The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

s which is known as the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ� ...

. It is also the first major work of

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

. The Mishnah was redacted by

Judah ha-Nasi Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא‎, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mi ...

probably in Beit Shearim or

Sepphoris Sepphoris (; grc, Σέπφωρις, Séphōris), called Tzipori in Hebrew ( he, צִפּוֹרִי, Tzipori),Palmer (1881), p115/ref> and known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ar, صفورية, Ṣaffūriya) since the 7th century, is an archaeolog ...

at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

, the

persecution of the Jews The persecution of Jews has been a major event in Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees and the formation of diaspora communities. As early as 605 BCE, Jews who lived in the Neo-Babylonian Empire were persecuted and deported. A ...

and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs bec ...

from the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...

(516 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in

Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (also cal ...

, but some parts are in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

. The Mishnah consists of six orders (', singular ' ), each containing 7–12 tractates (', singular ' ; lit. "web"), 63 in total, and further subdivided into chapters and paragraphs. The word ''Mishnah'' can also indicate a single paragraph of the work, i.e. the smallest unit of structure in the Mishnah. For this reason the whole work is sometimes referred to in the plural form, '.

Structure

The term "''Mishnah''" originally referred to a method of teaching by presenting topics in a systematic order, as contrasted with ', which followed the order of the Bible. As a written compilation, the order of the Mishnah is by subject matter and includes a much broader selection of

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

subjects, and discusses individual subjects more thoroughly, than the ''Midrash''. The Mishnah consists of six orders (', singular ' ), each containing 7–12 tractates (', singular ' ; lit. "web"), 63 in total. Each ' is divided into chapters (', singular ') and then paragraphs (', singular '). In this last context, the word ''mishnah'' means a single paragraph of the work, i.e. the smallest unit of structure, leading to the use of the plural, "''Mishnayot''", for the whole work. Because of the division into six orders, the Mishnah is sometimes called ''Shas'' (an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for ''Shisha Sedarim'' – the "six orders"), although that term is more often used for the Talmud as a whole. The six orders are: * ''

Zeraim Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and bles ...

'' ("Seeds"), dealing with prayer and blessings, tithes and agricultural laws (11 tractates) * ''

Moed Moed ( he, מועד, "Festivals") is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of M ...

'' ("Festival"), pertaining to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals (12 tractates) * ''

Nashim __notoc__ Nashim ( he, נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud) containing family law. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest. Nashim consists of seven tractates: #''Yevamot'' ...

'' ("Women"), concerning marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite (7 tractates) * ''

Nezikin ''Nezikin'' ( he, נזיקין ''Neziqin'', "Damages") or ''Seder Nezikin'' (, "The Order of Damages") is the fourth Order of the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court sy ...

'' ("Damages"), dealing with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths (10 tractates) * ''

Kodashim file:Pidyon HaBen P6020102.JPG, 150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim ( he, קדשים, "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jer ...

'' ("Holy things"), regarding sacrificial rites, the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, and the

dietary laws Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...

(11 tractates) and * ''

Tohorot ''Tohorot'' (Hebrew: טָהֳרוֹת, literally "Purities") is the sixth and last order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud). This order deals with the clean/unclean distinction and family purity. This is the longest of the orders in t ...

'' ("Purities"), pertaining to the laws of purity and impurity, including the impurity of the dead, the laws of food purity and bodily purity (12 tractates). In each order (with the exception of Zeraim), tractates are arranged from biggest (in number of chapters) to smallest. A popular

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

consists of the

"Z'MaN NaKaT." The

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

Hagiga 14a
states that there were either six hundred or seven hundred orders of the Mishnah.

Hillel the Elder Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, sag ...

organized them into six orders to make it easier to remember. The historical accuracy of this tradition is disputed. There is also a tradition that

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...

the scribe dictated from memory not only the 24 books of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Makkot Makot (in Hebrew: מכות) (in English: "Lashes") is a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the order of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of the Jewish courts ( beis din) and the punishments which they may admini ...

was originally part of

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...

, and

Bava Kamma Bava Kamma ( tmr, בָּבָא קַמָּא, translit=Bāḇā Qammā, translation=The First Gate) is the first of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin ("Damages") that deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. The o ...

