Shabbat 31a (לא.) — the Talmud in English

An incident

occurred

involving two people

who made a wager,

who bet

against each other.

And so

they said

to each other: Whoever goes

and provokes

and succeeds in provoking [angering

Hillel shall take four hundred zuz.

One of them said: I shall provoke him.

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

in honor of Shabbat.

The man went

and

passed by the entrance to his house

of Hillel.

He said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here? He intended to address the nasi of Israel in a manner derogatory to him.

Hillel wrapped himself

and

went out to meet him.

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

He said to him: I have a question to ask

you.

He 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

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

The man went

and

waited for one hour.

After he had waited,

he returned and said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Hillel wrapped himself

and

went out to meet 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 eyes of the Tarmodeans terutot —

soft? [Another explanation: their eyes are round rather than elongated.]

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, you have asked a great question!

And the answer is:

Because

the Tarmodeans

live among the sands,

and since the wind blows into their eyes, their eyes became soft. [According to the second explanation, their eyes are round so that sand will not enter them.]

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

The man went

and

waited for one hour.

After he had waited,

he returned and said: Is Hillel here?

Is Hillel here?

Hillel wrapped himself

and

went out to meet 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 Africans broad?

He said to him

Hillel:

My son, you have asked a great question.

And the answer is: Because

the

Africans

live among watery marshes [

swamps ]

of water, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, made their feet broad so that they would not sink. Another explanation: Since they walk barefoot, their feet are broad, because the shoe does not constrict the foot and create its shape.

He said to him

that man: I have

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

with me.

Hillel wrapped himself

and

sat before him. He said to him: Every

one of

the questions that you have

more

to ask, ask!

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

He said to him

Hillel:

Yes!

He said to him: If you are he —

would that

there were not more like you in Israel.

Hillel said to him

Hillel:

My son, why

do you say so?

He said to him: Because I lost

[I forfeited]

through you

because of you

four hundred zuz,

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

He said to him

Hillel:

Be careful with your temper! It is worth

being worthy

for

this

Hillel to cause you to lose four hundred zuz, and

another

four hundred zuz, and

provided that

Hillel does not take offense.

The Sages taught: An incident occurred 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

Written Torah, and

one

Oral Torah.

The gentile said to him

the gentile: I believe you regarding the

Written Torah

that you will teach me its truth,

but

the

Oral Torah I do not believe you.

And now,

convert me on the 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: With regard to a convert who comes to convert and accepts upon himself the words of Torah except for one matter, they do not accept him. [In the novellae of Rabbi Eliezer Moshe Horowitz it is added that he rebuked him because even gentiles are commanded in the Oral Torah, through their seven mitzvot.]

That gentile came

before

Hillel.

He converted him.

His reason was that he relied on Hillel’s wisdom, that ultimately Hillel would cause him to accept the Oral Torah as well. Therefore, this gentile is not comparable to one who accepts the entire Torah except for one matter. He did not deny it, but merely did not believe that it was from the mouth of the Almighty, and relied on the fact that ultimately he would believe Hillel. [Rashi in our passage, and Tosafot Yevamot 109b.]

On the first day

—the first day that he studied with Hillel—

he said to him

the order of the letters:

aleph, bet, gimel, dalet.

The next day, he reversed it for him

and taught him the sequence 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 on my authority

that I taught you yesterday

that you relied?

And therefore, the

Oral Torah —

you should likewise rely on me

to teach it to you.

Another incident occurred involving one gentile who came before Shammai.

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

Shammai pushed him away

Shammai

with the builder’s measuring rod,

a measuring stick with which they measured,

that

was

in his hand .

That gentile came

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,

are its explanation

of this principle;

go and study

and learn.

Another incident

occurred

involving one gentile who was passing

by

behind the beit-midrash, and he heard the voice of a scribe

[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 shall go and convert so that they will appoint me High Priest.

He came

before

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

Shammai pushed him away

Shammai

with the builder’s measuring rod in his hand.

He came before Hillel, and he converted him.

After he converted him,

he said to him: Is it possible

that

they appoint as king anyone except one who

is

familiar with the procedures of

the needs and conduct of

kingship?

Go and learn the procedures of kingship.

He went and read

the verses of the Torah.

When he reached

the verse

“And the non-priest who approaches shall be put to death,” he said to him

to Hillel:

This verse —

concerning whom

is it

said?

He said to him

Hillel: This verse is said

even concerning David, king of Israel,

for if he were a non-priest and approached the altar, he would be liable to death.

That convert derived a kal va-chomer for himself: If Israel, who are called children of the Omnipresent, and because 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 non-priest who approaches shall be put to death,”

then a minor convert, who came with only his staff and his sack, all the more so

that he too is included in the warning, “And the non-priest who approaches shall be put to death.”

That convert came

before

Shammai,

and

said to him

to Shammai:

Could I possibly be fit to be High Priest?

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

This is what you should have said to me at the outset, rather than angrily driving me away with the builder’s measuring rod. [Maharsha.]

He came before Hillel and said to him: You are humble

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 be High Priest.

They said

to one another:

Shammai’s impatience —

sought to drive us from the world.

Hillel’s humility —

brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

Reish Lakish said: What

is the meaning 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 Zeraim,

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

“Your times”—this is the order of Moed,

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

“Strength”—this is the order of Nashim,

because “strength” is an expression referring to heirs [and an inheritance is called akhasanta], and heirs are born through a woman.

“Salvations”—this is the order of Nezikin,

for through studying the order of Nezikin, it “saves them”—it warns them to refrain from causing damage and becoming liable to pay money.

“Wisdom”—this is the order of Kodashim;.

“And knowledge”,

which is superior to wisdom,

this is the order of Tohorot .

And even so,

the most important matter of all is

“the fear of the Lord is his treasure.”

For through fear of Heaven, his Torah is preserved.

Rava said: When a person is brought to judgment

before the heavenly court,

they say to him:

a. Did you

conduct your business dealings

in your commerce

faithfully?

Was there no theft or deceit in your business dealings? [Mishna Berura, Orach Chayim 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 Torah study.

c. Did you

engage in procreation?

d. Did you

look forward to salvation?

The salvation concerning which the prophets prophesied, which is to come in the future.

e. In your study, did you

engage in sharp analysis with wisdom?

A person should not engage in pointless pilpul, but rather in 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 merits acquittal in judgment.

And if not, he does not.

A parable

to what is this matter comparable?

To a person who said to his agent: Take a kor of wheat up to the attic.

The agent went

and

took it up for him.

The homeowner said to him

the homeowner: Did you

mix a kav of earth-salt into it?

They would place salty earth in the grain so that it would preserve it and prevent it from rotting.

The agent said to him

the agent:

No!

The homeowner said to him

the homeowner: If so,

it would have been better

had you

not taken it up

at all [for it would thereby rot].

The lesson of the parable is this: Even a person who studied the entire Torah must have the “fear of the Lord” mixed into him in order to preserve the treasure of Torah, so that his learning will endure with him.

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 deceit

because of this,

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