Chofetz Chaim – Introduction (5)

So I prepared myself like a warrior, and with the help of Hashem, who gives people wisdom, I gathered all the laws of lashon hara and rechilus into one book. I collected them from every place where they were scattered.

I divided the book into two sections: 1) The laws of lashon hara. 2) The laws of rechilus. Then I divided the laws into chapters, and each chapter into sections, to make them easier to understand. In almost every section I added examples, so the reader can see how to act in real life.

I named the book Chafetz Chaim, after the verse (Tehillim 34:13), "Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good. Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile."

So that the reader will not feel overwhelmed by the length of reading every law together with its source, I divided each page into two parts. The main text, at the top, is the final halacha that comes out of studying the sources. It is called Mekor Chaim ("Source of Life"), because a person's speech comes from the part of the soul called Chaya, as it is written (Bereishis 2:7), "And Adam became a living soul" - which the Targum translates as "a speaking spirit." The commentary around it is called Be'er Mayim Chaim ("Well of Living Water"), because it is the well from which I drew the inner Mekor Chaim.

Know, my brother, that in Be'er Mayim Chaim I showed the source even for simple things. This way it is clear to everyone that I did not write this book as extra piety (middas chassidus), but according to halacha.