Primary Sources: Hillel’s approach to learning

Hillel is thought of and remembered as a Jewish sage. His  knowledge, creative approach, and intelligent application of the Law are  legendary, and his Academy taught the Torah and the Law. It is clear that this  was what mattered to him most, because as we have seen, he left his comfortable  life in Babylonia so that he could study the Torah with the great teachers,  Shemaya and Avtalion. His devotion to his studies is expressed in many of his  sayings, but was it all so clear cut? Was he merely the predecessor of a rabbi?  I think there is more to the story than that.

An amusing passage in Tractate Soferim, XVI. 9., which is  part of the Minor Tractates, says:
 
"It was said of Hillel that he had not neglected any of  the words of the Wise but had learned them all; he had studied all manners of  speech, even the utterance of mountains, hills and valleys, the utterance of  trees and plants, the utterance of beasts and animals, tales of spirits,  popular stories and parables, everything he had learned."

This is fanciful and charming. It brings to mind the  legends of King Solomon, who could talk to the birds the beasts, and the spirits  who obeyed his every wish,[i] and also the stories about the great Caliph,  Harun-al-Rashid, who had animals, Djinns and Afrits at his command. But what  does it really mean? In my opinion, it simply retained the vague memory of  Hillel’s secular studies in Babylon. As we have seen before, Hillel was well  educated in the sciences, which would include natural history, astronomy, and  several languages – much more than the curriculum in Judea would include. No  wonder the Judeans held him in awe. 

In addition, he is presented as superhuman in his  patience, love of his neighbor, tolerance, and kindness. His wish to instruct  and educate is never in question. But being so flawless, so perfect, makes these  stories a hagiography, not a biography. In the little evidence that remains, I  can see a different, darker side. For example, one of his sayings, in Berakhot  63a, is rather enigmatic: 
 
"When there are those who want to gather, you  scatter
 hen there are those who scatter, you  gather."
 
This has been explained:
 
If you see a generation to which the Torah is dear, you  spread the seed of teaching.
But if you see a generation to which the Torah is not  dear, you gather it and keep it to yourself.

 
Keep the Torah to yourself? This is said by the man whose  life was given to education? The man who was never angry, rarely  confrontational, and generous to a fault? To me it shows a moment of doubt,  sadness, perhaps a deep disappointment that had hurt Hillel very much, but  unfortunately is hidden from us. Had a student, or a fellow teacher, failed him? Perhaps someone betrayed his trust, or ignored his gift of teaching? We will never know, but it may explain the period of his life when  he withdrew from the world and went to spend time in the wilderness with the mysterious  Essenes, away from Jerusalem, his students, his friends and his family.[ii] He was, after all, human, and must have been subject to normal  feelings of sadness and disappointment. His glory is how he overcame his trials  and remained a shining light, still bright two thousand years after his  death.   
 
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[i]Please let me know if you wish to hear a few of
these legends, I’ll be happy to comply.
 
[ii]The time Hillel spent with the Essenes is much
later in the book, and will be discussed in future chapters.