Hillel

“ Who had a better right than Hillel, graduate of poverty, to warn his contemporaries: "Do not say I shall learn when I will have leisure; perhaps you never will have leisure." And in every case, even when the conduct of a man seems most reprehensible, as when one of his colleagues Menahem left the Synhedrion to take service under the tyrant Herod, Hillel holds to this advice: "Judge not thy neighbor until thou art in his place." ”

“ Hillel glanced at the parchment on the tripod; and, pointing with his tremulous finger, continued, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel."
Herod's face was troubled, and his eyes fell upon the parchment while he thought. Those beholding him scarcely breathed; they spoke not, nor did he. At length he turned about and left the chamber. ”

“ For he who does not know the law cannot be pious.”
“But, Rabbi,” said the Boy eagerly, “will He not have mercy on them just because they are ignorant? Will He not pity them as a shepherd pities his sheep when they are silly and go astray?”
“He is not only a Shepherd,” answered Hillel firmly, “but a great King. They must all keep the law, even as it is written and as the elders have taught it to us. There is no other way.” ”

“ Hillel’s patience has become proverbial. One of his sayings commends humility in the following paradox: “My abasement is my exaltation.” His charity towards men is given its finest expression in the answer which he made to a proselyte who asked to be taught the commandments of the Torah in the shortest possible form: “What is unpleasant to thyself that do not to thy neighbour ”

“ Here Sternsilver looked over from Hillel's bovine features to the dull countenance of Miss Bessie Saphir.
"A feller which he has got money in the bank and comes from decent, respectable people like you, Hillel," he concluded, "if they work hard there is nothing which they couldn't do, y'understand. All they got to look out for is they shouldn't Jonah themselves with their bosses, y'understand."
"Bosses!" Hillel repeated. "What d'ye mean, bosses? Might you got an idee you are my boss maybe, Sternsilver?" ”

“ The wife's father loses his fortune, and Hillel must earn his own livelihood. Incapable as he is, he finds nothing to do, and he goes to foreign parts to seek his fortunes. Never is he heard of again. Bath- shua remains behind alone with her two children. By painful toil, she earns her bread with unfailing courage. All the love of her rich nature she pours out upon her children, whom by a supreme effort she dresses and adorns like the children of the wealthy. ”

“ A man once laid a wager with another that he would put Hillel out of temper. If he succeeded he was to receive, but if he failed he was to forfeit, four hundred zouzim. It was close upon Sabbath-eve, and Hillel was washing himself, when the man passed by his door, shouting, "Where is Hillel? ”

“ He came to Hillel (with the same request) , and the latter accepted him. Said Hillel to him: "Do people select a king unless he knows the laws of their government? Thou must study the laws of our government (if thou wilt become a high priest) ." The convert began studying Torah. When he came to the passage: "A stranger who comes near (to the vessels of the sanctuary) shall die" [Numb. i. 51] , he asked: "To whom does this passage refer?" Hillel answered: "To any one (who is not a descendant of Aaron the high priest) , even if he would be David, the king of Israel." ”

“ For some moments Sternsilver was unable to proceed, by reason of the errand boy's tribute to Hillel's table manners. Indeed, so masterly was this example of profane invective that the manager of the lunchroom, without inquiring into the merits of the controversy, personally led Hillel's victim to the door and kicked him firmly into the gutter. After this, Philip Sternsilver proceeded with the unfolding of his plan.
"Yes, Hillel," he said, "I mean it. For a young feller like you even a girl which she got rich relations like Seiden ain't too good." ”

“ Besides, was not this prophet from Galilee, and what good had ever come from there? Then, too, he was not an authorized teacher. He belonged to no school. The followers of Hillel, the disciples of Shammai, did not recognize him. He was merely a fractious Nazarene trained in the shop of a carpenter; one who, by repeating that it was easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, flattered basely the mob of mendicants that surrounded him. The rabble admired, but the clergy stood aloof. ”

