Will Jewish Law Follow Beit Shammai?

In this fifth week between Pesach and Shavuot, it is customary to read the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot. We read that “Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure.” (5:17) And then we are given an example of a dispute that was “for the sake of Heaven”, that of Hillel and Shammai. Recall that Hillel and Shammai were the leaders of the two main schools of Jewish learning roughly 2000 years ago in Judea. Hillel was president of the Sanhedrin, while Shammai was the deputy. Hillel passed away around the year 10 CE, and Shammai some time after that.

The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) states that the schools of Hillel and Shammai debated for 3 years about whose interpretation of Jewish law is correct, until a Bat Kol, a Divine Voice, resonated from Heaven to declare that the halakhah should follow Beit Hillel. The Bat Kol acknowledged that both interpretations are “words of the living God” or, more accurately, “the living Word of God”, but the scholars of Hillel’s school won. The Talmud explains why: “Because they were agreeable and forbearing, and would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai.” And so, halakhah has generally followed Hillel ever since. That said, some things did come from Beit Shammai, most notably the 18 Decrees that include pat israel, gevinat akum, and by extension, chalav israel. Today, it is often repeated that in the forthcoming Messianic Age, the halakhah will switch to follow Beit Shammai entirely. Where did this idea come from, and does it have any validity? Continue reading →

Rabbi Meir Lives

Who was the great sage and miracle worker Rabbi Meir? What was so special about his message and his teachings? Find out in this class as we explore the enigmatic figure and uncover how his profound, mystical, and universal Torah is the key to the forthcoming Final Redemption of the world. Plus: Did Roman Emperor Nero convert to Judaism? Where does 666 really come from? And who was the greatest of Greek philosophers, Oenomaus of Gadara?

Well of Miriam & Well of Isaac

Drawing at an ancient well in Israel (1900)

This week’s parasha, Emor, has a long and detailed description of the Jewish holidays. Central among the holidays are the three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. All three holidays commemorate events around the time of the Exodus: Pesach, the liberation from Egypt; Shavuot, the divine revelation at Sinai; Sukkot, the “Clouds of Glory” that accompanied Israel in the Wilderness. We find an intriguing parallel between the three holidays and the three main Exodus leaders, the siblings Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. As is well-known, the Sages teach (Ta’anit 9a) that in the merit of Moshe, the Israelites were sustained by Heavenly manna; in the merit of Miriam, they received fresh, life-giving waters wherever they went; in the merit of Aaron, they had the protective Clouds of Glory. The connection between the siblings and the holidays is almost self-evident:

Miriam’s water corresponds neatly to the waters of the Exodus, both the Nile from which she helped to save baby Moshe, and the Splitting of the Sea—after which the Torah makes sure to mention that Miriam led the women in extra song. In fact, the Talmud (Sotah 12a) teaches that Miriam was the one who reunited her parents after they resolved to stop having more children following Pharaoh’s cruel decree and separated. Amram and Yocheved got back together and the result was Moshe. Miriam is the hidden hero, and without her there would be no Pesach at all. The root of her name is the same as maror, and rabbinic chronology dates the start of the Israelite slavery to the same year that she was born. (The Israelites were in Egypt for 210 years total, of which 116 were spent under oppression, and the last 86 under hard slavery. Miriam was 86 years old at the Exodus.) Continue reading →