BELTSY,
1942
A stranger once dared Rabbi Hillel to explain the heart of the Torah while the stranger balanced on one foot. He said, "Don't do to your neighbor what you don't want done to you. The rest is just footnotes. Go study!" Tradition doesn't say whether the stranger really balanced on one foot while hearing the reply, or whether he went on to the footnotes or if he learned. 2. Rabbi Schlomo ben Yehudah lived sixty-five years, fifty of them balanced on one foot leaning on crutches. He quipped, "If I had asked Rabbi Hillel the same question as the stranger, the sage would have been able to elaborate in greater detail. No matter--there never is enough time." While balanced on one foot leaning on his crutches up against the wall awaiting execution, he probably remembered Hillel's saying and his own footnote to it. © 1996 Boris Khersonsky. All rights reserved. Translation by Ruth Kreuzer and Dale Hobson. | ||
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