“ The command to love one’s neighbour inspired also Hillel’s injunction (Aboth, ii. 4) : “Judge not thy neighbour until thou art in his place” (cf. Matt. vii. 1) . The disinterested pursuit of learning, study for study’s sake, is commended in many of Hillel’s sayings as being what is best in life: “He who wishes to make a name for himself loses his name; he who does not increase [his knowledge] decreases it; he who does not learn is worthy of death; he who works for the sake of a crown is lost” (Aboth, i. 13) . “He who occupies himself much with learning makes his life” (ib. ii. 7) . ”

“ The most famous of these institutions in the time of Herod I. were the school of Hillel and that of his rival Shammai. Later, tradition invested these with the title "the fathers of old." It appears from the trifling matters over which the followers of these two disagreed, that only by opposition could either maintain a distinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel, the rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3) . ”

“ Thus, in one instance where a man had formerly enjoyed great wealth but had suffered reverses, Hillel not only provided for him according to his previous standard of living but, it is related, even hired a horse for the man to ride on and a footman to run before him. It is added that on one occasion, when Hillel could not obtain a runner, he himself served in that capacity. ”

“ Hillel said, “separate not thyself from the congregation, nor have confidence in thyself, until the day of thy death. Judge not thy neighbor till thou art in his situation, neither utter a sentence as if it were incomprehensible, that afterward may be comprehended, nor say, when I shall have leisure I shall study; mayhap thou wilt not have leisure.”
5. He also said, “a boor cannot be fearful of sin, nor can a rustic be a saint; the bashful will not become learned, nor the passionate man a teacher; neither will he, who is much engaged in traffic, become wise ”

“ One of his strings of proverbs runs as follows: “The uncultivated man is not innocent; the ignorant man is not devout; the bashful man learns not; the wrathful man teaches not; he who is much absorbed in trade cannot become wise; where no men are, there strive thyself to be a man” (ib. 5) . The almost mystical profundity of Hillel’s consciousness of God is shown in the words spoken by him on the occasion of a feast in the Temple—words alluding to the throng of people gathered there which he puts into the mouth of God Himself: “If I am here every one is here ”

“ Thus from the period of the Return from the Exile a vast bulk of teaching, largely unwritten, traditional, and legendary, all founded on and closely bearing on the Law (Torah) , had been collected by the Scribes and their schools stretching over a period of about five centuries. Some thirty years before the Christian era Hillel, the great Rabbinic master of the period, endeavoured to reduce this great mass of teaching, oral and written, rule and tradition, Halachah and Haggadah, to some definite system and order. ”

“ It is scarcely probable that in each generation only a pair of specially distinguished scholars should have lived. Most likely just ten names were known, and they were formed into five pairs or couples of contemporaries, after the fashion of the last and most famous pair, Hillel and Shammai. But from the times of Hillel and Shammai we have abundant historical testimony as to the existence and labours of the Rabbinic schools. ”

“ Into this enlarged kernel of pithy sayings of the oldest authorities, which may be characterized as the Abot of Rabbi Akiba, later Tannaim—Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, and others—interpolated additional sayings of the afore-mentioned Rabbis, and also typical utterances of their disciples, and of other well-known teachers. This accounts for the presence in Abot of the body of maxims of the six generations of the school of Hillel, designated above as section B 1, and which was very properly introduce after the aphorisms of Hillel and of his contemporary, Shammai. ”

“ Hillel II., the brother of the Patriarch, was possessed of great skill in the Agadic exposition of the Scriptures, and seems to have been a profoundly moral man. Among the many maxims said to have been uttered by him, the following is especially worthy of note:
"Separate not thyself from the rest of the community ”

“ He teaches the moral of Hillel, ' Love thy neighbour as thyself.' He is constantly preoccupied with eternal things ; He feels Himself in spiritual com- munication with God. He has contempt for what is mortal in Himself, and for all the ephemeral con- tingencies of eternal life. The same traits characterised the best Jews at the time of the Roman Conquest, and more particularly the Essenes, whose religious life was so intense. Like His origin, like His moral physiog- nomy, the language of Jesus is absolutely Jewish. ”

