Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan (1838–1933), a.k.a. the Chofetz Chaim, was known for his saintliness and piety. Unusual among the many authors of sefarim throughout history, the Chofetz Chaim, despite his greatness and many obligations, was very much personally involved in the selling of his publications. He placed great emphasis on honesty in business and his fear of inadvertently cheating a customer out of his purchase, led him to take full control of the printing and bookselling operations. I have seen correspondence over the years where he interacted with customers and other booksellers selling on his behalf, all part of his effort to make sure that all the business dealings were beyond the letter of the law in their honesty.
His son writes in the biography of his father published shortly after the Chofetz Chaim’s passing, how on one occasion, where the printing of one his books was delegated to a family member, copies missing pages were printed in error and sold before the mistake was noted. Viewing this as a lack of honesty in business and comparable to stealing, the Chofetz Chaim ensured that from that point forward he would check each individual copy personally to inspect it and see that it is complete and without damage. His son writes: “My father spent a small fortune on proofreaders, to check that no pages were missing in his books and that the printing did not come out blurry, as occurs regularly in printing operations. Every sefer, following inspection, would be inscribed with the word “mugah” (meaning, inspected). He was very adamant about this.”
The word “mugah” can indeed be found in many of the copies of the early editions of the Chofetz Chaim’s publications, both in books that he authored himself or books that he had published, such as those of the Sha’agat Aryeh and Asifat Zekenim. A collection I acquired recently had several such volumes, with a prominent handwritten inscription with the word “mugah” on the free-ends in the hand of the Chofetz Chaim as well as one that appears to be written by another family member who assisted him in the inspection of the books. On rare occasions, one can find other notations other than mugah that the Chofetz Chaim wrote, such as “chaser” meaning incomplete, noting that the copy was defective. This was a way of ensuring that it wasn’t sold in error without the buyer knowing of the defect.
Suggested value: $250 each.
