Hillel the Elder and the Golden Rule
Hillel the Elder was one of the most revered rabbis during the Second Temple Period. He died in 8 CE. Hillel was a more lenient counterpart to his contemporary, Shammai.
He would expand on Leviticus 19:18's “Love your neighbor as yourself” by saying: ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor- that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.’
He also used to say: If I am not for me, who will be for me? And when I am for myself alone, what am I? And if not now, when?
Detail from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem, portraying Hillel teaching a man Torah while standing on one foot
Credit: Wikipedia, Photo: Tamar Hayardeni
Tomb of Hillel, Mount Meron
Credit: Wikipedia, בית השלום
Overview
Hillel the Elder was one of the most revered rabbis in the Temple. He died in the year 8 CE.
He often quoted from Leviticus 19:18, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
He also said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, who am I?”
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Antisimetism
