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Contents
Versions
Author's Introduction
Laws of Shabbat
Laws of the Festivals
Laws of Rosh Chodesh
Laws of Fast Days
Laws of Chanukah
Laws of Purim
About This Text
Author: Abraham Danzig
Composed: Vilna, c.1790 – c.1810 CE
The Chayyei Adam (“Life of Man”) is a code covering the laws discussed in the Orach Chayyim section of the Shulchan Arukh. The work collects and sifts the material written in the two and a half centuries since the Shulchan Arukh’s publication, summarizing laws and adding conceptual explanations in language designed to be accessible for those not fully versed in rabbinic literature. The rulings of the Chayyei Adam are cited often in later works, most notably the Mishnah Berurah. In an addendum called Nishmat Adam, the author, Rabbi Abraham Danzig, justified his decisions that contradicted accepted positions.