Shabbat 31a — the Talmud in English

An incident

that occurred

with two people ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact page location")

who made a wager,

who bet

against each other.

And so

they said

to one another: Anyone who goes

and vexes

and succeeds in provoking [angering

Hillel will take four hundred zuz.

One of them said: I will provoke him.

That day was the eve of Shabbat, and Hillel was washing his hair

in honor of Shabbat.

The one

person

went and passed by the entrance of his house

Hillel’s.

He said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here? And he intended to address the president of Israel in language that was derogatory toward him.

Hillel wrapped himself

and

went out toward him.

Hillel said to him: My son, what do you seek?

He said to him: I have a question to ask

you.

Hillel said to him

Hillel:

Ask, my son, ask!

He asked him:

Why are the heads of the Babylonians oval-shaped? [Rashi explains this in two ways: either why are their heads not round, or why are their heads round].

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, you have asked a great question!

And the answer is:

Because they have no skilled midwives

from childhood

who are clever

and they do not know how to remove the fetus from its mother’s womb in a manner that will not injure the fetus.

The man went

that one

and waited one hour.

After he waited,

he returned and said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Hillel wrapped himself

Hillel

and went out toward him.

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, what do you seek?

He said to him: I have a question to ask.

Hillel said to him

Hillel:

Ask, my son, ask!

He asked him:

Why are the eyes of the Tarmodeans terutot —

soft? [Another explanation: their eyes are not elongated but round].

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, you have asked a great question!

And the answer is:

Because

the Tarmodeans are

dwelling among the sands

and since the wind blows into their eyes, their eyes have become soft.

[According to the second explanation, their eyes are round so that sand will not enter their eyes.]

The man went

that one

and waited one hour.

After he waited,

he returned and said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Hillel wrapped himself

Hillel

and went out toward him.

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, what do you seek?

He said to him: I have a question to ask!

He said to him

Hillel:

Ask, my son, ask!

He asked him:

Why are the feet of the Africans broad?

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, you have asked a great question.

And the answer is: Because

because

the Africans

dwell among pools of [A0102]marshes

[marshes]

water, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, made broad feet for them so that they would not sink. Another explanation: since they walk barefoot, their feet are broad, because the shoe does not press on the foot and create its form.

He said to him

that one: I have still

many questions to ask, and I am afraid that you will become angry

with me.

Hillel wrapped himself

Hillel

and sat before him, saying to him: Every

one of

the questions that you have

still

to ask, ask!

He said to him: Are you Hillel whom they call the president of Israel?

He said to him

Hillel:

Yes!

He said to him: If you are he —

would that

people like you not increase in Israel.

Hillel said to him

Hillel:

My son, why

do you say so?

He said to him: Because I lost [A0128]I forfeited

[I forfeited]

through you

because of you

four hundred zuz,

for I bet with my companions that I would succeed in angering you.

Hillel said to him

Hillel:

Be careful with your spirit! It is fitting

proper

for him

for this

Hillel to have four hundred zuz lost through him, and

another

four hundred zuz, and

only that

Hillel should not take offense.

The Sages taught: An incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai.

He said to him

that gentile:

How many Torahs do you have?

He said to him

Shammai:

Two,

one

the Written Torah, and

one

the Oral Torah.

The gentile said to him: Regarding the Torah

the gentile: Regarding the Torah

that is written, I believe you

in its truth, that you will teach it to me,

but

the Torah

that is oral, I do not believe you.

And now,

convert me on condition that you teach me

only

the Written Torah.

Shammai rebuked him

Shammai,

and expelled him

from before him

with a reprimand.

For we learned in Bekhorot 30b: A convert who comes to convert and accepts upon himself the words of Torah except for one matter, they do not accept him. [And in the novellae of Rabbi Eliezer Moshe Horowitz it was added that he rebuked him because even gentiles are commanded regarding the Oral Torah, through their seven mitzvot].

That gentile came

that gentile

before Hillel.

He converted him.

His reason was that he relied on Hillel’s wisdom, that in the end he would also accept the Oral Torah from him. Therefore, this gentile is not similar to one who accepts upon himself the entire Torah except for one matter. He did not deny it; rather, he did not believe that it was from the mouth of the Almighty, and relied on the fact that in the end he would believe him. [Rashi in our passage, and Tosafot Yevamot 109b].

On the first day —

on the first day that he studied with Hillel,

he said to him

the order of the letters:

aleph, bet, gimel, dalet.

On the following day, he reversed it for him

he reversed the order for him and taught him tav, shin, resh, kuf.

He said to him

the convert to Hillel:

But yesterday you did not say this to me!

He said to him

Hillel: How do you know that this is aleph and this is bet?

Is it not through me

that I taught you yesterday

that you relied?

And therefore, the Torah

that is oral —

you should also rely upon me

that I will teach you.

Again, an incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai.

He said to him: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot.

He pushed him away

Shammai

with the builder’s measuring rod,

a measuring stick with which they measured,

which

was

in his hand .

That gentile came

that gentile

before Hillel, and he converted him.

He said to him

Hillel: The foundation of the Torah is: What

is hateful to you —

do not do to your fellow!

