Pirkei Avot: Hillels’ Patience

Conventional wisdom tells us to accept wisdom from wherever it may come. “Accept the truth from whoever said it,” said a great Jewish Medevial scholar. Yet the human reality is that accepting wisdom and facts depends on who delivers them.

No one embodies this idea more than Hille and Shammai, whose teachings and personal lives were very much aligned, as exemplified most in the following Mishna:

“Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.” (Pirkei Avot 1:12)

While we often associate Hille and Shammai as rivals, it was their students–the house of Hillel and the House of Shammai–who had the strongest disagreements. Hillel and Shammai themselves served as one of the Zugot, with Hillel being the Nasi of the Sanhedrin about a hundred years before the destruction of the Second Temple.

While Hillel came to Israel from one of Babylon’s most distinguished families and is a descendant of King David, he had a very poor and humble beginning. 

The Talmud (Yoma 35b) shares the following about Hillel’s humble beginning: “They said about Hillel the Elder, that each and every day he would work and earn a half-dinar, half of which he would give to the guard of the study hall and half of which he spent for his sustenance and the sustenance of the members of his family. One time, he did not find employment to earn a wage, and the guard of the study hall did not allow him to enter. He ascended to the roof, suspended himself, and sat at the edge of the skylight in order to hear the words of the Torah of the living God from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon, the spiritual leaders of that generation.” It was from this kind of poverty, simplicity, and dedication to hearing the words of the Torah that Hillel arose. Hillel was able to relate to all people because of his own experience as someone who is impoverished and because of his good nature. 

The Talmud (Shabbat 31) shares the following story about Hillel’s character:

“A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai. The Gemara related: There was an incident involving two people who wagered with each other and said: Anyone who will go and aggravate Hillel to the point that he reprimands him will take four hundred zuz (a currency of the time). One of them said: I will aggravate him. That day that he chose to bother Hillel was Shabbat eve, and Hillel was washing the hair on his head….That man said to him: I have many more questions to ask, but I am afraid lest you get angry. Hillel wrapped himself and sat before him, and he said to him: All of the questions that you have to ask, ask them. The man got angry and said to him: Are you Hillel whom they call the Nasi of Israel? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: If it is you, then may there not be many like you in Israel. Hillel said to him: My son, for what reason do you say this? The man said to him: Because I lost four hundred zuz because of you. Hillel said to him: Be vigilant of your spirit and avoid situations of this sort. Hillel is worthy of having you lose four hundred zuz and another four hundred zuz on his account, and Hillel will not get upset.”

The fact that two men bet over who could get Hillel angry tells us how extreme Hillel’s reputation for not getting angry was. If there is anyone who is qualified to teach us the lesson of this Mishna, it is Hillel. Hillel embodied everything that he teaches in the Mishna. His patience enabled him to ensure that peace prevailed above everything.  

Hillel’s patience and character did not remain confined to who he was and how he believed we should conduct ourselves in our interpersonal relationships; they also translated into his religious and halachic decisions:

The Talmud (Shabbat, ibid) goes on to share another story: 

“There was another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai and said to Shammai: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. This was a common measuring stick, and Shammai was a builder by trade. The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.”

This famous and profound lesson of Hillel reflects his belief in human beings, as well as his guiding philosophy. “That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation”. If we care for others and treat them well, everything else will fall into place. This is why Hillel saw the pursuit of peace as the most superior imperative, as it is the foundation for all other observances of the Torah as well. Yet it is important to understand exactly what he means here. 

There are those who might use Hillel’s teaching to lower the bar of commitment to Judaism and Torah observance—after all, who does not believe in peace and not treating others well?! Yet what Hillel says should be raising the bar for our engagement in Judaism by a great deal. Hillel is not talking merely about being polite but rather about committing to a higher standard than usual. The litmus test for this standard is seeing if indeed all other mitzvot fall into place, as he told the convert that came to him.  

Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah- Hillel’s imperative—to love and pursue peace, is one that everyone could agree on; it is also a lesson that can stand on its own. We must wonder then why it is that Hillel begins imparting this message with the command “to be of the disciples of Aaron”. Why did Hillel find it necessary to include being “of the disciples of Aaron”, to this important lesson? True, the lesson of loving peace is one that Aaron embodied, but what added observance or information does having Aaron as part of this in the background?

To properly understand this, we must look to Avot D’Rabi Natan (12:3), which shares a lesson in the name of Rabbi Meir: “When Aaron was walking down the road, and he came upon a wicked person, he would wish him Shalom. The next day, when that man wanted to sin, he would say: Alas! How will I be able to look Aaron in the face?! I will be so embarrassed when he wishes me Shalom. And so this man would stop himself from sinning.” Commentaries also often share the story that follows it, which is that when two people would fight, Aaron would go to each of them separately and share with them how much the other one regrets their fight and would like to get back together. When the two would then run into one another, they would hug each other and become friends again. The story is often cited for the merit of its method and not of its career. Aaron was able to drive so much change in the lives of others because of who he was, not only because of his message. If Aaron had not been a genuine, kind, loving, holy person, none of his methods would have created a difference. It was who he was, combined with how he acted, that made all the difference. 

The most powerful advice of this Mishna is the one it starts off with: “Be of the disciples of Aaron.” Once you internally pursue being one of the disciples of Aaron and having all those qualities in you, everything else will fall into place. There are sometimes rabbis and teachers who feel tempted to lecture others on how they should lead their lives and change their observance. The lesson Hillel is urging us to follow is who we should be as leaders so that everything else falls into place. If you behave like a student of Aaron, be sure that others will follow and come closer to the Torah. 

