Rabbinic Stories about Hillel and Shammai

Hillel and Shammai were contemporaries who lived during the first century BCE and are often contrasted with each other. While Hillel expressed a deep concern for the individual and exemplified tolerance, Shammai took a more rigid stance in the interpretation and application of Jewish law. Each had followers who adhered to their viewpoints and attitudes vis-à-vis the law and its interpretation, and the debates between the later schools of Hillel and Shammai were central to the development of Jewish law and practice. The stories that follow exemplify the vastly different approaches of Hillel and Shammai and their legacies in the rabbinic tradition.