The Patience of Hillel

The sages taught [in a baraita]: A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai. [There was] an incident [involving] two people who wagered with each other [and] said, “Anyone who will go and aggravate Hillel [to the point that he reprimands him] will take four hundred [zuz].” One of them said, “I will aggravate him.” That day [that he chose to bother Hillel] was Shabbat eve, and Hillel was washing [the hair on] his head. He went and passed the entrance to [Hillel’s] house [and in a demeaning manner] said, “Who here is Hillel, who here is Hillel?” [Hillel] wrapped himself [in a dignified garment] and went out to greet him. He said to him, “My son, what do you seek?” He said to him, “I have a question to ask.” [Hillel] said to him, “Ask, my son, ask.” [The man asked him,] “Why are the heads of Babylonians oval?” He said to him, “My son, you have asked a significant question. [The reason is] because they do not have clever midwives. [They do not know how to shape the child’s head at birth.]”

[That man] went and waited one hour, returned [to look for Hillel,] and said, “Who here is Hillel, who here is Hillel?” [Again, Hillel] wrapped himself and went out to greet him. [Hillel] said to him, “My son, what do you seek?” [The man] said to him, “I have a question to ask.” He said to him, “Ask, my son, ask.” [The man asked,] “Why are the eyes of the residents of Tadmor bleary?” [Hillel] said to him, “My son, you have asked a significant question. [The reason is] because they live among the sands [and the sand gets into their eyes.”] [ . . . ]

[That man] said to him, “I have many [more] questions to ask, but I am afraid lest you get angry.” [Hillel] wrapped himself and sat before him, [and] he said to him, “All of [the] questions that you have to ask, ask [them.” The man got angry and] said to him, “Are you Hillel whom they call [the] nasi of Israel?” He said to him, “Yes.” He said to him, “If [it] is you, [then] may there not be many like you in Israel.” [Hillel] said to him, “My son, for what [reason do you say this?” The man] said to him, “Because I lost four hundred zuz because of you.” [Hillel] said to him, “Be vigilant of your spirit [and avoid situations of this sort]. Hillel is worthy of having you lose four hundred zuz and [another] four hundred zuz on his account, and Hillel will not get upset.”

The sages taught: [There was] an incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai. [The gentile] said to Shammai, “How many Torahs do you have?” He said to him, “Two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.” [The gentile] said to him, “[With regard to] the Written [Torah,] I believe you, but [with regard to] the Oral [Torah,] I do not believe you. Convert me on condition that you will teach me [only the] Written Torah.” [Shammai] scolded him and cast him out with reprimand. [The same gentile] came before Hillel, [who] converted him [and began teaching him Torah]. On the first day, he [showed him the letters of the alphabet and] said to him, “Alef, bet, gimmel, dalet.” The next day he reversed [the order of the letters and told him that an alef is a tav and so on. The convert] said to him, “But yesterday you did not tell me that.” [Hillel] said to him, “[You see that it is impossible to learn what is written without relying on an oral tradition.] Didn’t you rely on me? [Therefore, you should] also rely on me [with regard to the matter] of the Oral [Torah, and accept the interpretations that it contains].”

[There was] another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai [and] said to [Shammai,] “Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot.” [Shammai] pushed him [away] with the builder’s cubit in his hand. [The same gentile] came before Hillel. He converted him [and] said to him, “[That] which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.”