The Essence of Judaism

Abstract

There is a famous talmudic story, involving a prominent first-century rabbi named Hillel the Elder. In this tale a pagan, interested in converting to Judaism, approached Hillel and challenged the rabbi to define the essence of the Jewish religion while standing on one foot. I, of course, am not standing on one foot. Indeed, I am sitting on a chair. Nevertheless, in this brief opportunity to explain the core of my faith as a Jew to all of you, I feel I am placed under the same kind of constraint Hillel was at that moment. Moreover, I suspect that I cannot markedly improve upon the answer Hillel is reported to have given to his interlocutor. For, in replying to this potential convert to the Jewish fold, Hillel stated the Jewish version of the Golden Rule, That which is hateful to you, do not do unto others’. This, Hillel felt, was the ‘essence’ of Judaism. However, he quickly added, ‘The rest is commentary. Now, go and study the commentary’. As you can imagine, the commentary in Judaism, as in other scriptural religions, is seemingly endless. Therefore, what I propose to do is to expand upon Hillel’s statement, and provide a bit of that commentary.