim (Well of Living Water), footnotes containing elaborations and legal arguments. It is commonly printed together with Shemirat HaLashon (Guarding of the Tongue), an ethical treatise on proper speech.
