Despite being recorded in the Shulhan Aruch, chances are that you have never heard of the 9th of Adar, the day on which the disagreements between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai came to a head, referred to as a special day. Nevertheless, events of our current times demonstrate clearly why the Shulhan Aruch recommended that we commemorate this day with a fast (Orach Chayim 580). The month of Adar has a history of civil war and we must learn from past mistakes in order not to repeat them.
Both the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds relate that that day “was as wretched as the day on which the Golden Calf was made” (Shabbat 17a). Details are murky but the Mishna (Shabbat 1:4) relates that “a number of decrees were enacted in the attic of Hananiah ben Hezekiah ben Gorion when the rabbis came to visit him.
They did a roll call and found that the disciples of Shammai were more numerous than those of Hillel and they enforced 18 regulations on that day.” While the Babylonian Talmud says cautiously, “Beit Shammai thrust a sword into the study house and declared: ‘Whoever wants to enter may enter but no one may leave,’ the Palestinian Talmud tells a grimmer tale of bloodshed:
“The students of Beit Shammai stood below them and began to slaughter the students of Beit Hillel. It was taught: Six of them ascended and the others stood over them with swords and lances.”
Whether or not actual murder resulted, their discourse clearly deteriorated to such a violent level that it endangered the stability of the Jewish people.
Resolving a crisis among the Jewish people in ancient Israel
At that moment, factions of the Jewish people who had long worked together in the face of disagreement found themselves in a sudden crisis. One group temporarily gained control with a narrow majority and used that power triumphantly to make sweeping, unilateral changes.
In the face of resistance, force was used even to the point of bloodshed. Historians estimate that less than a decade later the destruction of the Second Temple and the entire Jewish commonwealth that supported it followed, as a result of senseless hatred.
FAST-FORWARD two millennia and the similarities to modern-day Israel are hard to ignore. The Beit Shammai-Beit Hillel confrontation must serve as a warning of what can go wrong when one group bulldozes the passage of legislation against the will of a major constituency without broad dialogue, debate and consensus building.
The 9th of Adar conflict was especially tragic, given that the arguments of Hillel and Shammai are normally held up as the model of “disagreements for the sake of heaven” (Avot 5:17) and disagreements are as ubiquitous in Jewish tradition as the Torah itself. A Divine voice declares that the words of both Hillel and Shammai are “the words of the living God” – but Halacha follows Beit Hillel because they are “gentle, polite and humble and cite the words of Beit Shammai, as well as their words. They even cite Beit Shammai before their own words” (Eruvin 13b).
There is much truth on both sides of our modern debates as well but now just as then, the manner in which disagreeing occurs is critical. It impacts not only on the ability to successfully create a stable and productive outcome but also the ability to achieve a deeper, more effective truth.
Jewish tradition respects that ultimately a vote is taken and the majority rules. However, decisions of life and death, our tradition suggests, require time, free debate and a supermajority. Other types of decisions require the consent of multiple authorities. The Mishna (Sanhedrin 2) portrays a system in which the king, high priest and Sanhedrin share authority and check one another.
Over the last decade, the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies has championed the 9th of Adar, designating this week as a time to build skills for constructive conflict. This year, marking this day is more important than ever before. Remembering historic tragedies gives us the opportunity to act differently. If we work together, we have the opportunity to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah (31:12) “that these days of mourning shall turn to joy.”
The writer, a rabbi, is the director of the Year Program at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. The opinions cited here are hers alone.