The students of Hillel were, like Hillel, peace loving men who thought that the Torah should be taught so that all men might come closer to God (Talmud, Berakot 60a; Shabbat 31a; Avot 1.12). The students of Shammai, on the other hand, were stern and strict, much like Shammai, and very unyielding. They even exceeded the severity of their founder, Shammai. The conciliatory nature of the students of Hillel was well known and exhibited the traits of their founder, Hillel. They reached out to the non-Jews. The followers of Shammai were very patriotic and would not bow to foreign rule. They advocated that all intercourse between the Romans, or any non-Jew who contributed to Roman rule, be restricted, if not totally eliminated.
The Zealots proper and the Sicarii, for the most part, will be aligned with Beit Shammai. So, we have them supporting Beit Shammai because both groups did not like the Romans or the non-Jews in general. Both groups were “zealous for the Torah” but they were also zealous in their patriotism. They saw this as their duty, as seen in 1 Maccabees 2.50. Beit Hillel became powerless over the religious and patriotic fervor of Beit Shammai and the Zealots. Bitter feelings resulted between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai over this, even while worshiping they would no longer be “under one roof.” Beit Shammai restricted any intercourse with any nation or people who supported the Romans. That meant that they could not buy or sell to any of them, and this view was also implemented by the Zealots. They also wanted to prevent any communication of this sort from going on.
On the other hand, Beit Hillel was more open to the Romans and the non-Jews in their religious and political views. They did not agree with all these restrictions. When the Sanhedrin was called together to consider the “propriety” of such measures, Beit Shammai and the Zealots gained the upper hand. There was a man named Hananiah Ben Hezekiah Ben Gurion who was a sage and worked on an Ezekiel commentary. He was not devoted to politics. He was a contemporary of Hillel and Shammai (Jesus the Pharisee; Talmud Shabbat 13b). He is the son of the founder of the Zealots, Hezekiah, and brother of Judas the Galilean. He arranged a meeting between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai in an upper room (chamber), believed to be in the Temple. This meeting took place in 20 B.C. Armed men were stationed at the door and were instructed to let everyone in, but not to allow anyone to leave. During the discussion held under these circumstances, many from Beit Hillel were killed. Most that remained, passed what was to be known as the 18 Edicts (or measures) of Beit Shammai. These edicts will influence the Gospels and Epistles. A list of these edicts can be found on Wkipedia in an article called, “Houses of Hillel and Shammai.” It was what Paul, who was from Beit Hillel, was trying to “tear down” in Eph 2.11-22.
Because of the violence at this meeting and the radical views of the 18 Edicts, this day was seen by many as equal to the Golden Calf incident. This is because these edicts will lead to the dispersion of the people of Israel, the destruction of the Temple and the cities of the land. This meeting is discussed in the Jewish Encyclopedia, the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah and the Tosefta. It was not an isolated story, but it is told over and over again. Because of these murders, Menachem the Essene left with 80 of his own talmidim (students), and he went into the wilderness. He also took with him 80 students of Beit Hillel This vacated his job as Av Beit Din of the Sanhedrin. It was filled by Shammai in 20 B.C. Now, there are two possible dates for when these murders occurred. One date is 20 B.C. and the other 6 A.D. It is believed that it was the earlier date, which coincided with the rise of Shammai as Av Beit Din, after the departure of Menachem.
The Zealots will align themselves with Beit Shammai because they were pushing the idea of excluding everyone from having any interaction with the Romans, or any non-Jews who did. The Zealots were in favor of the 18 Edicts because it blended in perfectly with their politics. We have Hillel the Great isolated as a result of all this. When Hillel went to the Temple one time, he was persecuted and pushed around by members of Beit Shammai, and he was alone. Where were his talmidim? They had gone into the wilderness with Menachem. They departed out of Jerusalem, and what we have is a religious “coup” to control the Sanhedrin.
Hillel will die in 10 A.D., and Yeshua would have been about 14 years old. Hillel and Shammai may have been listening to Yeshua as he was discussing the Torah “in the midst of the teachers” at his first Passover when he was 12 years old (Luke 2.46-47). Shammai will pass away in 30 A.D., the same year Yeshua dies, so they certainly knew one another. We have all heard of Annas, whose name is Chanan. He became the High Priest in 6 B.C. When Hillel dies, generally you had a new Nasi. But, there was no Nasi from 10 A.D. to 30 A.D. When Menachem the Essene left, Shammai became Av Beit Din. When Hillel died, Shammai did not become Nasi, and there is a good reason for this. The Nasi did not vote on matters, but the Av Beit Din could. Shammai did not want to give up the right to vote.
Hillel’s son was Shimon Ben Hillel. Little is known of him. It seems he did not take over the Sanhedrin, or if he did, it wasn’t for very long. In 30 A.D., when Shammai dies, Hillel’s grandson Gamaliel becomes Nasi.
We know that Yeshua is born in 4 B.C. at Sukkot, and immediately the angels appeared to the shepherds watching the flocks that were destined to be brought to the Temple. We know the exact field where this happened, and it is called Migdal Eder (“tower of the flock”). We know these shepherds worked for the Temple. This field is 4 miles from the Temple. We also know the shepherds went to see Yeshua, who was very near, and then they told everyone they found (“noised it abroad”-Luke 2.17-18). It wasn’t a “silent night.” We also know that Yeshua was presented in the temple and his mother went through her purification ceremony 40 days after his birth, following the Torah in Lev 12. That means that Herod was dead within 40 days of Yeshua’s birth. We know that Shimon prophesied when seeing the child, and Anna also prophesied over him. Luke 2.38 says she “continued to speak of him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Back at the birth of Yeshua, when the wise men (called “Chachamim” and they were Jewish sages from Babylon) appear, they go to Herod. When asking about the child who would be the Messiah and where he was to be born, Herod calls the High Priest and the Scribes. The High Priest and the Scribes make no mention of this baby because they hadn’t heard that he had been born yet, and they were only 4 miles away. As they are meeting with Herod, Yeshua is being born, almost at the same time. That means Annas was the High Priest talking with Herod in Matt 2.4.
We have already said Shammai dies in 30 A.D., the same year Yeshua died. Here is a thought. Herod dies within 40 days of the birth of Yeshua, and he tried to kill him. Yeshua is resurrected, and he is seen for 40 days. Shammai tried to kill Yeshua, and he died in 30 A.D. Is it possible that he died within the 40 days after Yeshua was resurrected? Now, that can’t be proven, but right after Shammai dies, Gamaliel takes over the Sanhedrin. He is from Beit Hillel, who was very sympathetic to the non-Jews and their coming into the faith. It seems the way for the spreading of the Basorah among the non-Jews is opening up with the death of Shammai and the appointment of Gamaliel as Nasi.
It will take years for Beit Hillel to have ascendancy over Beit Shammai, but this is a big change. The Romans are reacting against the Zealots, who the Romans consider as “terrorists.” Whole communities are destroyed, and war almost came with Caligula. He wanted his image placed in the Temple, and this would have caused a war. But Caligula died before it was done, and war was averted because the governor of Syria, Petronius, knew it would cause a war. So, he stalled and stalled, saying he couldn’t do it. Jewish opposition was too strong, and he was willing to accept the consequences. But, Caligula died, ending the threat (Global Non-Violent Action database article called “Jewish Peasants Block Construction of a Statue of Gaius Caligula in Galilee, 40 A.D.”).
We are going to see that Yeshua’s statements against the Pharisees (primarily against Beit Shammai) were very common. He will use the same phrases that everyone else used when criticizing these Pharisees from Shammai. Calling them a “brood of vipers” and saying “Woe to you” was used long before and after Yeshua came along in other Jewish writings. In the book “Jesus the Pharisee” by Rabbi Harvey Falk, he makes this point. It is a great resource for material on what was going on in the First Century.
In Part 3, we will pick up here and begin discussing the general opinion of Christianity and the Hebrew Roots Movement about Yeshua’s statements about the Pharisees. He seems to be against them altogether, but we are going to see that this was not the case at all.
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