What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow —

this is the entire Torah!

And the rest,

the other words of the Torah,

is its explanation

of this principle,

go and learn —

learn and know.

Again, an incident

that occurred

with one gentile who was passing

from

behind the house of study, and he heard the voice of a scribe [A0228]a teacher of young children

[a teacher of young children]

who was saying

the verse

“And these are the garments that they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod.”

He said: These

garments

—

for whom

are they intended?

They said to him: For the High Priest.

That gentile said to himself: I will go and convert so that they will appoint me High Priest.

That gentile came

that gentile

before Shammai and said to him: Convert me on condition that you appoint me High Priest.

Shammai pushed him away

Shammai

with the builder’s measuring rod that was in his hand.

He came before Hillel, and he converted him.

After he converted him,

he said to him: Is it at all the case

that

they appoint a king only one who

is

familiar with the procedures of

the needs and conduct of

kingship?

Go learn the procedures of kingship.

He went and read

the verses of the Torah.

When he reached

the verse

“And the outsider who approaches shall be put to death,” he said to him

to Hillel:

This verse —

concerning whom

is it

stated?

He said to him

Hillel: This verse is stated

even concerning David, king of Israel,

for if he is an outsider and approaches the altar, he is subject to death.

That convert derived a kal va-chomer for himself: If Israel, who are called children of the Omnipresent, and out of the love

with which He loved them

the Holy One, blessed be He,

called them

a term of affection

“Israel is My firstborn son,”

and despite this

it is written concerning them, “And the outsider who approaches shall be put to death,”

then a simple convert, who came with his staff and his bundle, certainly

is also included in the warning of “And the outsider who approaches shall be put to death.”

He came

that convert

before Shammai,

and

said to him

to Shammai:

Am I at all fit to be High Priest?

Is it not written in the Torah, “And the outsider who approaches shall be put to death”?

And this is what you should properly have said to me at the outset, rather than pushing me away in anger with the builder’s measuring rod. [Maharsha].

He came before Hillel and said to him: Humble one

you are,

Hillel! May blessings rest upon your head, for you brought me beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

After some time,

after a period of time,

the three of them happened to meet in one place,

the one who had wanted to learn only the Written Torah, the one who had wanted to learn the Torah while standing on one foot, and the last one who had wanted to become High Priest.

They said

to one another:

Shammai’s strictness —

sought to drive us from the world.

Hillel’s humility —

brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: What is

what is the explanation of the verse

that is written: “And it shall be the faith of your times, the strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge

— the fear of the Lord is his treasure”?

This verse corresponds to the six orders of the Mishna:

“Faith” — this is the Order of Seeds,

for through his faith he separates his tithes properly. [Tosafot brought in the name of the Jerusalem Talmud: that he believes in the Living One of the worlds, and sows].

“Your times” — this is the Order of Festivals,

which is founded upon the Shabbatot and festivals of the year.

“Strength” — this is the Order of Women,

because choshen is an expression of heirs [and inheritance is called achsanta], and through a woman heirs are born.

“Salvations” — this is the Order of Damages,

for through studying the Order of Damages it “saves them” — it warns them to refrain from causing damage and becoming liable for money.

“Wisdom” — this is the Order of Holy Things.

“And knowledge”,

which is superior to wisdom,

this is the Order of Purities .

And even so,

the most important of all

“the fear of the Lord is his treasure.”

For through fear of Heaven his Torah is preserved.

Rava said: When they bring a person to judgment

in the heavenly court,

they say to him:

A. Did you

conduct business

in your commerce

faithfully?

Was there no theft or deception in your business dealings? [Mishna Berura, Orach Chaim, section 156] .

B. Did you

establish fixed times —

times —

for

studying

Torah?

For even a person who is occupied with earning his livelihood is obligated to establish times for himself for Torah study.

C. Did you

engage in procreation?

D. Did you

await salvation?

That which the prophets prophesied concerning the future to come.

E. In your study, did you

sharpen your mind in wisdom?

For a person should not engage in the dialectics of vanity, but with the intellect of wisdom and knowledge [Maharsha].

F. Did you

understand one matter from another?

And even so —

the most important of all.

If the fear of the Lord is his treasure, there is no

he does not merit in judgment. And

if not, he does not.

A parable

to what is this matter comparable?

To a person who said to his agent: Bring up a kor of wheat for me to the upper room.

The agent went

the agent

and brought it up for him.

The master of the house said to him

the master of the house: Did you

mix a kav of earth-salt into it for me?

For they would place salty earth into the grain so that it would preserve it from rotting.

The agent said to him

the agent:

No!

The master of the house said to him

the master of the house: If so,

better

it

would have been if you had not brought it up

at all [for as a result it will rot].

The lesson represented by the parable is: Even a person who studied the entire Torah needs the “fear of the Lord” to be mixed into him in order to preserve the treasure of Torah, and his study will endure in his possession .

The tanna of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: A person may mix a kav of earth-salt into a kor of grain, and he need not be concerned

about the prohibition of overreaching

thereby

because he adds the earth-salt to the measure of grain and calculates it at the price of grain, since through this the grain is preserved .