Hillel says: Do not opt out of society; do not believe in yourself until your dying day; do not judge your fellow until you reach his place; do not say something which it is impossible to obey, because in the end it must be obeyed; and do not say, 'When I get some free time I will study' – you may not get any free time.
Rabbi Azaryah of Fano is suggesting here that Rabbi, the editor of the Mishnah, included statements that are attributed to his son and grandson (Gamli'el and Hillel respectively) in order to invoke God's blessing that the study of Torah would never depart from his family and descendents. This seems to be an attempt to have his cake (attribute our present mishnah to Hillel, Rabbi's grandson) and eat it (leave Rabbi, the grandfather, as the final editor of the Mishnah). He puts the blame for the confusion on the 'halakhah reciters', the people with prodigious memories who committed whole chunks of Mishnah to memory in Tannaïtic times. Be that as it may, Rabbi Heller's own ultimate conclusion seems to be that the Hillel of our Mishnah is Hillel the Great, the founder of the dynasty.
To be continued.
In Avot 096 we had occasion to note one suggestion that applied the teaching of the mishnah specifically to charity collectors, or, as they are called in our sources
Gabba'ei Tzedakah.
Jacob Chinitz writes:
The outworn cliché that charity in Hebrew and in the Torah is Tzedaka, righteousness, and not superpiety, and hence is not optional but compulsory – may be overdrawn. It is true that up to ten percent of one's income is an obligation for charity, just as the Machatzit Hashekel [half-shekel donation to the Temple] is compulsory, as well as Matnot Kehuna [levies given to the priests]. But there is still room left for the area of Reshut, optional giving, between the minimum of ten percent and the maximum of twenty percent of one's income. In that area, Tzedaka is charity in the Western sense, and not righteousness in the Torah sense.
In Avot 097 we had a mishnah that was not attributed to any sage in particular. Steven Spronz writes:
I wonder whether the absence of attribution to any particular sage of the statement regarding the unreliability of government was an act of self preservation by the sages and the editor. If word of this teaching should have reached the ears of the secular authorities, and the statement had been attributed to one individual, might it have resulted in arrest, torture, or banishment of that sage so as to serve as an example and dampen any fervor for a revolt. But a general comment not attributable to any one person might be dismissed by the authorities as the usual rumbling of the masses and nothing at all to be concerned about.
I respond:
Of course, this suggestion is worthy of great consideration. However, personally I am still of the opinion that the Hillel of all these mishnayot is Hillel the Great. In the first quarter of the 3rd century CE the relationship between the Patriarchal house and the Roman government was excellent. The government in the time of Hillel the Great was in the hands of King Herod – and that in itself speaks volumes.
In Avot 098 we attempted an interpretation of the rather problematic mishnah. Amnon Ron'el writes:
Who am I to try and manage this mishnah? But let me try. Do His will as your will – Observe God's commandments willingly, as if they were your own will. So that He might do your will as His will – And He will fulfill your desires as He thinks fit: in other words, do not expect to get anything out of it. Nullify your will for His will – Even if you would rather act otherwise, do His will. So that He might nullify the will of others for your will – If you have made His will your will (by nullifying your own will) your will is now God's will and God will assist you in persuading others to act likewise.
I respond:
What a lovely interpretation!
Because of personal commitments, the next shiur in this series will be (God willing) on March 30th. Let me wish everybody a happy Purim.
