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Hillel's urgent suggestion that we all try to behave like disciples of Aaron is based on a certain but unprovable premise. If I were to be asked what is the highest value in the halakhic social system I would have to say that in my opinion there are two, co-equal, over-arching values: peace and justice. As we shall see in a later source, in rabbinic lore Moses is the paragon of justice just as his brother is, as we have already seen, the paragon of peace.
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There is a passage in the Midrash [Leviticus Rabba 9:9] that is presented again in many places. The only way that I can describe this passage is that it is a kind of rabbinic hymn to peace. I make no apologies for presenting here an extensive selection from that source:
- The paean of praise to peace starts off with a teaching of Rabbi Shim'on ben-Yoĥai: he seeks to 'prove' that peace is the greatest boon because it contains within itself all other blessings. He quotes Psalm 29:11, "God gives His people strength, God blesses His people with peace."
- Another sage, Ĥizkiyyah, points out that in the Bible peace is intrinsically different from many other mitzvot. Most of the mitzvot are phrased casuistically: for example, "should you come across your neighbour's straying animal you must return it to him" or "should you find a mother bird sitting on her eggs you must send the bird away before taking the eggs" – and so many more mitzvot. These mitzvot must be obeyed if the given situation arises, but one need not go out of one's way to seek them. But, as regards peace we are told [Psalm 34:15] "Seek out peace and pursue it". On that Ĥizkiyyah comments: 'seek it out for your own place and pursue it for any other place.' Thus peace is not seen merely as a desirable state but the sages require us to take active steps to ensure, wherever we can, that peace and goodwill reign.
- Bar-Kappara teaches that the quality of peace is so great that in order to preserve the peace between a man and his wife even God himself is prepared to utter an untruth! In Genesis 18:12, when the three visitors foretell that the aged Sarah will give birth to Isaac she laughs and says that her husband is too old now to beget children. But when God reports the matter to Abraham [Genesis 18:13] He spares his feelings by saying that Sarah said that it is she who is too old to bear children, not Abraham.
- Bar Kappara also brings another verse in praise of peace. He says that the angels are incapable of jealousy, hatred, competitiveness, quarrelsomeness, arguments, disagreements and grudges; and yet the Bible says [Job 25:2] that "God makes peace in his high places". Now, says Bar Kappara, if the angels need peace how much more must we mortals need the boon of peace because we do possess all those negative qualities.
- Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el brings another situation where an untruth is uttered in order to preserve the peace. After Jacob dies in Egypt Joseph's brothers they are concerned that now peace will no longer reign between them and Joseph. So they tell him [Genesis 50:17] that their father told them to beg Joseph to forgive them. And Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el points out that nowhere are we told that Jacob said any such thing!
- Rabbi Yosé ha-Gelili moves us from familiar peace to national peace. He points out that so great is the value of peace that the Torah [Deuteronomy 20:10] forbids Israel to attack an enemy before first inviting them to conclude a peace treaty. Only if the enemy refuses Israel's peace initiative may Israel attack.
- Rabbi Yehoshu'a of Sakhnin says that every major part of our synagogue ritual ends with the blessing of peace: the reading of the Shema (in the evening) ends with the words "God spreads the coverlet of His peace over us"; the Amidah ends with a prayer to God, "who makes peace in His high places" to "make peace for us and all Israel"; Kaddish ends similarly; so does Grace After Meals; the priestly blessing ends with the words "May God give you peace". The list is long and impressive.
- There are many, many more such items in this chapter from Leviticus Rabba, and I cannot possibly quote them all here. So let me conclude this description with another teaching attributed to Rabbi Yehoshu'a of Sakhnin. That peace is the ultimate and greatest value in Judaism he 'proves' from the 'fact of faith' that at the end of time there will be world peace: "All this has been concerning this present world; how do I know [that peace is the greatest boon] also in the future? Isaiah [66:12] says, 'I will extend to her peace like a stream'. Our sages say: 'Great is peace, for when the Messiah comes the first words he will say will be words of peace, as it says [Isaiah 52:6] 'How welcome on the mountain
are the footsteps of the herald announcing happiness, heralding peace.'"
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It is upon foundations such as these that Hillel built his exhortation that all Jews try to emulate Aaron.
To be continued.
Concerning the seven
middot of Hillel
Al Sporer writes:
In the morning minyan we usually end up the section of morning Berachot with the reading, "Rabbi Yishmael Omer…" which details the very set of principals you attribute to Hillel. First, I thank you for clarifying that Hillel was the inititator of these principles but why doesn't the reading selection make that attribution?
I respond:
In Avot 054 I wrote: These rules were later expanded to thirteen and even thirty-two, but Hillel was responsible only for the initial formulation of seven rules. Rabbi Yishma'el took Hillel's seven rules for hermeneutic elucidation of the text of the Torah and enlarged them to thirteen. This enlargement was achieved not only by adding further rules but also by subdividing one of Hillel's rules. The formulation of Hillel's rules is found in the Tosefta [Sanhedrin 7:5]. Their elaboration by Rabbi Yishma'el is found in the Tannaitic Midrash, Sifra [1:1].
(Al had another question as well, to which I hope to respond in our next shiur.)
