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Hillel II (Hebrew: הלל נשיאה, Hillel theNasi), also known simply asHillel, was anamora of the fifth generation in theLand of Israel. He held the office ofNasi of theSanhedrin between 320 and 365 CE. He was the son and successor ofJudah III. He is sometimes confused withHillel the Elder, as theTalmud sometimes simply uses the name "Hillel".
In two instances his name is quoted in connection with important decisions inJewish law: in one,Jose ben Abin expounds to him a law; in the other, Hillel cites amishnah to establish a law.[1]
The emperorJulian the Apostate was gracious to Hillel, whom he honored on a number of occasions. In an autograph letter to him, Julian assured him of his friendship and promised to ameliorate further the condition of the Jews. Before setting out for the war with Persia, Julian addressed to the Jewish congregations a circular letter in which he informed them that he had "committed the Jewish tax-rolls to the flames," and that, "desiring to show them still greater favors, he has advised his brother, the venerable patriarch "Julos", to abolish what was called the 'send-tax'".[2]
He is traditionally regarded as the creator of the modern fixedJewish calendar. This tradition first appears in a responsum of R.Hai Gaon (written in 992[3]) cited by R.Abraham bar Hiyya in hisSefer Ha'ibbur (written in 1123).[4] The citation explicitly refers to the year that this event happened, 670 of theSeleucid era, which corresponds to 358/9 CE.
However, a number of documents have been found that indicate the calendar was not fully fixed in Hillel's time; most famously a letter found inCairo Geniza (from the year 835/6) indicates that the holidays were observed on different dates from those predicted by the current calendar.[3][5] The calendar did not reach its exact modern form until at least the years 922–924.[6] According to modern scholar Sacha Stern, Hai Gaon only attributed the establishment of a 19-year cycle, and not other details of the calendar, to Hillel.[3]
The fixed calendar was of great benefit to Jews of his and subsequent generations. TheJewish calendar islunisolar. That is, its months are synchronized with the phases of the moon, but its average year length approximates the mean length of asolar year. TheSanhedrin declared new months based on observations of the new moon, and added a 13th lunar month to certain years to ensure that holidays would continue to fall in the same seasons of the solar year. ButConstantius II, following the precedents ofHadrian, prohibited the holding of such meetings as well as the vending of articles for distinctly Jewish purposes. The worldwide Jewish community depended on the calendar sanctioned by theJudeanSanhedrin to observeJewish holidays on the correct dates. However, danger threatened the participants in that sanction and the messengers who communicated their decisions to distant congregations. Temporarily, to relieve the foreign congregations,Huna ben Abin once advisedRava not to wait for the official intercalation: "When you are convinced that the winter quarter will extend beyond the sixteenth day ofNisan declare the year aleap year, and do not hesitate".[7] But as the religious persecutions continued, Hillel decided to provide an authorized calendar for all time to come, though by doing so he severed the ties which united the Jews of thediaspora to theirmother country and to thepatriarchate.
According toEpiphanius of Salamis[8] Hillel II was secretly baptized on his deathbed. The Christian convertJoseph of Tiberias was one of his disciples.
| Preceded by | Nasi 320–365 | Succeeded by |
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