"If not now, when...?": a mishnah expands

Last year the most frequently-cited teaching from Avot on the English-language social media was that of Hillel the Elder:

אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי, וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי, וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁו, אֵימָתָי

“If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Avot 1:14)

This teaching has always been well known in Jewish circles, and not only on account of its enigmatic nature and catchy words. Put to music, it has been joyously sung by chasidim and many composers and musicians, including such luminaries as Mordechai Ben David, Isaac Bitton, Benny Friedman and Shloime Gertner have given it their own personal treatment.

But this mishnah is known well beyond the concentric circles of Jewish culture.  It is known among non-Jews too, on account of the international success of a book, If Not Now, When (original Italian title Se Non Ora, Quando?) the prize-winning novel by Primo Levi. A studio album of the same name, released by Incubus in 2011 and loosely based on two of Hillel’s mishnayot from Avot, sold over 600,000 copies.

The mishnah has clearly spread in terms of public familiarity. It has also broadened the scope of its applicability.

The idea that Hillel is addressing himself as an individual is hard to deny. Of the 14 words in his three-part dictum, 5 of them are “I”, “me” or “myself”.  Both the Bartenura and the commentary ascribed to Rashi initially explain the mishnah in personal terms, almost as though Hillel is talking only about himself, but then allude to its wider application to humankind as a whole, a position endorsed by Rambam, Rabbenu Yonah and all subsequent commentators.

Can we take Hillel’s teaching further and apply it to corporate entities and even state actors?  I have been unable to find any commentary that answers this question but in principle it is hard to object to doing so. Individuals must balance their self-interest with the complementary or even conflicting interests of others; they must also act in good time—as many people who have made a late payment of tax have discovered. So too must local and national governments, businesses, schools, sports clubs and other collective bodies do likewise.

Writing in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post Eliot Penn does just that. His article,” Israel must take its security into its own hands”, opens as follows:

Hillel the Elder, the first-century sage, offered three insights for living as cited in the ancient book of rabbinic wisdom, Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). The first two come as a pair: “If I am not for myself, who shall be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I?”

Hillel’s first two maxims are often understood as directives to the individual to take personal responsibility for their life, balanced with concern for others. These astute ideas apply beyond individual living to fit the State of Israel quite well.

So far as I know, Eliot Penn is neither a scholar nor a sage, but I can think of no good reason why Hillel’s teaching should not apply to corporate entities as well as to individual ones. After all, the actions of collective and corporate bodies are all initiated by individuals. If Hillel’s teaching is addressed to each of them, surely it is fitting to address it to them as a whole.

If any reader knows of any commentary—traditional or otherwise—that has discussed this, can he or she please let me know?

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Eliot Penn’s article can be read in full here: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-782438