Hillel

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hillel ( the elder or the old; Hebrew הלל הזקן, Hillel ha-zaqen) was one of the most important Pharisaic rabbis from the time before the destruction of the Second Temple, head of the Sanhedrin and founder of a school for the interpretation of the scriptures on the Jews often appointed to this day. Hillel came to Jerusalem from Babylonia in his youth and later became head of the school named after him, Bet Hillel.

Jewish traditions about Hillel

Like Moses, Hillel lived to be 120 years old , according to the Tannaite Midrash Sifre Debarim. About the age of death of Moses in Debarim / Deuteronomy 34,7 it says: Just as Moses lived 40 years in Egypt, 40 years in Midian and 40 years as leader of Israel, Hillel lived 40 years in Babylon, 40 years among the wise men in the land of Israel worked and lived as leader of Israel for 40 years.

Hillel was considered a broad-hearted, patient teacher who taught charity and non-violence and had numerous students. His "opponent" was Shammai , who interpreted the Torah more strictly in some respects. To this day, Hillel's words are essential in Jewish tradition, especially in Jewish ethics .

Hillel teaches the Golden Rule , image field at the Knesset menorah in Jerusalem

According to him, the Torah can be summarized in a " golden rule ". The question of the “Klal”, the one commandment that contains the entire Torah, is a popular question among rabbinical scholars. According to the Babylonian Talmud, one gentile asked Hillel such a question: If you can teach me the doctrine of Judaism while I stand on one leg, I will convert . The scene is shown in relief on the great menorah in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem. Hillel replied:

“דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור”

“What is not dear to you, do not do to your neighbor either; that is the whole doctrine of the law, everything else is just the explanation, go and learn it. "

- Hillel : The Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a

This Golden Rule is based on the commandment to love one's neighbor, Leviticus 19:18, which - in addition to the commandments to love strangers and to love one's enemies - is written in the middle of the Torah. There are two major, slightly varying translation options into German:

“וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי ה׳”

“Love your neighbor as yourself. I (am) the ETERNAL (or LORD) .
or
love your neighbor, he is like you. I (am) the ETERNAL (or LORD). "

- Wajiqra / Leviticus 19:18

The mixed natractic Avot ( sayings of the fathers ) contains several statements from him. He and Shammai are named there as the successors of Schemaja and Abbotaljon in the chain of tradition. They are one of the five " Sugot " (pairs) in the tradition of the (oral) Torah.

The seven middot

Seven exegetical rules (middot) for the interpretation of the Torah have been handed down from Hillel, but they were probably formulated only later according to his principles. Christian exegesis is very close to him. In addition to this middot of Hillel there are also the 13 middots of Rabbi Ishmael , a great scholar from the time of Bar Kochba (around 135), and the 32 middots of Eliezer ben Jose ha-Gelili , a Tannaite who worked in the 2nd century .

  • From the lighter to the heavier (Hebrew: קל וחומר qal wachomer ) = from the less important to the more important and vice versa.
  • Conclusion by analogy (Hebrew: gserah schawa, same ordinance - same statute.)
  • Generalization of special laws (Hebrew: בנין אב מכתוב אחד binjan ab mi-katub echad, founding a family of one word), “ starting from a single Bible passage”: subordination of scriptures to a certain passage that offers the right explanation.
  • The above based on two passages in the Torah (Hebrew: ובנין אב משני כתובים binjan ab mi-schne ketubim, founding a family of two words), generalization due to double occurrence, special case of 3.
  • General and special (Hebrew: כלל ופרט ופרט וכלל kelal u-ferat u-ferat u-kelal, conclusion from the general to the special and vice versa), the 13 middots of Ishmael make eight rules out of this: Rule 4-11.
  • Quasi-analogy conclusion, (Hebrew: וכיוצא בו במקום אחר kejotse bo be-maqom acher, similar in another place.)
  • Final from the context (Hebrew דבר הלמד מעניינו dabar ha-lamed me-injano, relationships of the situation ); Although this final rule is generally accepted, it can lead to questionable conclusions because it also brackets what is formally adjacent to one another in terms of content.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sifrei Devarim 357. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Sifrei Devarim 357: 33. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
  3. ↑ “ Once again it happened that a gentile stood before Shammai and said to him: Make me a proselyte on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot. Then he pushed it away with the cubit. that he had in hand. Then he came to Hillel and he made him a proselyte and said to him: What is not dear to you, do not do to your neighbor either. That is the entire Torah and everything else is just an explanation; go and learn them. ”( Lazarus Goldschmidt : The Babylonian Talmud. Volume I, p. 522; Shabbath II, v; fol. 31a, 12–15).
  4. ↑ [1] , Andreas Schüle, kamoka - the next one who is like you. On the philology of the commandment of love from Lev 19, 18.34: KUSATU 2/2001, pp. 97–129.
personal data
SURNAME Hillel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hillel the Elder; Hillel the Old; Hillel ha-zaqen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jewish patriarch
DATE OF BIRTH around 30 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH at 9