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On the importance of the laws of family purity by R. Israel Meir ha-Kohen (Hafez Hayyim). The title page states that Toharot Yisrael explains how great is the reward for women who are careful about mikvah and conversely how great is the punishment for being lenient with these laws. Many additional halakhot related to this subject are also explained and men are enjoined to see insure that their wives are knowledgeable in these laws. This text is repeated in Yiddish. Toharot Yisrael is in Hebrew and Yiddish, the top of the page in in the former the bottom in the latter.
R. Israel Meir ha-Kohen (Hafez Hayyim) (1838-1933) is one of the most saintly figures in modern Judaism. Of humble origin, he was taught until the age of ten by his parents and then went to Vilna where he continued his studies. He became universally known as Hafez Hayyim, after the title of his first book, published anonymously at the age of 35 in Vilna (1873). His personality, his piety, his humility of conduct, his integrity of thought and action, together with his books, exercised a tremendous influence on religious leaders, and fascinated the masses, to whom he became the admired master and leader. Hundreds of sayings full of practical wisdom are attributed to him, and hundreds of stories both factual and legendary, all rich in morals, are reported about his life. Hafez Hayyim refused to make the rabbinate his calling, and after his marriage in Radun subsisted on a small grocery store which his wife managed and for which he did the bookkeeping. Throughout his life, he laid great emphasis on the careful observance of the laws of slander, gossip, and talebearing, so generally neglected in spite of the fact that their transgression involves the violation of numerous prohibitions. Among his most important works is the widely studied and authoritative Mishnah Berurah (1894–1907), a comprehensive commentary on Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim. |
