![]() ![]() While some interpret the “killing” non-literally, most do not (see for example Tosafot Gittin 36b, s.v. The Jerusalem Talmud goes so far as to claim that on that fateful day, students of Beit Shammai actually killed students of Beit Hillel. While their many disputes did not stop the followers of these schools of thought from marrying each other, the Gemara describes how a debate between Hillel and Shammai became so intense that they “stuck a sword in the study hall, and they said: One who seeks to enter the study hall, let him enter, and one who seeks to leave may not leave.And that day was as difficult for Israel as the day the Golden Calf was made” (Shabbat 17a). One of the most famous of Talmudic debates, that regarding the tanur shel achnai, led to the excommunication of Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol and the death of Rabban Gamliel (see here for further analysis).Īn discussed here an obscure debate regarding the ritual purity of a knife led to the end of the relationship between Reish Lakish and Rav Yochanan-and to the death of both of them. An innocent question regarding the laws of honouring teachers caused a 40-year period in which Rav Huna and Rav Chisda did not speak to each other as we discussed hereĮven the disputes between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, often (and rightfully so) held up as a model of constructive conflict and deep friendship, were not always so. ![]() They can be most intense, and sadly, can lead to tragic consequences. Rabbinic debates are not for the faint-hearted. ![]()
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