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא מְצִיעָא, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed ...

and

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...

may be regarded as subdivisions of a single tractate Nezikin.)

Reuvein Margolies Reuvein Margolies, (Hebrew: ראובן מרגליות) (November 30, 1889 – August 28, 1971) was an Israeli author, Talmudic scholar and head of the Rambam library. Early life Margolies was born in 1889 in Lemberg (now Lviv), then part of the ...

(

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

–

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

) posited that there were originally seven orders of Mishnah, citing a

Gaonic ''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...

tradition on the existence of a seventh order containing the laws of '' Sta"m'' (scribal practice) and Berachot (blessings).

Omissions

A number of important laws are not elaborated upon in the Mishnah. These include the laws of

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and toda ...

tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

(phylacteries),

mezuzot A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a ''klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the J ...

, the holiday of

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

, and the laws of

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

. These were later discussed in the

minor tractate The minor tractates (Hebrew: מסכתות קטנות, ''masechtot qetanot'') are essays from the Talmudic period or later dealing with topics about which no formal tractate exists in the Mishnah. They may thus be contrasted to the Tosefta, whose t ...

s. Nissim ben Jacob's ''Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud'' argued that it was unnecessary for Judah the Prince to discuss them as many of these laws were so well known. Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...

, Judah could not have included discussion of Hanukkah, which commemorates the Jewish revolt against the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

(the Romans would not have tolerated this overt nationalism). Similarly, there were then several decrees in place aimed at suppressing outward signs of national identity, including decrees against wearing tefillin and tzitzit; as

was against Roman law, Judah would not have discussed this.

David Zvi Hoffmann David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843, Verbó, Austrian Empire – November 20, 1921, Berlin) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. He headed the Yeshiva in Berlin, and published research on the Pent ...

suggests that there existed ancient texts analogous to the present-day ''

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...

'' that discussed the basic laws of day to day living and it was therefore not necessary to focus on these laws in the Mishnah.

Mishnah, Gemara, and Talmud

Rabbinic commentary, debate and analysis on the Mishnah from the next four centuries, done in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

and in

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

, were eventually redacted and compiled as well. In themselves they are known as ''

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...

''. The books which set out the Mishnah in its original structure, together with the associated ''Gemara'', are known as

s. Two Talmuds were compiled, the

(to which the term "Talmud" normally refers) and the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

. Unlike the Hebrew Mishnah, the ''Gemara'' is written primarily in Aramaic.

Content and purpose

Kac 1924-10-19 Pinsk jews reading mishnah

The Mishnah teaches the oral traditions by example, presenting actual cases being brought to judgment, usually along with (i) the ''debate'' on the matter, and (ii) the judgment that was given by a notable rabbi based on

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

, and spirit of the teaching ("Torah") that guided his decision. In this way, the Mishnah brings to everyday reality the practice of the ''

'' as presented in the Torah, and aims to cover all aspects of human living, serve as an example for future judgments, and, most important, demonstrate pragmatic exercise of the Biblical laws, which was much needed since the time when the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

was destroyed (

70 CE AD 70 (Roman numerals, LXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus (or, less frequently, year 823 ''Ab urbe ...

). The Mishnah is thus not the development of new laws, but rather the collection of existing traditions. The term "Mishnah" is related to the verb "shanah", to teach or repeat, and to the adjectives "''sheni''" and "''mishneh''", meaning "second". It is thus named for being both the one written authority (codex) secondary (only) to the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic form, in which

discussion is structured as

exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

commentary on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. Rabbis expounded on and debated the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes () for example of court decisions. The oral traditions were far from monolithic, and varied among various schools, the most famous of which were the

House of Shammai The House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and House of Shammai (Beit Shammai) were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai (of the last century BCE and the early 1st century C ...

and the

House of Hillel The House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and House of Shammai (Beit Shammai) were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai (of the last century BCE and the early 1st century CE) ...

. After the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

AD 70 AD 70 (Roman numerals, LXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus (or, less frequently, year 823 ''Ab urbe ...

