There is a story in the Mishnah about a non-Jewish man approaching the great 1st c. BCE Rabbi Shammai and saying, “Teach me the whole Torah while standing on one foot, and I will convert to Judaism.” The phrase “standing on one foot” means that the man was asking for the message of the whole Torah in a matter of a couple of sentences. (Presumably, these Rabbis were not practitioners of yoga who could stand for a great length of time on one foot.) Shammai found this question insulting, and chased the man away with a stick. The same non-Jewish man approached Shammai’s chevruta partner Rabbi Hillel. He repeated his demand: “Teach me the whole Torah while standing on one foot, and I will convert to Judaism.” Hillel looked at the man, stood on one foot, and said: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. The rest is commentary. Now go and study.” And the man converted to Judaism.
What do you think of this story?