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Reviewed by:
  • Hillel: If Not Now, When?
  • Miriyam Glazer
Hillel: If Not Now, When?, by Joseph Telushkin. New York: Nextbook (Schocken), 2010. 243 pp. $24.00.

It is not easy to be a scholar who, rather than write solely for other scholars, masters the art of writing gracefully and wisely for a general audience—a "popularizer" who yet honors the nuanced complexity of his or her subject. Of our many gifted Jewish writers and scholars today, perhaps the one who fulfills the task with the greatest ease and elegance is Joseph Telushkin. His books are all learned, highly readable, and respectful of the intelligence of his reader.

In addition to his books on Jewish humor and Jewish "Wisdom," Telushkin's previous books, including the National Jewish Book Award winner Code of Jewish Ethics (2006), reveal his clear passion for the ethical dimensions of Judaism, among them The Book of Jewish Values: A Day to Day Guide to Ethical Living (2000); The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life (2004). His newest, Hillel: If Not Now, When? not surprisingly, therefore, not only focuses on the ethical legacy of [End Page 194] that foundational rabbinic scholar, but also seeks to encourage contemporary readers to re-evaluate trends in contemporary Jewish life in accord with Hillel's teachings.

The book is divided into four parts. The first, "The Unique Teachings of Hillel," offers a brief historical background—the coincidence of Hillel's leadership (30 BCE to 10 CE) with Herod's kingship (37 to 4 CE), the point of which seems to be the disastrous legacy of forced conversion, in this case not of the Jews but by the Jews. As Telushkin suggests, the "vile" Herod would never have become king had not the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus forcibly converted the grandfather of Herod, Antipas, who became governor of Idumea.

Perhaps, Telushkin suggests, the terrible legacy of Herod is one of the reasons the whole conversion issue traditionally stirred up (and continues to stir up) Jewish "anxieties" about conversion: "the fear that the conversion of any Gentiles, forcible or peaceful, is a perilous undertaking" (p. 10). Much of this book, therefore, is concerned with allaying those anxieties—even more: dispelling them altogether, by drawing on the willingness and openness of Hillel to the conversion of gentiles. In fact, chapters within Part I—including the famous story of "While Standing on One Foot" (based on BT Shabbat 31a), "Hillel and the Three Converts," and "On Hillel, Chiya, and the Jews of Today"—as well as a final section, "For Those Who Oppose Converting People Without a Prior Commitment to Full Observance of Jewish Law"—are an argument for a more open, liberal, welcoming policy toward future converts. Indeed, says Telushkin,

The stories of Hillel and the three converts challenge three common and widely held assumptions of Jewish life: that Judaism is not interested in non-Jews converting; that if a non-Jew comes to convert, the rabbi's first obligation is to discourage him from doing so; and that a conversion should be valid only if the proselyte formally undertakes to fully observe Jewish laws.

(p. 35)

It is not only in the area of conversions that Telushkin sees Hillel—with the exception of his rulings about women—as the forerunner of a liberal Judaism. In Part I's sections, "Repairing the World" and "Five Traits," and Part II's "Hillel versus Shammai: The Talmud's Most Famous Adversaries," as well as Part IV's "Lessons from the First Century for the Twenty-first Century—and Beyond," Telushkin emphasizes the "passionate moderation" of Hillel. That moderation emerges from his stance as an "interpreter," rather than as a "literalist." As an example, Telushkin offers one of my own personal favorites from the Talmud (BT Ketubot 16b-17a):

Our rabbis taught: How does one dance . . . before a bride? The School of Shammai says, "The bride [is described] as she is." The School of Hillel says, "[Every bride is described as] a beautiful and graceful bride."

(quoted p. 92) [End Page 195]

(Hillel, thank goodness, wins this one. Telushkin cites the Shulchan Arukh in support of Hillel's position: "It is...

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