[Avodah] Notes on the machlokos of Shammai and Hillel

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 11:17:05AM -0400, Zvi Lampel via Avodah wrote:
> In each of the three halachic disputes between Shamai and Hillel themselves
> (Ediyos 1:1-3)--as opposed to Beis Shamai  &Beis Hillel--(besides the
> continuing dispute of the Zugos [Chagigah 16a]) Hillel is the machmir!

I like the Maharal on Avos's explanation of what happened with Batei
Hillel and Shammai. One reason given for the debates was "shelo shimshu
es rabbosam". The Maharal suggests that this lack of personal contact
with how their rebbe thought caused the schools to confuse their rebbe's
role with his shitah.

Therefore, Beis Shammai, the talmidim of the Av Beis Din, placed Din front
and center. Whereas Beis Hillel, the students of the Nasi, put Chessed first.
It wasn't that Hillel valued Chessed, and Shammai - Din. Rather, Hillel's
job meant that he was regularly called upon to express chessed. And of course
the ABD was constantly expressing Din.

The students missed this point, and two schools of interpretation emerged.

The Maharal's whole mehalekh in that portion of Avos pereq 1 is to show
how the sayings of each era's zugos were the Av Beis Din's (Din) and Nasi
(Chessed) perspectives on the same issues.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Worrying is like a rocking chair:
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   it gives you something to do for a while,
Author: Widen Your Tent      but in the end it gets you nowhere.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF