Shabbos 15
“On that day they disagreed, and the following day, after the matter was decided in a vote, they reached a consensus in their opinions.”
Shammai and Hillel, like Rav and Shmuel, were known for their disagreements. In today’s text, they are arguing on eighteen matters of purity, which from the present-day perspective seem like an argument over if an angel can dance upon the head of a pin. I discovered through my research that they had an estimated 300 disagreements among them. Their disagreements included a debate on how to separate the portion of dough given to a priest, the measure of drawn water in a bath that would disqualify it from being a proper ritual immersion, the harvesting of grapes, and the timing of the onset of menstruation.
There is a lesson in the telling of how the Rabbis who were unable to determine how much drawn water would disqualify a ritual bath listened to two weavers from a town strangely named Dung Gate; the Koren Talmud’s notes say this was a place that was both dangerous and dirty, where weapons were stored close to the city garbage dump. The Torah tells us that despite the fact that these men lived in a bad part of town and were not recognized sages, “there is no preferential treatment when it comes to Torah.” This is contrary to the discussion of ignoramuses in earlier texts and fairly generous in spirit in its respect of a logical opinion regardless of where it comes from. I envision two scruffy weavers standing in front of a perplexed group of sages saying “you know, if you only considered…” and ending abruptly the argument over drawn water.
I am fascinated by the pairs of dissenting Rabbis in the Talmud who appear to thrive on their opposition to each other. It is a respect for different opinions that we rarely experience today. Hillel is a name I know from college dances that were sponsored by a network of Jewish organizations that exist in most universities. The Hillel societies around the country honor a Rabbi who was more liberal in his interpretation of edicts than his dissenting colleague and was known for his kindness and generosity of heart. The saying “If not now, when,” is attributed Hillel.
If Hillel were alive today how would he advise we navigate the immense divide between red and blue states, liberals and conservatives, non-religious and secular, the 1% of our population and the rest, warring factions around the world, and our inability to cross the thresholds of our differing opinions and come together on what unites rather than divides us. This includes the Mayor and Governor of the great city and state of New York who have taken their disputes public during a severe health crisis and the sniping across the aisle in the US Congress at a time when we look to our leaders to help steer us through these frightening times. We need our great Sages now more than ever.
Here is background on Hillel: