Shabbos 31
“Shammai’s impatience sought to drive us from the world; Hillel’s patience brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.”
Today’s reading focuses on how we conduct ourselves in the world. Are we patient and generous with our time, like Hillel, or a bit of a curmudgeon who can be surly at times, like Shammai? Do we conduct ourselves with integrity in business, engage in study and value wisdom and learning? Are we humble and modest, and understand our limitations as human beings? Do we uphold our values and bring others along with us on our journey of learning and discovery?
Today’s reading provides a contrast in style between Hillel and Shammai. Hillel was a mensch, who was patient, generous with his time, and unpretentious. His verbal sparring partner Shammai was more complicated. We are told that two people (let’s call them hooligans) wage a bet that they can aggravate Hillel to the point that he becomes impatient and loses his temper. One of the hooligans approaches Hillel during his busy Sabbath grooming preparations and asks a question designed to irritate the Sage: “Why are the heads of Babylonians oval?” Hillel, who is from Babylonia, answers tolerantly that the question is a good one because the midwives fail to be careful of the heads of Babylonian children during birth.
Our hooligan, who had some money at stake, came back two more times with questions in an attempt to win the bet and push Hillel to demonstrable annoyance. His second question was “Why are the eyes of the residents of Tadmor bleary?” Hillel patiently answers that this is because they live in sandy conditions (presumed to be the desert.) The Third question designed to irritate Hillel is “Why do Africans have wide feet?” Hillel offers his explanation that the structure of their feet allows them to traverse swampy areas in the marshlands where they live. The hooligan retreats into acceptance of his lost bet when Hillel tells him that essentially, he was involved in a foolhardy mission because nothing will rattle the great Sage.
Hillel’s temperament is contrasted with that of Shammai, who was pricklier. Shammai dismisses a potential convert who questions his teaching that there is an oral and a written Torah, while Hillel conjures up a clever exercise to demonstrate the importance of the two Torahs. Today’s reading includes a well-known fable about Hillel that demonstrates his kindness, wisdom and patience. When Shammai is asked by a potential religious convert to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot, Shammai pushes him away, while Hillel is up for the challenge. Hillel tells him that the entire Torah can be explained with the following: “That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.”
We are told that the “Sages taught in a baraita: A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai.” We are provided with the contrast between a man who fears sin and a man who is confident in his Torah study: “I said to you that he is a man who fears sin, and you said me that he is a man of Torah study? The former is much greater praise than the latter.”
There appears to be a message here in not becoming too over-confident in one’s learnedness and intellect. To accept fear is to accept one’s limitations and humility and to be open for deeper empathy and understanding. If one thinks they know it all, there is little room for continued expansion of their heart and mind.
I strive to be patient like Hillel, but sometimes there are people who get under my skin, like the hooligans in today’s reading, and I find myself taking on the tone of Shammai. So many people are under stress these days, and fearful, and more than anything else we need to be patient. It is probably worth taking a deep breath when that person who always has a way of getting under one’s skin is doing so once again and asking how Hillel would respond. Maybe it would help to stand on one foot for just a moment and say to one’s self: “be kind and compassionate.” I can’t say I am always successful, but I am trying.
Hillel and Shammai are a great pair of dissenting Rabbis who appear many times in the Talmud. Usually, but not always, Hillel’s more liberal approach to a debate prevails. I first learned about the great Sage from Hillel International’s sponsored dances in the university that I attended. 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.
I have linked to this article in My Jewish Learning before, but I found it helpful to go back and review the background on Hillel in the context of today’s text: