Rabbi Avraham Danzig – The Chayai Adam
Rabbi Avraham Danzig (1820–1748) was a great Posek and codifier.
He is best known as the author of the works of Jewish law called Chayei Adam (Orach Chaim) and Chochmas Adam
(Yoreh Daah). He is referred to primarily as The Chayei. Adam Rabbi Danzig was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), Poland, in 1747 or 1748 into a prominent Rabbinic family. When he was fourteen his father sent him to study at the Prague yeshivah, after exacting a promise from him "that he would not mingle with the Reformists" who were then gradually
coming into prominence through the influence of Moses Mendelssohn.
He studied in Prague for four years under the Grand Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, author of the famed responsa “Noda Beyhud’a” and “Tzion Le’nefesh Chaya” (Sefer T’zlach) on Shas. He also studied under Rabbi Yoseph Liebermann.
Rabbi Danzig was an exceptional scholar of note and one of the greatest Rabbis of his generation.
He was offered the esteemed position as Rabbi of Vilna, but declined, earning his livelihood as a merchant (frequenting the fairs of Leipzig and Königsberg - which are referenced in his writings). Only in his later years, and after having lost almost his entire fortune through the explosion of a powder-magazine, could he be induced to accept the position of Dayan (Judge) in Vilna, where he served until 1812. He died there on September 12, 1820.
Sefer Chayei Adam with the commentary Nishmas Adam (1810; rev. and exp. 1825) is one of
Rabbi Danzig’s earliest yet most influential works. This work was intended to serve as an abridged summary of all laws found in the Orach Cḥaim section of the Shulcḥan Aruch.
It was written for both Torah scholars and laymen. It is characterized by a simple and concise style, at
times using Yiddish terms, with a rich variety of concrete examples taken from everyday life. In
addition to Halachic rulings, it also includes ethical and even Kabbalistic teachings. These
qualities ensured a wide distribution of the work during Rabbi Danzig’s lifetime.
The scholarship of the work is evidenced by the fact that Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, known for his
opposition to "digests of halacha", granted the work his approbation (on condition that each
section be cross-referenced to the Shulchan Aruch to allow for further study). The Chayei Adam
is one of three authorities on whom Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried based his rulings in the famed
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. In later generations, the sefer was republished scores of times; it was
translated; and commentaries were written on it. In many places in Lithuania, study groups,
called Chevros Chayei Adam, were established for the study of the book. Chayei Adam became
the most popular and influential halachic code for Lithuanian Jewry. Even after the Mishnah
Berurah of Rabbi Yisra’el Me’ir ha-Kohen gained fame, the Chayei Adam remained a seminal
book of Jewish Law. The Mishnah Berurah often defers to the Chayei Adam for its rulings.
There is a tradition that Rabbi Danzig called his Sefer Chayei Adam (translation: “Life of Man”)
so that no one would be able to make a digest version (Kitzur Chayei Adam – קיצור חיי אדם). For
the digest name would translate: “Cutting short the life of man.”
He is best known as the author of the works of Jewish law called Chayei Adam (Orach Chaim) and Chochmas Adam
(Yoreh Daah). He is referred to primarily as The Chayei. Adam Rabbi Danzig was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), Poland, in 1747 or 1748 into a prominent Rabbinic family. When he was fourteen his father sent him to study at the Prague yeshivah, after exacting a promise from him "that he would not mingle with the Reformists" who were then gradually
coming into prominence through the influence of Moses Mendelssohn.
He studied in Prague for four years under the Grand Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, author of the famed responsa “Noda Beyhud’a” and “Tzion Le’nefesh Chaya” (Sefer T’zlach) on Shas. He also studied under Rabbi Yoseph Liebermann.
Rabbi Danzig was an exceptional scholar of note and one of the greatest Rabbis of his generation.
He was offered the esteemed position as Rabbi of Vilna, but declined, earning his livelihood as a merchant (frequenting the fairs of Leipzig and Königsberg - which are referenced in his writings). Only in his later years, and after having lost almost his entire fortune through the explosion of a powder-magazine, could he be induced to accept the position of Dayan (Judge) in Vilna, where he served until 1812. He died there on September 12, 1820.
Sefer Chayei Adam with the commentary Nishmas Adam (1810; rev. and exp. 1825) is one of
Rabbi Danzig’s earliest yet most influential works. This work was intended to serve as an abridged summary of all laws found in the Orach Cḥaim section of the Shulcḥan Aruch.
It was written for both Torah scholars and laymen. It is characterized by a simple and concise style, at
times using Yiddish terms, with a rich variety of concrete examples taken from everyday life. In
addition to Halachic rulings, it also includes ethical and even Kabbalistic teachings. These
qualities ensured a wide distribution of the work during Rabbi Danzig’s lifetime.
The scholarship of the work is evidenced by the fact that Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, known for his
opposition to "digests of halacha", granted the work his approbation (on condition that each
section be cross-referenced to the Shulchan Aruch to allow for further study). The Chayei Adam
is one of three authorities on whom Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried based his rulings in the famed
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. In later generations, the sefer was republished scores of times; it was
translated; and commentaries were written on it. In many places in Lithuania, study groups,
called Chevros Chayei Adam, were established for the study of the book. Chayei Adam became
the most popular and influential halachic code for Lithuanian Jewry. Even after the Mishnah
Berurah of Rabbi Yisra’el Me’ir ha-Kohen gained fame, the Chayei Adam remained a seminal
book of Jewish Law. The Mishnah Berurah often defers to the Chayei Adam for its rulings.
There is a tradition that Rabbi Danzig called his Sefer Chayei Adam (translation: “Life of Man”)
so that no one would be able to make a digest version (Kitzur Chayei Adam – קיצור חיי אדם). For
the digest name would translate: “Cutting short the life of man.”