Teaching class from the sukkah this week! We begin our exploration of individual rabbis with a two-for-one deal: Hillel and Shammai, last and most famous of the Zugot (the “pairs” of pre-rabbinic sages who served as leaders of the Sanhedrin in the period before the destruction of the Second Temple). The disagreements and debate between the schools of Hillel and Shammai served as a model for future rabbinic culture, which places a high value on the importance of debate. “Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai.” (Mishnah Avot 5:17)
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Rabbinic Who’s Who #1: Periods of Rabbinic History
I with my students’ permission, I am recording my latest class and posting the videos to YouTube. In this series of classes, the intent is to explore the history of Jewish thought by looking at individual rabbis or key Jewish thinkers – who they are, the important aspects of their teachings, and the historical period in which they lived. This first session we begin by looking at the general periods of rabbinic history, from the time of the Zugot (Second Temple period) to the present day.
Dag Gadol 