Hillel, Jewish scholar

Hillel, fl. c.30 b.c.–a.d. 10, Jewish scholar, regarded as the forebear of the later patriarchs who led the Jews of Palestine until c.a.d. 400. The Jerusalem Talmud calls him the president of the Sanhedrin. He and Shammai formed the most important of the rabbinic zuggot (oppositional pairs), with Hillel usually taking a more liberal stance in the interpretation of scripture. He was the great spiritual and ethical leader of his generation. His most famous maxim is “Do not unto others that which is hateful unto thee.”

See biographies by N. N. Glatzer (1956) and A. H. Blumenthal (1973).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2026, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Judaism: Biographies