Avraham Danzig
Rabbi
Avraham Danzig (
1748-
1820) was a
decisor and
codifier, best known as the author of the works of
Jewish law Chayei Adam and
Chochmat Adam; he is sometimes referred to as "the
Chayei Adam".
Rabbi Danzig was born in
Gdańsk,
Poland (then known as Danzig, hence his name), 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
Moderns" who were then gradually coming into prominence through the influence of
Moses Mendelssohn.
He studied in Prague for four years under Rabbi
Ezekiel Landau and Joseph Liebermann. He was then offered a position as Rabbi in
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 in Vilna, where he served until 1812. He died there on September 12, 1820.
Rabbi Danzig is one of three authorities on whom Rabbi
Shlomo Ganzfried based his rulings in the
Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh, the well known precis of Halacha.
*
Chayei Adam (חיי א"ם "The Life of Man") deals with the laws discussed in the
Orach Chayim section of the
Shulchan Aruch. It is divided into 224 sections - 69 dealing with daily conduct and prayer, and 155 with
Shabbat, and
holidays. In this work, Rabbi Danzig collected and critically sifted the
Acharonic material, in the field of halakha written in the more than two and a half centuries since the appearance of the Shulkhan Arukh. Chayei Adam was intended primarily "for the cultured layman", as opposed to
rabbinic scholars, and the work is thus presented in a readily accessible form. The parallel work
Nishmat Adam, published together with Chayei Adam, discusses the halachic issues in greater depth. The two are usually printed together. 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 Shulkhan Aruch to allow for further study). In many cities, societies were formed for the purpose of studying
Chayei Adam. The rulings of the Chayei Adam are often cited in later works, especially the
Mishnah Berurah.
*
Chochmat Adam (חכמת א"ם "The Wisdom of Man"), similarly, discusses the laws in the
Yoreh De'ah section of the Shulchan Aruch, as well as laws from the
Even Ha'ezer and
Choshen Mishpat sections pertinent to everyday life.
Binat Adam on this work corresponds to the Nishmat Adam on Chayei Adam.
Rabbi Danzig authored other well-known works, including:
Zichru Torat Moshe - an introduction to the laws of
Shabbat.
Kitzur Sefer Chareidim - an abridgement of the classic
Sefer Chareidim by Rabbi Elazar Ezkari.
Toldot Adam - a commentary on the
Passover Haggadah.
Rabbi Danzig also wrote
Tefillah Zakah, a penitential prayer recited by many on the eve of
Yom Kippur.
*
Rabbi Avraham Danzig, Great Jewish Leaders by Eliezer C. Abrahamson
*
Danzig, Abraham Ben Jehiel, jewishencyclopedia.com
*
The Chayei Adam - Rabbi Avraham Danzig (1748-1820), jewishvirtuallibrary.org
