Source: Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a-b
(1) Our Rabbis taught: A certain Gentile once came before Shammai and asked him, “How many Torahs do you have?”' “Two,” he replied: “the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.” I believe you with respect to the Written, but not with respect to the Oral Torah; make me a convert on condition that you teach me the Written Torah [only]. [But] he scolded and repulsed him in anger.
When he went before Hillel, he accepted him as a convert. On the first day, he taught him, Alef, beth, gimmel, daleth; the following day he reversed [the letters] for him. “But yesterday you did not teach them to me thus,” he protested. “Must you then not rely upon me? Then rely upon me with respect to the Oral [Torah] too.”
(2) On another occasion it happened that a certain Gentile came before Shammai and said to him, “Make me a convert, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Thereupon he repulsed him with the builder's cubit which was in his hand.
When he went before Hillel, he said to him, “What is hateful1 to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is its commentary; go and learn it.”
(3) On another occasion it happened that a certain Gentile was passing behind a house of study, when he heard the voice of a teacher reciting, “And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod.”
Said he, “For whom are these?” “For the High Priest,” he was told. Then said that Gentile to himself, “I will go and become a convert, that I may be appointed a High Priest.” So he went before Shammai and said to him, “Make me a convert on condition that you appoint me a High Priest.” But he repulsed him with the builder's cubit which was in his hand.
He then went before Hillel, who made him a convert. He said to him, “Can any man be made a king but he who knows the arts of government? Go and study the arts of government!”
He went and read. When he came to, “and the stranger that approaches [the Tabernacle, where the High Priest served] shall be put to death,” he asked him, “To whom does this verse apply?” “Even to David, King of Israel,” was the answer.
Thereupon that convert reasoned within himself from the lesser to the greater: If of Israel, who are called sons of the Omnipresent—and who in His love for them He designated them, “Israel is my son, my firstborn”—it is written, “and the stranger that approaches shall be put to death,” how much more so a mere convert, who comes with his staff and wallet!
Then he went before Shammai and said to him. “Am I then eligible to be a High Priest; is it not written in the Torah, “and the stranger that approaches shall be put to death?” He went before Hillel and said to him, “O gentle Hillel; blessings rest on your head for bringing me under the wings of the Divine Presence!2”
Sometime later the three met in one place. They said, Shammai's impatience sought to drive us from the world, but Hillel’s gentleness brought us under the wings of the Divine Presence.
(adapted from Soncino Translation: Freedman, H. Shabbos. Edited by I. Epstein and adapted by Reuven Banner, 5771. http://www.halakhah.com/rst/moed/12a%20-%20Shabbos%20-%202a-31b.pdf)
Notes:
[1] Maimonides, in Sefer T'filah, records a slightly different text, with "shameful" in place of "hateful."
[2] Heb. Shechinah.
Discussion Questions:
- How do we know what we know? The final passage ties the three stories together. What themes run through all three stories? Build an outline of the stories reflecting these common themes. Improvise an alternative story with a potential convert coming to one of you for guidance. How will you respond to them?
- Who’s Speaking? Shammai and Hillel are very different scholars. Describe their differences. Does Shammai have any merit? Why?
- How might things have been different? Imagine an alternative narrative, in which the three potential converts only spoke to Shammai and not to Hillel. How would the experience of wanting to convert and being rebuffed affect their lives?
- What causes what? Each of the converts begins with a stated goal that he eventually discards. What about Hillel’s teaching changes their mind? Are you convinced that Hillel’s actions and/or argument is right? Why or why not?
- Who’s Speaking? The three converts are very different people, yet they all come together in the end as committed Jews. How would you define their characters? Who do they remind you of, in your life or in history?
- Who cares? “What is hateful/shameful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” How does the meaning of this teaching change if the word hateful is changed to shameful? Of all the Torah’s teachings, is Hillel right in focusing on this statement when instructing the impatient convert?
Image attributions:
- Hebrew Clock: By jankie [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
- Standing Big Toe Hold: By lululemon athletica (Flickr: Yoga Journal Conference) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
- By Doctcur O'FOLLOWELL (page 19.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons