Shammai

Shammai
(50 BC–c. AD 30)
   Jewish sage. Shammai ha-Zaken (‘the Elder’) and his contemporary HILLEL were the leading Jewish scholars and teachers of the late Second Temple period, and were co-heads of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Each was the founder and leader of a school that continued for several generations and was known respectively as Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel. On questions of law and practice, Shammai and his school generally insisted on a literal and unbending application of the biblical text, while Hillel was milder and more flexible in the adjustment of scriptural injunctions to the needs of practical life. The dialectic between the two schools stimulated the development of the Oral Law, and paved the way for the great written code of the Mishnah, produced in the second century AD. The Mishnah leaned towards the school of Hillel on disputed points, of which there were over three hundred. However, Shammai’s reputation for being uncompromising was not altogether warranted. Of some thirty halachot (‘rulings’) attributed to him, a third take the lenient view, at times at variance with his own school. His advice to his pupils ‘to receive all men with a friendly countenance’ seems to bear this out.

Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament. . 2012.

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  • Shammai — (50 BCE ndash;30 CE, Hebrew: שמאי) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism s core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah.Shammai was the most eminent contemporary and the halakhic opponent of Hillel, and is… …   Wikipedia

  • SHAMMAI — (Ha Zaken, i.e., The Elder; c. 50 B.C.E.–c. 30 C.E.), one of the zugot , the leaders of the Sanhedrin. Hillel s first colleague was menahem the Essene and Shammai was appointed to succeed him as av bet din when he retired. Nothing is known of the …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Shammai — Shammaï Shammaï (mort en 30 ap. J. C.) fut contemporain d Hillel, et comme lui, une figure majeure de la Mishna. Shammaï et Hillel forment le couple de Sages le plus célèbre de l histoire talmudique. Ils sont en constant désaccord sur la Halakha …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shammai — • Jewish scribe who together with Hillel made up the last of the pairs , or as they are sometimes erroneously named, presidents and vice presidents of the Sanhedrin Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Shammai     Shammai …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Shammaï — la tombe de Shammaï à Méron Shammaï (mort en 30 ap. J. C.) fut contemporain d Hillel, et comme lui, une figure majeure de la Mishna. Shammaï et Hillel forment le couple de Sages le plus célèbre de l histoire talmudique. Ils sont en constant… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shammai — A rabbinical teacher [[➝ teaching]] in the time of Jesus. He gave a rigorous interpretation of the Law, contrasting with the more relaxed and liberal views of Hillel. Those of the Shammai school were often in conflict with the Roman authorities,… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Shammai — /shah muy/ fl. 1st century B.C., Hebrew rabbi: founder of Beth Shammai, school of hermeneutics. * * * …   Universalium

  • Shammai — (fl. 1st cent BCE)    Palestinian rabbi. He was a contemporary of Hillel, and together they were the last of the zugot. He adopted a rigorous standpoint in moral and religious matters. The School of Shammai later disputed legal issues with the… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • SHAMMAI —    an eminent Jewish rabbi of the time of Herod, who held the position of supreme judge in the Sanhedrim under the presidency of HILLEL (q.v.), and whose narrow, rigid orthodoxy and repressive policy became the leading principles of his school,… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Shammai — /shah muy/ fl. 1st century B.C., Hebrew rabbi: founder of Beth Shammai, school of hermeneutics …   Useful english dictionary

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