person · P0021
Shammai שמאי הזקן
Av Beit Din of the fifth zug, with Hillel; founder of Beit Shammai, the stricter of the two great schools whose disputes shaped the halakhic tradition. Taught: "Make your Torah fixed, say little and do much, and receive every person with a cheerful face."
I. Who
- Hebrew
- שמאי הזקן
- Also known as
- Shammai HaZaken, Shammai the Elder
- Era
- zugot
- Received the mesorah from
- Shemaiah, Avtalyon
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
- Colleagues
- Hillel
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3690–3770 AM
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈80 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| With Hillel, formed the fifth and final zug; taught "make your Torah fixed, say little and do much, and receive every person with a cheerful countenance." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| The disputes of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel are the paradigm of "disputes for the sake of Heaven" destined to endure. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3690–3770 AM.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |