What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary.

This saying is attributed to Hillel the Elder (late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE), a leading Pharisaic sage and head of a major rabbinic school in Second Temple–era Judea. In the Talmudic story, a prospective convert challenges Hillel to teach him the entire Torah “while standing on one foot.” Hillel responds with a negative formulation of the Golden Rule, presenting it as the Torah’s core ethical principle, and then instructs the inquirer to study the rest as explanatory detail. The anecdote contrasts Hillel’s patience and inclusiveness with Shammai’s stricter response to the same challenge.

Hillel’s maxim distills Jewish law and teaching into an ethic of empathy and restraint: moral action begins by refusing to inflict on others what one would find degrading or harmful. Calling this “the whole Torah” does not dismiss commandments or ritual; it frames them as elaborations (“commentary”) on a foundational interpersonal obligation. The negative phrasing emphasizes avoiding harm as the baseline of righteousness, while the closing imperative—“go and learn”—insists that ethical intuition must be deepened through study and practice. The saying has become a classic statement of Judaism’s moral universalism within a distinctly rabbinic commitment to learning.

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn.”

1) “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow; this is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.”
2) “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the entire Torah; the rest is explanation. Go and study.”
3) “Do not do unto your fellow what is hateful to you; this is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary—go and learn.”