Nadene Goldfoot
Hillel the Elder teaching a man the meaning of the whole Torah while he stands on one foot (detail from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem) The
Torah is made up of the first 5 books of the "Old Testament" or Bible.
Jews Read from it in the Synagogue every week and it is written in Hebrew.
Once there was a gentile who came before , and said to him: "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot. Shammai pushed him aside with the measuring stick he was holding. The same fellow came before Hillel, and Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole , and the rest is commentary, go and learn it." - Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a
He's also known for this saying:
"“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
RASHI was a well-respected commentator on Hillel's writings, born in 1040 in France, died 1105, a rabbinical scholar. We are related to him. His
name is an abbreviation for: Rabbi Solomon Yitzhaki (ben Isaac).
After studying in the Rhineland, he returned to his native Troyes, France
where he had his own school and it achieved a wide reputation of excellence.
Many people turned to him for advice in the law of Torah. His commentaries
are found in our prayer books of today.
He's noted for a few sayings, too, though not as well known.
Torah is made up of the first 5 books of the "Old Testament" or Bible.
Jews Read from it in the Synagogue every week and it is written in Hebrew.
Hillel was an ancestor of a dynasty of our patriarchs which held office until the 5th century CE. He was born in Babylon so his own ancestors came from Judah as forced slaves either in 597 or 586 BCE by the Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar. He finally decided to move to Jerusalem and was a laborer there while studying with the famous teachers, Shemaiah and Avtalyon. He opened his own school, known as the "House of Hillel" and he himself was referred to as Hillel the Elder. He was appointed president of the Sanhedrin. Hillel was noted for his humility and tendency to be lenient in decisions. He taught how to interpret the Torah and Tanakh (bible).
Rabbi Hillel, who just went by "Hillel," was born in Babylonia in the 1st century BCE. Judeans had been rounded up and forced to go with Nebuchadnezzar and his army as captives in 597 BCE to Babylonia and then more were taken in 586 BCE. When King Josiah of Judah had died in 608 BCE, captives must have been taken then as well. Jews of Judah were allowed to return to Jerusalem in 538 BCE; 70 years later and encouraged to rebuild their temple by Babylon's King Cyrus. Not all Jews had returned as many remained in well established Jewish-populated towns.
About 538 years later within 100 BCE, Hillel had emerged as a Jewish leader among his people in Babylonia. Babylonians had produced the Babylonian Talmud. Hillel then returned to Jerusalem at the time of King Herod ( 73 BCE-4 BCE) . He must have lived before Jesus was born about 4 BCE to 4 CE, and who had died in 30-36 CE supposedly by Christian writings at age 30-36.
Once there was a gentile who came before , and said to him: "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot. Shammai pushed him aside with the measuring stick he was holding. The same fellow came before Hillel, and Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole , and the rest is commentary, go and learn it." - Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a
Hillel’s Golden Rule: An Interpretation of Rashi’s View
Hillel famously said "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah." While most understand this to refer to the relationship between man and man, Rashi interpreted it to refer to the relationship between man and G-d.He's also known for this saying:
"“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when?”
Going along with that story is this one.
-“Moreover he saw a skull floating on the surface of the water and he said unto it: Because you drowned others they drowned you; and those that drowned you will eventually be drowned.” In other words, how you treat others will someday come back to you. Treat others fairly and they in turn might be more fair to you.
On Time for Study
“Do not say: ‘When I have leisure I shall study,’ perhaps you will never have leisure.”
“Who does not grow, declines.” This is so true of our minds, and according to my father, his business.
“In a place where there are no humans, one must strive to be human.” This one is so deep. It's telling us not to copy our peer group if they are not acting
acceptably in a humane way.
Do not harm or hate yourself. You never know when the world will need you.
- "Whosoever destroys one soul, it is as though he had destroyed the entire world. And whosoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the entire world."
- "A name gained is a name lost."
- "Where there are no men, strive to be a man!"
- "My humiliation is my exaltation; my exaltation is my humiliation."
- A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai. (Shammai was the other teacher with his own school and was impatient.)
- A boor cannot be sin-fearing, an ignoramus cannot be pious, a bashful one cannot learn, a short-tempered person cannot teach, nor does anyone who does much business grow wise.
. One who increases flesh, increases worms; one who increases possessions, increases worry; one who increases wives, increases witchcraft; one who increases maidservants, increases promiscuity; one who increases man-servants, increases thievery; one who increases Torah, increases life; one who increases study, increases wisdom; one who increases counsel, increases understanding; one who increases charity, increases peace.
"The merciful man does good to his own soul (Proverbs 11:17)," this [refers to] Hillel the Elder, who, at the time that he was departing from his students, would walk with them. They said to him, "Rabbi, where are you walking to?" He said to them, "To fulfill a commandment!" They said to him, "And what commandment is this?" He said to them, "To bathe in the bathhouse." They said to him: "But is this really a commandment?" He said to them: "Yes. Just like regarding the statues (lit. icons) of kings, that are set up in the theaters and the circuses, the one who is appointed over them bathes them and scrubs them, and they give him sustenance, and furthermore, he attains status with the leaders of the kingdom; I, who was created in the [Divine] Image and Form, as it is written, "For in the Image of G-d He made Man (Genesis 9:6)," even more so!...
Hillel stood in the gate of Jerusalem one day and saw the people on their way to work. "How much," he asked, "will you earn today?" One said: "A denarius"; the second: "Two denarii" "What will you do with the money?" he inquired. "We will provide for the necessities of life." Then he said to them: "Would you not rather come and make the Torah your possession, that you may possess both this world and the world to come?"
- The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), Volume 6, p. 399
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| RASHI |
name is an abbreviation for: Rabbi Solomon Yitzhaki (ben Isaac).
After studying in the Rhineland, he returned to his native Troyes, France
where he had his own school and it achieved a wide reputation of excellence.
Many people turned to him for advice in the law of Torah. His commentaries
are found in our prayer books of today.
He's noted for a few sayings, too, though not as well known.
- “Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.” ...
- “Receive all with simplicity that happens to you” ...
- “Whoever raises a righteous child, it is as if he did not die.” ...
- “Divided as we may be by religion, we are united by charity.”
- The world exists for the sake of kindness. ...
- Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you. ...
- Naked a man comes into the world and naked he leaves it, after all is said and done he leaves nothing except the good deeds he leaves behind.
- “The flavour of a fish which comes out of the sea at Acre is not similar to the flavour of a fish which comes out of the sea in Spain.”
- “Teachers learn from their students' discussions”
- “God knew where he was, but he asked so as to start a conversation with Adam and avoid startling him too much to reply.”
- “We learn from here the humility of the Holy One, Blessed is He. Since man is in the likeness of the angels, and they would be jealous of him, for this reason, He consulted them.
- ”“Obeying from love is better than to obey from fear.”
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