Rabbi says: which is an upright path for which a person should opt? – One which is honourable for those who do it and which [also] brings honour from mankind. Be as careful with a simple mitzvah as with a serious one, since you do not know the reward for each mitzvah. Calculate the loss of a mitzvah against its reward, and the reward of a sin against its loss. Watch for three things and you will not come to sin: know what is above you – a seeing eye, a listening ear and all your deeds written in the book.
7:
As I have already mentioned, Rabbi maintained an almost imperial-like court. But he was not an oriental potentate: he permitted, even within his innermost circle, the counsels of those who disagreed with his policies and he was always very careful to help colleagues who were disadvantaged. Possibly Rabbi's greatest opposition came from the "old school" representative, Rabbi Pinĥas ben-Ya'ir (who was a son-in-law of Rabbi Shim'on bar-Yoĥai). But the very fact that few of those reading this shiur will ever have heard of Rabbi Pinĥas ben-Ya'ir is perhaps an indication of the impact of his "opposition".
8:
He was a very emotional person. We shall learn the story of the apostate sage, Elisha ben-Avuya, in due course; here let us just mention that according to the Talmud of Eretz-Israel [Ĥagigah 77c] when Elisha's surviving daughters were reduced to soliciting alms and reminded Rabbi of their father's great learning before his apostasy Rabbi burst into tears. The Gemara [Ketubot 103b] relates how, during his last painful illness, he was once discovered weeping; he explained that he realized that he was dying and was regretting the fact that death was about to deprive him of the opportunity to study yet more Torah and observe more mitzvot. The Midrash [Bereshit Rabba 33] describes how once he saw a calf being led to slaughter. Rabbi thought that the calf was looking at him with pleading eyes, as if seeking protection from death. Rabbi gently addressed the animal: "Go; for it was for this that you were created." During his ultimate illness Rabbi ascribed his great suffering to that one moment of unkindness to that animal. Perhaps it is for this reason that on another occasion, when his daughter was about to kill a small animal, he told her, "Let it live, child; for it is written [Psalm 144:9] that God's "tender mercies are over all". [Bava Metzi'a 85a].
9:
He must have realized that his exalted position left him wide open not only to sycophancy but also to arrogance on his own part. That is why, three times a day, after reciting the Amidah he would add the following personal prayer:
10:
But he also realized that he used his position, power and influence to make sweeping changes in Judaism. He justified this (at least to himself!) by claiming that every generation must make its own impact on the Jewish tradition. The Gemara [
Ĥullin 6b-7a] records that once Rabbi Me'ir ate a vegetable grown in Bet She’an during a
shemittah year and that Rabbi used that precedent in order to declare that Bet She'an was permanently released from the strictures of
shemittah, even though it was obviously well within the borders of Eretz-Israel. The opposition to this move was very vocal: "How can you permit something that was expressly prohibited by all your predecessors?" Rabbi responded first by bringing an analogy. During the desert wandering Moses had created a bronze serpent which was given the name "Neĥushtan" [
Numbers 21:6-9]. This bronze serpent had been preserved, but by the time of King Hezekiah it had become an object of idolatrous veneration. King Hezekiah did not hesitate to destroy this artifact made by Moses [
2Kings 18:4]. Rabbi asked his critics how they would explain that righteous kings who preceded Hezekiah, such as Asa and Jehoshaphat, did not destroy this artifact, even though they were zealous in removing other forms of idolatry – and yet Hezekiah did so. "His predecessors left him room to make a name for himself. In the same way my predecessors have left me room to make a name for myself." On this incident Rashi comments: "If our successors do not find something to put right how will they make a name for themselves?"
To be continued.
In Avot 082 I gave the names of three sages from the period covered by Tractate Avot whose contribution to the development of Judaism was revolutionary:
The three sages whom I would put within this category made such an impact on the development of the Jewish religion that it was not the same after their contribution as it was before. My three choices are Simon the Righteous, Rabbi Akiva and "Rabbi"… Hillel is greater even than those of his descendents who bore the title "Rabban" because he is so great that he needs no title, as it were.
Amnon Ronel asks why Hillel is not in my list:
And where is Hillel that you so praised, who is known only by his name and is therefore greater than "Rabban"?
I respond:
Great as Hillel was in terms of personality his contribution was not revolutionary. After his presidency Judaism was the same – only better and richer. His greatness was in conservation and development, not in revolutionary change.
The next shiur will be on Monday, 29th November.
