Introduction This statement of Hillel’s is about virtue and Torah learning.
He used to say: A brute is not sin-fearing, nor is an ignorant person pious; nor can a timid person learn, nor can an impatient person teach; nor will someone who engages too much in business become wise. In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man. A brute is not sin-fearing: a “brute” is one who is not learned at all and has no or moral virtue. However, he is not inherently evil. Since he does not have any intellectual capacity, he does not know what are virtues and what are vices, hence he does not fear sin. Nor is an ignorant person pious: An “ignorant person” the “am ha-aretz” is one who has not learned Torah. This type of person can have fear of sin, because he is able to distinguish wrong from right. However, he cannot be pious a “hasid”. Nor can a timid person learn: Now that Hillel has emphasized how important Torah learning is towards the creation of a virtuous person, he discusses how a person can learn. A person who is too timid to admit to what he doesn’t know cannot learn. When in a class, if a teacher asks “did you understand?” the student who did not understand must respond that he did not. This statement also means that it is never to late to begin learning Torah. A person should not be intimidated by the fact that s/he reached a mature age and has not learned Torah. Rather, they should be like Rabbi Akiva, who didn’t begin learning until he was 40! Nor can an impatient person teach: The flip side to the previous statement is that an impatient person cannot teach. A teacher must listen to his/her students’ questions, even if those questions are not good questions. An impatient teacher will scare off students, intimidate them and be detrimental to their learning. Nor will someone who engages too much in business becomes wise: A person who spends all of his life engaged in business, will not have the requisite time to acquire wisdom. Rather a person must strike a balance between his work and his learning. In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man: Where there is no one else to take the initiative and assume responsibility, a person should take the leadership upon himself. This person is not considered haughty, but rather responsible. This also can be connected to the issue of learning. Where there is no one to teach you Torah, you are not excused from your duty of Torah learning. You must still try your best to learn what Torah you can on your own.