Avos 1:12-15

בס״ד

אבות א:יב-טו

Hillel and Shammai accepted the gift of Torah from them. Hillel says: Be among Aharon’s disciples, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them close to Torah. He used to teach: A person who puffs up his reputation loses it; whoever does not add, detracts; whoever doesn’t learn deserves a death sentence;  and whoever exploits the Crown of Torah will come to nothing. He used to teach: If I’m not my own person, who will become one for me?  But if I’m self-absorbed, what am I?  And if I don’t start now, then when? Shammai says: Make your Torah-study a discipline; say little, but do a lot; and greet everyone cheerfully.

הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה: הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, נָגֵד שְׁמָא, אָבֵד שְׁמֵהּ. וּדְלֹא מוֹסִיף, יָסֵף. וּדְלֹא יָלֵיף, קְטָלָא חַיָּב. וּדְאִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּתָגָא, חָלֵף: הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי: שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה תוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע. אֱמֹר מְעַט וַעֲשֵׂה הַרְבֵּה, וֶהֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת:

        

        With Hillel and Shammai the age of the pairs came to an end.  They lived under the domination of King Herod and his heirs (from about 37 BCE until about 20 CE).  Herod was called “King”, but he actually was a lackey for the Roman governors who really ruled the Jewish people in their land.  Herod is remembered mostly for ambitious building projects, such as his restoration of the Temple, and for murdering various family members in order to secure his hold on power.  During and after his reign, Jewish life was disrupted by social friction and religious tension.  Many movements arose proclaiming that one or another prophet or leader would bring about the coming of Mashiakh.  The movement of Jesus (Yeshua of Nazareth) was among them.  The most important result of this social chaos was the Destruction of the Beis HaMikdash in the year 70.

        From that day to this, Torah has been transmitted in a situation of Golus, or Exile.  After the deaths of Hillel and Shammai, the social pressures that affected all Jews even had their effect on Torah scholars.  Disciples ceased to serve their Masters with proper devotion and began to confuse authentic traditions with their own attempts to interpret them.  The result was that “disputes multiplied in Israel so that it seemed like there were two Torahs” (Tosefta Sanhedrin 7:1).  To this day we can never be sure how to distinguish “Torah from Sinai” from “personal opinion.”  The most important criterion is to trust those whose lives are perfect models of morality and loyalty to Judaism.  Even if their Torah is not “literally” from Sinai, it will come from hearts that seek HaShem’s voice.  For that reason alone they will guide us to a way of life that will prepare us to hear genuine Torah from Sinai in the Days of Redemption.

        One result of the chaotic Herodian times is that, after the leadership of Hillel and Shammai, the office of Av Beis Din seems to have been abolished.  From Avos 1:16 until the end of Chapter 2 we find only the teachings of individual Sages who functioned as Nasi under increasingly difficult conditions.

This is the order of the Nesi’im:

        Rabban Gamliel the Elder (1:16) was Hillel’s grandson, who served as Nasi until his death (about 50 CE), when the post was taken by his son,Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I (1:17).  Rabban Shimon was Nasi until his own death, during the War of Liberation against Rome that ended with the Destruction of the Temple in 70.

        Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (whose teachings are recorded in Avos 2:8) took over the role of Nasi until his death in the year 80.  Although he was the only Nasi not descended from Hillel, he was perhaps the most important until the rise of the editor of the Mishnah, Rabbi Yehudah the Nasi himself.  Rabban Yohanan founded the Vineyard at Yavneh, the yeshiva that for two generations represented the world’s only school for Torah study.  If Torah study has survived to our own day, it is largely due to the hashgakhah of HaShem and the toil of Rabban Yohanan.

        Rabban Gamliel II, the son of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I, took over form Rabban Yohanan.  Our chapter of Avos transmits no teaching in his name, a sign of how difficult the study of Torah was in this period of persecution after the Temple’s destruction.  But he spent a generation keeping the tradition of Torah alive in the Vineyard of Yavneh until the disastrous Bar Kokhba rebellion of 132-135.

        His son, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II (Avos 1:18) re-founded Torah education in the town of Usha afterwards, and served as Nasi from 140-170.  His son, Rabban Yehudah HaNasi, had the learning and authority to select those teachings of the Sages that would be preserved in the Mishnah.  His teaching is recorded in Avos 2:1, where we’ll have more to say about him.  The words of his son, Rabban Gamliel ben Rabbi Yehuda, are transmitted in 2:2-4.  The line of Nesi’im descended from Hillel continued until 425 CE, but Avos takes us only up to the time of its own editing, shortly after Rabbi’s death (about 220CE).

        Well — enough of history!  Let’s get back to the teachings of Hillel and Shammai.  In view of the times in which they taught, it is no surprise that both Hillel and Shammai stressed virtues that encourage peace and order.  Rabbi Yisroel Lifschitz, author of Tiferes Yisrael, points out that Hillel’s teachings all concern the pursuit of peace through the middah of humility in thought, word, and deed.  So, for example, our imitation of Aharon should include the mental trait of loving peace, the habit of bringing about peace through our conversations with others, and direct actions that bring people to knowledge of the Torah and its way of life — thought, word, and deed.

        

Hillel’s teaching at 1:13 expands on his approach to humility.  Stop advertising yourself!  You didn’t create yourself — you’ve only used the gifts that HaShem gave you!  And don’t relax in your studies of Torah if you’ve learned it all!  If you’re not adding to your knowledge of Torah, you might as well be forgetting what you’ve already learned and losing your footing in the stream of Torah.  And, finally — if you use the Crown of Torah to magnify yourself in status or wealth, you’re defiling Torah!  Torah was given to create real community among people — not to serve people in pursuing power over others!

        Hillel’s motto at 1:14 is probably his most famous and mysterious teaching.  It’s all about the careful balance between self-respect (“who will be for me?”) and self-glorification (“what am I?”).  True humility requires self-respect, since we must respect the special gifts that HaShem invested in our creation.  Yet, we can’t glorify ourselves to the degree that our fascination with our own image blinds us to the fact that it is HaShem’s Image in us that we share with everyone else.  And if you don’t figure this out now — when will you be a mentch!?

        Finally, we reach Shammai’s teaching.  Like Hillel’s, it is about the cultivation of humility.  Submit yourself to a daily study habit as a way of reminding you of the real source of your blessings.  Keep quiet and do what’s right, instead of blowing off a lot of steam and doing nothing!  Finally, the greatest test of humility — can you greet EVERYONE with love and respect, no matter what you privately think of them?  More importantly — can you realize that your own opinion of people must take account of the fact that they are one of HaShem’s beloved creations?  A person who truly lives Shammai’s philosophy will translate the experience of diligent Torah study into acts of tzedakah that are offered without the thought of one’s own self-interest.

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