Reflecting on a human skull floating on the face of the waters, the judgment attributed to Hillel by the rabbis in Pirkei Avot is harsh to the point of cruel. Because you drowned others, they drowned you, and they who drowned you will themselves be drowned. The dictum seems to say something basically true about the karma of cause and effect generated by cycles of social violence. Viewed across time from a long critical distance, no one is not guilty on the Days of Awe. In his own commentary at the dawn of the baroque, the Maharal of Prague has his eye on the collective and sweeping power of water as an apocalyptic force of total destruction.

Pirkei Avot 2:6

[Hillel] saw a skull floating on the face of the water. He said to it: because you drowned others, they drowned you. And in the end, they that drowned you will be drowned.

Maharal of Prague, Derech Ha’Chayyim, comment to Avot 2:6

In his (Hillel’s) own words, “He saw, etc.” One must ask, does the matter depend on the fact that he saw the skull floating on the surface of the water? For if he had seen it on the ground, would he not have said the same thing? If so, why does the matter depend on water? And if one says that the matter does not depend on water, then what is the meaning of the brazen language of the interpreter who would lick the dust, whom did the interpreter, God forbid, drown, that they drowned him? And likewise all the martyrs of the kingdom, how can we say, “Because you drowned, they drowned you”?

However, the meaning of this statement is that when he said he “saw a skull floating on the surface of the water,” the intention is not literally on the surface of the water. And likewise, when he said he “saw a skull,” he did not mean a literal skull. Rather, he saw one who was swept away, who was uprooted from his root, so that no name or memory of him remained in the world. And this is what he meant when he said he “saw a skull floating on the surface of the water,” because water is associated with being swept away. And the skull is at the head, which is to a person as the root is to a tree. We have explained this many times, that a person is considered “a tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19), and his root and essence are his head, but this is not the place for that. And he said that he saw one who was swept away from his root, so that no name or memory of him remained among Israel. And this is not the case for the righteous, for they are not considered to have been completely swept away, as their memory remains as a blessing forever and ever, so this is not called “being swept away.” But being swept away is when everything is swept away, and there is no longer any memory or name for them.

And he said, “Because you drowned, they drowned you.” For if he had not drowned another, he would not have been drowned, because this matter is related to being swept away, for the one who sweeps away is swept away. And it seems that every one who sweeps away is swept away, for water in particular is the one that sweeps, and every part of the one that sweeps, another part of water comes after it and also sweeps away the first waters, and so on forever, so that you see from this that the one who sweeps away is swept away. And this is why he said that he “saw a skull floating on the surface of the water,” and did not say that he just saw a skull, because this thing is found only in water, which is a master of sweeping, for they sweep with force, and also every part of them that sweeps is swept away. And the intention is that he saw one who was swept away with force like the water, where every part is swept away with force from the one who sweeps. And about this he decreed on him, that if he had not swept away another, he would not have been swept away. But because he swept away another, and he had the quality of the sweeping waters, and they are masters of being swept away, and every part of the water that sweeps is swept away. And so this one also was a master of being swept away to sweep away another, and therefore he was also swept away. And in the end, those who sweep will also be swept away, just as it is with water. And all of this is caused by the force of being swept away, which destroys and brings one to non-existence, and therefore he also becomes non-existent. And this is what he meant when he said, “Because you drowned, they drowned you,” meaning that he was completely destroying one, and was destroying him and sweeping him away with force, therefore he also was swept away with force, because he clung to non-existence completely, and therefore he was swept away with force, and understand this. And this is the meaning of him “seeing it floating on the surface of the water,” meaning that he saw one who was completely swept away.

And you might ask, if so, whom did the first one who was swept away sweep away, for you must have a first one who was swept away. And if we say that the first one had a sin himself and therefore was swept away, then why did he decree, “Because you drowned, they drowned you,” for perhaps this was because of his sin. And it can be said, that certainly the first one, because of his sin, was destined to be swept away, for many wicked people are swept away. And what he decreed about this, “Because you drowned, they drowned you,” and did not say that he was wicked, is because of this he said that he “saw a skull floating on the surface of the water,” which means that he was completely swept away and uprooted, as we have explained, and certainly a sweeping like this can only be said because he also swept away another. For even if he sinned, he is not swept away with force and completely uprooted. But the first one who was swept away, was not like this, for it can be said that he was swept away because of his sin, but not a complete sweeping away. And in any case, the one who swept him away was completely swept away. Like this skull that was floating on the surface of the water, which was completely uprooted. And he used the direct address, “Because you drowned, they drowned you,” and did not say because he drowned, etc., because Hillel said his words to the skull that was floating on the surface of the water, meaning, “You, the skull that you are floating on the surface of the water, whom they swept away.” And therefore he used the direct address, because he spoke thus only about this skull that he saw floating on the surface of the water, and if a skull were on the ground, he would not have said so, therefore he spoke in the direct address, and everything will be resolved. Also, it will be resolved that many murderers died in their beds, for here it is only about the skull that was floating on the surface of the water, which performed a powerful sweeping and completely uprooted another, and about him he said, “Because you drowned, they drowned you,” but about other murderers he did not say this.

And in any case, it is not difficult even without this, for this is the meaning; “Because you drowned, they drowned you, and in the end your drowners will also be drowned.” And if they are not drowned in this world, then all the more so they will be drowned in the World to Come, and this is certainly an even greater sweeping away, and in any case they will be drowned. For every punishment that comes with force is called “sweeping away,” for the term “sweeping away” is used for something that is done with great force, and this is called “sweeping away.” The first difficulty, who swept away the first one who was swept away, is also not difficult, even though it is certainly possible to attribute it to the sin, it is more appropriate to attribute it to the sweeping away that is said to be “because you drowned, they drowned you” than to attribute it to sin, for this matter, which is the sweeping away, is appropriate for one who swept away, but to attribute it to sin, which is more distant, one does not attribute it. As we say in the first chapter of Tractate Berachot (5a), if a person sees afflictions coming upon him, he should examine his deeds, and if he does not find (a reason), he should attribute it to the neglect of Torah study. And in any case, in the first case one should attribute it to sin, for afflictions are more appropriate to come upon one who has sinned, than to attribute it to another matter. And so here, he would attribute it to something that is first and precedes this, because he drowned. But the first one who was swept away certainly was because of the sin, and there is no difficulty.

And now you will also resolve the fact that he used “they drowned you” in the plural, “and in the end your drowners will be drowned,” for he spoke in a general way, and a single person does not sweep away another so much that he no longer has a root, and therefore he said “they drowned you.” But there is another reason for the use of the plural, for he hinted at the explanation we gave, because the main sweepers are the waters, and they are called in the plural everywhere, and you will not find the singular form for water. And in relation to sweeping away it is also said (Psalms 32:6) “for a flood of many waters.” And the reason is that the singular is not associated with sweeping away, and it does not have the power of sweeping, which is an action that spreads and sweeps everything. Therefore, sweeping away is associated with water, which has the power of many, spreading and sweeping in all directions, and this matter is clear.

(AI generated translation; emphasis in bold added)