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Shammai (c. 50 BCE – c. 30 CE, , Šammaʾy) also known as Shammai the Elder (שַׁמַּאי הַזָּקֵן) was a scholar of the 1st century and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of the sage and scholar Hillel.
His teachings mostly agree with those of Hillel, except on three issues.Babylonian Talmud ( Shabbat 15a), where it says that they disputed only in three matters: a) the amount of flour needed to constitute the separation of the dough-portion; b) the amount of drawn water that would disqualify a ritual bath (mikveh); c) whether or not a Niddah is able to defile foods through touch retrospectively. Both were divided over an earlier rabbinic dispute, regarding the actual laying on of hands upon a sacrificial animal on a Festival Day, which Hillel permitted.Jerusalem Talmud ( Hagigah 2:2 10b;) Their disciples, who had differing views to their masters, disputed many other Halakha matters. The School of Shammai, founded by Shammai, is almost invariably mentioned along with the School of Hillel, founded by Hillel. They differed fundamentally from each other. Although they were contemporaries, Hillel was nearly 60 years old at the time of Shammai's birth.
While the terms "liberal" and "conservative" may not perfectly capture the nuances of their positions, Hillel is generally considered to have been more lenient or flexible in his interpretations of Jewish law compared to Shammai. For instance, in matters such as divorce and Sabbath observance, Hillel often took a more permissive approach, emphasizing compassion and practicality. On the other hand, Shammai tended to be more stringent in his interpretations, prioritizing strict adherence to the law.
Shammai took an active part in the political and religious complications of his native land. Of a stern temperament, he cultivated the characteristic of firmness and strictness in law in contrast to the tireless patience which is said to have distinguished Hillel's approach. Once, when a gentile came to him and asked to be converted to Judaism (or Noahide monotheism as H. Falk argues) upon the condition of extreme brevity ("on one foot") which Shammai held to be impossible, he drove the brazen applicant away; whereas Hillel rebuked him gently by saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation. Go and learn." The gentile subsequently converted. Shabbat, 31a
At a personal level, Shammai's religious views were known to be strict. He wished to make his son, while still a child, conform to the law regarding fasting on Yom Kippur; he was dissuaded from his purpose only through the insistence of his friends. Yoma, 77b Once, when his daughter-in-law gave birth to a boy on Sukkot he broke through the roof of the chamber in which she lay in order to make a sukkah of it, so that his new-born grandchild might fulfil the religious obligation of the festival. Sukkah, 28a
In the SifreSifre Deuteronomy, §203 it is said that Shammai commented exegetically upon three passages of Scripture: (1) the interpretation of Deuteronomy 20:20;Tosefta, Eruvin, 3:7 (2) that of II Samuel 12:9; Nashim, 43a and (3) either the interpretation of Leviticus 11:34 (which is given anonymously in Sifra on the passage, but which is the basis for Shammai's halakha transmitted in Orlah 2:5), or else the interpretation of Exodus 20:8 ("Remember the Sabbath") (which is given in the MekhiltaMekhilta, Yitro, 7 (ed. Weiss, p. 76b) in the name of Eleazar ben Hananiah, but which must have originated with Shammai, with whose custom of preparing for the Sabbath it accords).
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