Machloket: One Torah Many Opinions

(1) Moshe received the Torah from Sinai, and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, and establish many students, and make a fence for the Torah.

(2) Yose ben Yoezer says not to lean hands [on the Chagigah sacrifice]; Yose ben Yohanan says to lean hands. Yehoshua ben Perahia says not to lean hands; Nitai the Arbelite says to lean hands. Yehuda ben Tavai says not to lean hands; Shimon ben Shetach says to lean hands. Shemaya says to lean hands; Avtaliyon says not to lean hands. Hillel and Menahem did not disagree. Menahem left and Shammai entered. Shammai says not to lean hands; Hillel says to lean hands. The first [of each pair] was the nasi [head of the Sanhedrin] and the second [of each pair] was the av beit din [head of the Rabbinic court].

(8) Beit Shammai allow the rival wives [of a deceased brother] to [marry his surviving] brothers, and Beit Hillel forbids it. If they had done chalitzah [the ceremony of release, after which a levirate marriage is no longer required], Beit Shammai invalidate [the rival wives from marrying into] the priesthood. And Beit Hillel validate them. If they had done the levirate marriage, Beit Shammai validate the [rival wives to the priests, should the surviving brothers die as well], and Beit Hillel invalidate them. Even though [one House] invalidated and [the other House] validated, Beit Shammai did not refrain from marrying the women of Beit Hillel, and Beit Hillel did not [refrain] from marrying the women of Beit Shammai. And all the pure and impure that [one House] would declare pure and [the other House] would declare impure, they [still] did not refrain from making [sure] that [the vessels of one House] and [the vessels of the other House would remain] pure [according to both Houses].

(7) Rabbi Yehoshua said: I have a tradition from Rabbi Yochanan the son of Zakkai, who heard it from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher - a law to Moses from Sinai! - that Eliyahu will not come to declare people pure or impure, to distance [i.e. make impure] people or to bring [into purity those who are declared impure], but rather to distance those who were brought near by force, and to bring close those who were distanced by force. The family Bet Tzreifa was across the Jordan, and Ben Tzion distanced them by force, and someone else was there and Ben Tzion brought them close by force. [It is cases] such as these [that] Eliyahu is coming to declare pure and impure, to bring near and to distance. Rabbi Yehudah says: to bring [people] close, but not to [make people] distant. Rabbi Shimon says: to resolve arguments. The Sages say: He will not come to make distant or to bring close, but to make peace in the world, as it says "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet [before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD]. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 3:23-24).

(4) Why are the opinions of Hillel and Shammai recorded [only] to be nullified? To teach the generations that one should not be insistent in his/her opinions, for the fathers of the world were not insistent in their opinions.

(5) And why do we record the words of an individual among the many, when the law is [according to] the words of the many? Because if the court sees [fit] the words of the individual, it may rely on them. But a court is not able to nullify the words of a fellow court unless they are greater in wisdom and number [than the fellow court]. If they are greater in wisdom but not number, or in number but not in wisdom, they are not able to nullify its words until they become greater in wisdom and number.

(6) Rabbi Yehudah said: "If so, why do we record the words of an individual among the majority [only] to be nullified? For if a person says "Thus I have received [the law]," another will say to him "You heard it according to the words of So-and-So."

...A question was raised:Since a Divine Echo declared: "Both these and those are the words of the Living God," why was the halacha established to follow the opinion of Hillel?t is because the students of Hillel were kind and gracious. They taught their own ideas as well as the ideas from the students of Shammai. Not only for this reason, but they went so far as to teach Shammai's opinions first.

‘The masters of assemblies’: these are the disciples of the wise, who sit in manifold assemblies and occupy themselves with the Torah, some pronouncing unclean and others pronouncing clean, some prohibiting and others permitting, some disqualifying and others declaring fit. Should a man say: How in these circumstances shall I learn Torah? Therefore the text says: ‘All of them are given from one Shepherd’. One God gave them; one leader uttered them from the mouth of the Lord of all creation, blessed be He; for it is written: (Exodus 20:1) ‘And God spoke all these words’. Also make your ear as the upper millstone, and acquire for yourself an understanding heart to hear the words of those who declare unclean and the words of those who declare clean, the words of those who forbid and the words of those who permit, the words of those who disqualify and the words of those who pronounce ceremonially pure. In this same way he said to them, It is not an orphan generation when R. Elazar ben Azariah lives in it.

"Perhaps they will soon depose thee!" He answered[1] "[Let a man] use the cup of honour[2] for one day, and to-morrow let it be broken." She said to him, "Thou hast no grey hair[3]!" That day he was eighteen[4] years of age; but a miracle was wrought for him, and eighteen rows of hair[5] turned grey. That is what R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah meant when he said, "Behold I am like one seventy years old," and not "I am seventy years old[6]." It has been taught : That same day, they removed the doorkeeper [of the College] and permission was granted to the disciples to enter ; for Rabban Gamaliel had issued a proclamation: "A disciple, who is not inwardly the same as outwardly[7], will not be allowed to enter the House of Study." That day many forms had to be added[8]. R. Johanan said : Abba Jose[9] b. Dostai and the Rabbis differ as to the number; one declaring four hundred forms were added, the other declaring it was seven hundred. This [vast addition] depressed Rabban Gamaliel who said, "Perhaps, God forbid, I have withheld Torah from Israel !" He was shown in a dream white pitchers full of ashes". It was not really so[11] ; but he was shown this to relieve his mind. It has been taught : That same day 'Eduyyot[1] was learnt, and wherever we find the phrase "on that day" it refers to that occasion. There was not a Halakah which had been left in a state of uncertainty in the House of Study which was not then made clear. Even Rabban Gamaliel did not absent himself from the House of Study[2].