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Who ordained Hillel and Shammai?
I have searched but have been unable to find any indication of who gave them semicha/ordination.
It's clear in the mishna that they received the tradition from the pair/zugot that preceded them, that's Shmaya and Avtalyon, but that doesn't say from whom they received semicha/ordination.
Pirkei Avos Chapter 1:10--12:
א,י שמעיה ואבטליון קיבלו מהם. שמעיה אומר, אהוב את המלאכה, ושנוא את הרבנות; ואל תתוודע לרשות.&rim;
א,יא אבטליון אומר, חכמים, היזהרו בדבריכם--שמא תחובו חובת גלות, ותגלו למקום המים הרעים, וישתו התלמידים הבאים אחריכם וימותו, ונמצא שם שמיים מתחלל.
א,יב הלל ושמאי קיבלו מהם.
Shamaya and Avtalyon received [the tradition] from [their teachers] ... Hillel and Shammai received it from them.
Similarly the Rambam writes in his introduction to the Yad HaChazaka (paragraph 8):
שמעיה ואבטליון גרי הצדק ובית דינם קיבלו מיהודה ושמעון ובית דינם. והילל ושמאי ובית דינם קיבלו משמעיה ואבטליון ובית דינם.
Shamaya and Avtalyon, the righteous converts, and their court, received from Yehudah, Shimon, and their court; and Hillel, Shammai, and their court received from Shamaya, Avtalyon, and their court.
In the discussion about rebooting real ordination today, it is observed that Eliyahu the Prophet could descend from the heavens anytime and grant someone real semicha; how do we know he has it? "Because the Rambam's introduction lists him on the chain as receiving it from Achiyah HaShiloni."
When the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 C.E., Yochanan ben Zaccai preserved Judaism by substituting the synagogue for the Temple and prayers for sacrifices. Then, Rabbi Akiva further preserved Judaism. Before Yochanan ben Zakkai, no one was called rabbis. Hillel had no title, and neither did the sages of the Mishnah Pirke Avot. It follows that Shmuley Boteach, in his book Kosher Jesus where he calls Jesus “Rabbi Jesus” is mistaken because while the Pharisees preceded the rabbis, the institution of rabbis began approximately 70 C.E, when the temple was destroyed.
The idea of a rabbi who is “ordained”, semicha institution was abolished by the Romans in the year 415 of the Common Era, and yet the idea of semicha persists, which indicates that the institution was reinstituted. But there were no rabbis or semichas before Rabbi Akiva’s time. Thus, no one “ordained”, semicha Hillel or Shammai but they are still great sages of Judaism.
