El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-11-16

not unto thy neighbOr, this is the
whole law. the rest is commentary. go
and study it," (Shabas BOD This form
OF the golden rule recognized as the
strongest possible form. reveals the
height which Jewish ethical teaching
had reached.
At another time a man came declar-
ing his desire to become Jew, but IN
so doing he would accept only the
written law and not the oral law.
Hillel taught him on the first day the
alphabet and when ne returned Tor MS
second lesson Hillel reversed the or
der and called the letter = an "a,
the letter ~" ne called b etc And
when the pupil called his attention TO
the change HilIeI pointed out the I'M
possibility of accepting the written
word without the oral since he de-
pended on the oral instruction for the
sound of the letters.
ExpOunder of Seven Rules
And in rabbinic literature ne Is best
known as the expounder of seven rules
of biblical Interpretation. The bible
he declared was given that men might
live thereby and not die by 1t IheSe
rules made existing laws more reason
able when the strict letter of the law
would mean Inconvenience and unrea-
sonable severity. The increasing trade
of the country made the canoeing OF
all debts on the Sabbath year q
hindrance to natural development and
so he instituted the ProSbuI- by
means of which the debt could be
transferred to a court OF law and be-
come collectable at all times.
Yet with all his meekness and mod
esty he recognized the duty of each
one to the community and to himself
DO not separate myself from the con-
gregation." IF I am not for myself,
who is for me, and If 1 am only for
myself. what am / are Two mOIJoes
which show his intense social lnstlnct
and these notices might well be en-
phasized in these days
An Example Of True Manhood.
To repeat the numerous sayings
ascribed to him and deduct from these
the character of the man who gave
them birth would tire you but hope
YOU realize the sweetness Of his char
acter the simplicity of his nature, the
all-embracing love he bore his people
and his feuOwman- Tradition mas car
ried his memory as one of the true
planned of poverty and their inability
to continue their studies the popular
prOverb asked. Are you as poor as
HiueI2'' And when an example OF true
manhood was set before the young, the
popular saying declared, let man
be always humble and patient like Hill
leI.'
The modern college may proclaim
the magnificent style and oratOry OF
a Cicero and impress upon the grow
ing youth the superb military genius
of q Caesar, but I feel we could &C
cOmpliSh much more for the future and
Dullu characters OF LluCn inner A4DE-
were we to impress upon students the
life and character of a Hillel as ex-
emplified by his numerous sayings and
the stories ascribed to him
Mankind needs the lessons Of those
lives lived in the quiet study and the
school to overcome the Grass material
ism Of the day Though Hillel may
have been unknown to you before ana
his name unfamiliar. may I express the
hope that each one viii seek 10 be-
come more familiar with the life Of
the meek teacher who has left his i'm
press on Jewish life. His teachings
were "a protest against the bloody
reign of Herod and the peoples party
of the day" and they may act as a pro-
test against the mad rush for wealth
of the present day LAS the TOrah was
about to be forgotten says the
talmud. Ezra the BabylOnian came to
Palestine TO establish il again And
as it later for a second time was about
to be forgotten. Hillel the BabylOnian
came and reestablished it" (Sukkah)