“ CHAPTER VIII. BLOSSOMS ON THE BORDER OF THE GRAVE. "Come quick, Johannes, Hilsborn has arrived," the Staatsräthin whispered from the door of the apartment. Johannes was seated by Ernestine's bedside, her head leaning upon his hand, while the poor girl moved restlessly from side to side, muttering unintelligibly. He motioned to Willmers to take his place, and went softly out.
"Thank God, you are back again. Have you brought him with you?"
"He has escaped."
"Hilsborn, that is terrible!"
"He is gone whither he cannot be pursued, and whence he can work no more mischief." ”

“ Hilliard did not put in his re-appearance. (Mr. Hilliard, it may be explained, was struggling with the tricky lock of his satchel, kneeling on the floor of the car.)
"If he comes back he will think we have got tired of his society," said Gerald. But presently Philip and he, holding each other's hands, were stepping airily from one beam to another of the unplanked floor of the new building.
"I suppose he hasn't found what he went for," conjectured Philip. "Suppose we climb up that stair yonder. It's certain to be breezier overhead. Mr. Hilliard will shout if he can't find us." ”

“ Willmers opened the curtains of both the windows. The bright rays of the autumn sun streamed into the room. Ernestine stretched out her arms towards them, and said, "Oh, glorious light! How long shall I look upon you? How soon will your warm rays kiss the flowers upon my grave? Shall the blest look upon the face of God? This beautiful smiling world is His face, and blessed indeed are they who may still look upon it and recognize God. Ah, Willmers, life is such a gift! ”

“ What more do you want?"
"All right," said Moritz, contemplating the fair little figure with immense satisfaction. "If you love us, I am entirely content. It is only your discontented brother who is not satisfied."
"Angelika knows well enough," said Johannes, "what she is to me!"
Here Willmers appeared. "Herr Professor, Fräulein Ernestine is awake, and is asking for her 'pretty young nurse,' as she calls her. Shall I go for Fräulein Gretchen?"
"Yes," said Johannes, "but I must tell her who Gretchen is,--you will excuse me?" ”

“ Presently the tramp of horses coming from the direction of Mals broke the morning stillness. One of the girls in the garden farthest from the village peeped over the wall at the approaching party. A lady was riding foremost, she had given the reins to the horse and came rapidly onward, followed by two women on horseback and a few men servants; by her side rode a tall knight to guide and protect her. Close to the wall the lady paused and signed to the astonished girl. "Here--are they not going to ordain one of the monks up at the monastery to-day?" ”

“ I am an 'enthusiast'; you a 'servant of the government': the two characters are not easily harmonized. Farewell. Allow me to choose the time of my visits here, and forgive the poor jailers whom I have outwitted." With these words she hastily ran up the stone staircase.
Heinrich stamped his foot angrily on the floor. "Willful, haughty witch!" he murmured, as he hurried after her.
She paused on the upper step and nodded to him with all the winning charm of heartfelt emotion. "Be kind to my prisoners, Herr von Ottmar, and I will be kind to you!" ”

“ He gazed at Heinrich with all the strange meaning of his wonderful eyes. It seemed as if their brilliancy was shadowed by tears as he asked, "Shall I not see you again when I return to H---- in a few weeks?"
"No," said Heinrich. "I shall send in my resignation to-morrow, and depart as soon as possible."
Severinus suddenly clasped him passionately to his breast. "Farewell, my lost son! From this hour I will love nothing but God!" Then he went down the staircase with a steady step, without casting another glance behind. Old Anton lighted the way, and then returned, pale but calm. ”

“ The mind must be helped upon its feet, especially with women, who are only too ready to let themselves go."
"Moritz is right," said Heim. "I agree with him. Today is the ninth that she has been without fever. We may risk something. Farewell, Johannes. I will come again this evening."
The gentlemen motioned to Hilsborn to accompany them, and left the room.
Johannes clasped his hands, and there burst from his heart such a prayer as comes from the soul only in moments of deepest anguish. "O God, who knowest my heart and its thoughts and desires, canst Thou enter into judgment with me so heavily? ”