Sometimes in the human condition emotion is a whirlwind. Anyone who is ensnared in it is carried along with its ups and downs.
Tragedies bring grief. Milestones and accomplishments elicit joy.
Emotion is not a sphere for volition. We can’t help how we feel.
Similarly, our proclivities can’t be amended. Some people are happy and some are serious; some are curious and some are lazy.
Therefore, when we read the Talmud (Shabbos 30b), ‘a person should always be humble like Hillel and rigid like Shamai’, we assume it is a description of their respective character traits. To put is crudely, Hillel was a nice user friendly sage while Shamai was mean spirited and grumpy.
However, Shamai’s remarks in the Mishnah (Ethics of Our Fathers 1:16) seem to be in stark contrast with his seemingly disheartened character.
‘Shamai said…and you should greet every man with a smile on your face.’
Greeting individuals with a smile is a dictum incongruous with the Shamai described in the Talmud. (ibid 31a) It would seem illogical that Shamai didn’t practice what he preached. How then do we reconcile the Talmud with the Mishnah?
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (Ohr Yisrael) stresses that a mature approach to the Talmud requires analysis of everything in context. The context regarding this issue is that the sages of the Talmud were like the ministering angels. Their holiness is unfathomable.
Rambam (Mishnah Torah, Introduction) writes that they were the greatest of their generation. Certainly, Shamai was in that category.
Because of this it is ludicrous to assume that Shamai was controlled by his emotions and traits. It must be that his colossal spiritual echelon gave him the capacity to forge his personality in accordance with the dictates of the Torah.
Of course, one can control emotions. The Torah demands it. Don’t be afraid in war (Deuteronomy 20:1). Be happy on the holiday (Ibid 16:14). Don’t mourn excessively (Moed Katan 27b)
How is it possible to harness free flowing reactive emotions? The Ethicists discuss this issue. One example is the Book of Education (Mitzvah #16) who writes that our repetative exterior behavior eventually changes our interior disposition.
Therefore, Shamai’s behavior was a reflection of his understanding of the Torah’s dictates.
On the one hand a person’s face is public property. The disposition that they display fashions the mood of others. Therefore, everyone should be greeted with a smile.
On the other hand, when the honor of the Torah is confronted one must assume a hard line defense.