I recently heard a story about the legendary Rabbi Moshe Sherer, head of Agudath Israel in America, and someone who did a great deal for the Jewish people. Rabbi Sherer was once walking on the street when he saw someone who looked very familiar to him eating in a non-Kosher restaurant. The man looked very familiar to Rabbi Sherer, who then approached the man, introduced himself, and asked the man who he was. As the conversation went on, Rabbi Sherer realized that this man was his Judaic studies teacher–his rebbe–in elementary school. Rabbi Sherer went on to ask him if he was eating now in a non-Kosher restaurant because he had a change of lifestyle and was no longer as observant, or perhaps this was something he was doing for a while. When the man told him he used to always do this and only worked as a school rebbe because he had no other way of making a living at the time, Rabbi Sherer understood. Rabbi Sherer told the man that he was always bothered by the fact that not one of his classmates had remained religious in their adult life. He did not understand how it was possible for an entire class of religious boys to all become non-religious, except for him. Now that he learned that their own religious teaching was not religious himself, he understood why his classmates had abandoned religion. Teachers might say many things, but it is ultimately who we are as human beings that imparts the most powerful lesson. 

A dedicated 8th-grade Judaic Studies teacher shared with me that when addressing a large meeting of Jewish Day School rebbes, Rabbi Schwalb’s brother told all rabbeim they should drop whatever it is that they are doing and begin the day by studying the works of the great Chafetz Chaim, on Shemirat Halashom–watching one’s speech. He told them that even if they had prior commitments to studying Talmud or something else, they must prioritize this learning of the laws of proper speech above everything. Why? Because raising children that are well-mannered and had real integrity–being a real mensch–was his highest priority. When this 8th-grade rebbe told him he could not do it because he felt he was not keeping those same laws on what form of speech is permitted and which is not, Rabbi Schwalb did not disagree but rather offered to take off of his own time to study to with this rebbe. 

What Hillel is teaching us here is not to love peace, or to pursue it—he is teaching us to be from the students of Aaron. Once we do that everything else will fall into place. 

Loving peace and pursuing peace– everyone loves peace. Everyone would rather all their relationships fall exactly into place, all their neighbors be among their best friends, and for everyone in their community to dwell in peace and tranquility. Yet, for this to happen, it is not enough for us to love peace; we must pursue it. Like the Mishna taught us earlier in this chapter about “acquiring a friend” for ourselves, sacrifice and investment often mark the line between something happening and not happening. If we would like to follow in the footsteps of Aaron and make the changes we would like to see happen, we must go on to pursue peace. 

Loving mankind–the translation of “Ohev et Habriyot” is not a simple one. While some translate it as “loving mankind”, it also translates to “loving people”, referring to loving individuals. This statement is daunting in its simplicity and complexity alike. We often think of our liking or loving of others as a spontaneous sentiment. Hillel is urging us to see things differently. If we would like to make a difference, we must make a conscious decision to love others more than we do already—not as a preference, but as an imperative. If we can bring ourselves to love those who we do not, we will be able to make a difference. It is far easier said than done, and indeed, it will require a huge effort, but if we would like to do more in this world, we must work harder to be able to love others. 

Loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah–The Mishna concludes with the statement about loving mankind and drawing them closer to the Torah. Rabbi Norman Lamm, a great Jewish leader who led the Jewish Center in New York and Yeshiva University, writes about this Mishna: “Charity, respect, consideration, economic assistance, appreciation–all are signs of such love. But greatest of all is helping your fellow creature find meaning in life, assist[ing] him to appreciate why he is alive and how to spend his life in a manner that is worthy and dignified. The highest form of ohev et ha-beriyot is therefore mekarvan le’Torah. The “Netziv” of Volozhin used to say that this Mishnah urges us to love not only those who are devout and scholars, benei Torah, but–perhaps especially– those who are distant from Torah. For the Tanna pleads with us to love people and bring them close to Torah–which means that they originally were distant from Torah, and only through our love were brought close!”

Too often, we see people who would like to bring others closer to the Torah going directly to doing exactly that while skipping the first parts of the Mishna. The true path to bringing someone close to Torah, Hillel teaches us here, is to first love others, show them what a Torah life filled with kindness looks like, and then eventually come to the ways of Torah through a personal example and a path they can emulate. Those who bring others close to Torah, taking a path different than Aaron and his students will end up bringing people who will violate the most fundamental aspects of what Torah is. For someone to come to Torah in a way that is virtuous and meaningful, they must enter through the path of Aaron—they must come through a path of peace and love. 

Alternatively, there are those who seek to bring others “closer” by the way of peace and love, without the goal of Torah in mind. Doing so leads to cults of personality worship and people using great virtues such as love and peace, to cultivate a blind following, charmed by their own character alone. Much of the criticism of Dale Carnegie’s famous book “How to Win Influence and Friends” came as he urged people to be genuine and take an interest in others—for the sake of gaining influence. 

Hillel in this Mishna is also warning us against kindness and peace-loving that is meant for personal gain. When we go out, pursue peace, and love others, we must do so for an altruistic reason. We must do so to bring about a peaceful and harmonious world that is based on the ideals of Torah and the virtue of peace.