(יב) הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁלְ אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
(12) Hillel would say: Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people (lit. creatures) and bringing them closer to Torah.
- What might have to be sacrificed in order to achieve peace?
- Is there a tension between loving people and bringing them closer to Torah? Why or why not?
(ד) הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּפְרוֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר, וְאַל תַּאֲמֵן בְּעַצְמָךְ עַד יוֹם מוֹתָךְ, וְאַל תָּדִין אֶת חֲבֵרָךְ עַד שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ לִמְקוֹמוֹ, וְאַל תֹּאמַר דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לִשְׁמוֹעַ שֶׁסּוֹפוֹ לְהִשָּׁמַע. וְאַל תֹּאמַר לִכְשֶׁאֶפָּנֶה אֶשְׁנֶה, שֶׁמָּא לֹא תִפָּנֶה:
(4) Hillel would say: Do not separate from the community, Do not trust in yourself until the day you die, Do not judge your fellow until you have arrived to his position, Do not say something impossible to understand [hoping] that it ultimately will be understood. And do not say "When I am available, I will study," for you may never be available.
- Hillel says to avoid certain behaviors. What traits do those behaviors represent? Conversely, for what positive traits is Hillel advocating?
שוב מעשה בנכרי אחד שבא לפני שמאי. א"ל: גיירני ע"מ שתלמדני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת. דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו. בא לפני הלל, גייריה. אמר לו: דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד. זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא. זיל גמור!
Another time a non-Jew came before Shammai and said, "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot." Shammai pushed him aside with the builder's cubit that was in his hand. The non-Jew came before Hillel, who converted him, saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor, that is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary, now go and study."
- Explain and defend Shammai's approach to the convert. What might his builder's cubit (like a yard stick) symbolize? Contrast his response with Hillel's.
- How do the parts of Hillel's response fit together?
- Compare Hillel's statement with the Christian teaching "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31). Are they saying the same thing?
שלש שנים נחלקו ב"ש וב"ה, הללו אומרים "הלכה כמותנו" והללו אומרים "הלכה כמותנו." יצאה בת קול ואמרה "אלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים הן, והלכה כב"ה." וכי מאחר שאלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים, מפני מה זכו ב"ה לקבוע הלכה כמותן? מפני שנוחין ועלובין היו ושונין דבריהן ודברי ב"ש. ולא עוד אלא שמקדימין דברי ב"ש לדבריהן
For three years, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai argued. One said, 'The halakha (law) is according to our position,' and the other said, 'The halakha is according to our position.' A heavenly voice spoke: "These and those are the words of the living God, and the halakha is according to the House of Hillel." A question was raised: Since the heavenly voice declared: "Both these and those are the words of the Living God," why was the halacha established to follow the opinion of Hillel? It is because the students of Hillel were kind and gracious. They taught their own ideas as well as the ideas from the students of Shammai. Furthermore, they even taught Shammai's opinions first.
- How can contradictory opinions both be the "words of the living God"?!
- Why does it matter that the House of Hillel (the group of scholars he founded) taught Shammai's opinion first?
“Frankel [the first Hillel director] thought [the name] up and it was a felicitous choice. Hillel is a symbol of the quest for higher learning. It was a beautiful name, too. It appealed to the Christian fellowship that pioneered the foundation, since Hillel was virtually a contemporary of Jesus. In those days the Jewish community still felt the need for the Christian imprimatur." -Abram L.Sachar (1899-1993), early Hillel leader.