The Talmud (Shabbos 31a) tells the story of three Romans
who wished to convert to Judaism. The first wished to convert but said that he
would accept the Tanakh but not the oral law. The second required that he be
taught the entire Torah while he stood on one leg. The third wished to convert
on the condition that he would become the high priest. When they approached
Shammai the elder he chased them away with a stick. When they came to Hillel
the elder, he accepted them.
The first proselyte studied the Torah and found that only
the descendants of Aharon could become a priest. Never the less he accepted
this and was happy he had become a Jew. When the one that rejected the oral
tradition first came to learn by Hillel, he was taught the letters of the
alphabet. However the next day when he came, Hillel wrote an aleph but told him
it was a dalet. When the Roman protested, Hillel explained that just like he
must accept the tradition as to what are the letters, he must accept other
ancient traditions as well.
There is a hint in the Mishna concerning doubts about the
absolute validity of the oral law. In the second chapter of mesechta Rosh Hashana
there is a story about how witnesses testified that they saw the new moon in
its time. This would mean seeing a thin crescent moon in the west, close to the
horizon slightly after sunset. In addition they testified that the next day the
moon was not in the sky at all. This is an astronomical impossibility. In spite
of this Rabban Gamliel, the head of the Sanhedrin, accepted their testimony as
valid and declared the start of the month of Tishre. Rabbi Yehoshua was upset
about this, particularly because it meant that the day on which Yom Kippur was
to fall, it would not be observed. Because of this quandary he sought out the
advice of Rabbi Akiba. There is a hint that Rabbi Akiva had doubts about what
Rabban Gamliel did, because he did not explain why this approach was correct
from the standpoint of astronomy. Instead he emphasized the importance of beis
din and said that this decision was valid even if it was not astronomically
correct. He added that if we were to check the validity of this decision we
would need to check every decision going back to Moshe Rabenu. “I have no
holidays other than these”, he said with resignation.
Returning to the story, with the Roman who wanted to be
taught the entire Torah while he stood on one leg, Hillel replied, “What is
hateful to you, do not to your neighbor that is the whole Torah, the rest is
the commentary; go and learn it”. Because of this a one legged reply is an
idiom for a reply concerning a lengthy subject that is extremely concise and on
the target. However the text can be understood as a request to learn Torah on
the condition it is treated as a joke. It in fact follows a story of a
prankster who was teasing Hillel on a bet. Hillel is a renowned figure among
the Jewish people because of his boundless kindness. The story of the Roman who
stood on one leg apparently strikes a responsive chord, so much so that a
representation of it is engraved on the stone menorah outside the Knesset of
the State of Israel.
The Roman who wanted to learn the entire Torah while standing
on one leg in the end becomes a proper convert along with the other two. When
the three come together they criticize Shammai for being strict and praise
Hillel, saying his kindness led them to faith. This idea is hinted at in
parshas Shoftim when Moshe recounts how the people said after the revelation on
Mount Sinai that they could not continue to listen to the voice of Hashem
anymore and they could not continue to look at this great fire, (see Deuteronomy
18:16). Hashem is pleased that they fear him and
agrees to appoint a prophet to stand in His place. The idea is that religion is
supposed to be somewhat intimidating and that intermediates have a place.
In the case of the Roman, who stood on one leg, behind the
frivolous acceptance of the Torah was a sincere acceptance. Similarly
concerning the condition of being high priest, behind the unrealistic
expectations were proper expectations. And concerning the rejection of the oral
law, behind the partial acceptance was full acceptance. It seems though that
the frivolity of the Roman who stood on one leg was a mask for a subconscious love
of Hashem. However he could only be reached through the medium of kindness.
The subtlety is that even in Orthodox Judaism there is a mask
of fear and love that manifests itself as frivolity, unrealistic expectations,
and partial acceptance. The teachers of religion typically know this and follow
the example of Hillel who loved the world and brought others close to Torah.
Furthermore with each Yom Kippur individuals and communities engage in
self-examination and make progress in rectifying these errors. In the end this
will bring us to the perfection of man and the days of the messiah. May he come speedily and in our days!
לע"נ
הדוד לייב הערש בן אהרן ז"ל נלב"ע יז תמוז תשמ"ב
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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