To Be a Jew

An oft-quoted tale from our past concerns a rather terse but highly informative exchange.  Two millennia ago a hutzpadik man approached Shammai, a great and learned teacher, and said,
"Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot."

Shammai pushed him away with the builder's measuring stick in his hand.  That man then went to Hillel who converted him. Hillel said to him, "That which is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor. This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary.  Now go and learn."
-Talmud, Shabbat 31 A

Who could disagree with such a gentle approach?

Many scholars have repeated Hillel's statement in various forms. Consider Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative, the first principle of ethics which states, "I ought never to act except in such a way that my action should become a universal law." The Golden Rule also emphasizes the same concept, "Do unto to others as you have done to you."

Yet Hillel's comment differs in one major way.  His response to the man was not that he simply refrain from hurting people but that this action is the beginning of becoming a Jew. In other words, a Jew stands for kindness as the basis for being Jewish. The fact that Hillel instructs the would-be convert to then go and become absorbed in learning is instructive.

Hillel taught the irritating man how to be a mensch, but that is not enough. People cannot remain forever balanced precariously on one foot. We must venture out and learn the rest of Torah and what God expects from us. That is how we become wholly Jewish.