, with the end of the

Jewish center in Jerusalem, Jewish social and legal norms were in upheaval. The Rabbis were faced with the new reality of Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and Judea without autonomy. It is during this period that Rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. The possibility was felt that the details of the oral traditions of the

from the

(530s BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten, so the justification was found to have these oral laws transcribed. Over time, different traditions of the Oral Law came into being, raising problems of interpretation. According to the ''Mevo Hatalmud'', many rulings were given in a specific context but would be taken out of it, or a ruling was revisited, but the second ruling would not become popularly known. To correct this, Judah the Prince took up the redaction of the Mishnah. If a point was of no conflict, he kept its language; where there was conflict, he reordered the opinions and ruled, and he clarified where context was not given. The idea was not to use his discretion, but rather to examine the tradition as far back as he could, and only supplement as required.

The Mishnah and the Hebrew Bible

According to

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

, the Oral Torah ( he, תורה שבעל-פה) was given to Moses with the

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

Mount Horeb Mount Horeb (Hebrew: ''Har Ḥōrēḇ''; Greek in the Septuagint: ; Latin in the Vulgate: ') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by Yahweh, according to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. It is described ...

as an exposition to the latter. The accumulated traditions of the Oral Law, expounded by scholars in each generation from Moses onward, is considered as the necessary basis for the interpretation, and often for the reading, of the Written Law. Jews sometimes refer to this as the Masorah (Hebrew: ), roughly translated as tradition, though that word is often used in a narrower sense to mean traditions concerning the editing and reading of the Biblical text (see

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

). The resulting Jewish law and custom is called

. While most discussions in the Mishnah concern the correct way to carry out laws recorded in the Torah, it usually presents its conclusions without explicitly linking them to any scriptural passage, though scriptural quotations do occur. For this reason it is arranged in order of topics rather than in the form of a Biblical commentary. (In a very few cases, there is no scriptural source at all and the law is described as ''Halakha leMoshe miSinai'', "law to Moses from Sinai".) The ''

Midrash halakha ''Midrash halakha'' ( he, הֲלָכָה) was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot (commandments) by identifying their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and by interpreting these ...

'', by contrast, while presenting similar laws, does so in the form of a Biblical commentary and explicitly links its conclusions to details in the Biblical text. These Midrashim often predate the Mishnah. The Mishnah also quotes the Torah for principles not associated with

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, but just as practical advice, even at times for humor or as guidance for understanding historical debates.

Rejection

Some Jews do not accept the codification of the oral law at all.

Karaite Judaism Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme au ...

, for example, recognises only the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

authoritative In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The Ne ...

in ''

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'' (Jewish

religious law Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others ...

) and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. It rejects the codification of the

in the Mishnah and

and subsequent works of mainstream

which maintain that the Talmud is an authoritative interpretation of the

. Karaites maintain that all of the divine commandments handed down to

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

by God were recorded in the written Torah without additional Oral Law or explanation. As a result, Karaite Jews do not accept as binding the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or Talmud. The Karaites comprised a significant portion of the world Jewish population in the 10th and 11th centuries CE, and remain extant, although they currently number in the thousands.

Authorship

The rabbis who contributed to the Mishnah are known as the ''Tannaim'', of whom approximately 120 are known. The period during which the Mishnah was assembled spanned about 130 years, or five generations, in the first and second centuries CE.

is credited with the final redaction and publication of the Mishnah, although there have been a few additions since his time: those passages that cite him or his grandson,

Judah II Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Jud ...

, and the end of tractate Sotah, which refers to the period after Judah's death. In addition to redacting the Mishnah, Judah and his court also ruled on which opinions should be followed, although the rulings do not always appear in the text. Most of the Mishnah is related without attribution ('). This usually indicates that many sages taught so, or that Judah the Prince ruled so. The halakhic ruling usually follows that view. Sometimes, however, it appears to be the opinion of a single sage, and the view of the sages collectively ( he, חכמים, ''hachamim'') is given separately. As Judah the Prince went through the tractates, the Mishnah was set forth, but throughout his life some parts were updated as new information came to light. Because of the proliferation of earlier versions, it was deemed too hard to retract anything already released, and therefore a second version of certain laws were released. The

refers to these differing versions as ' ("First Mishnah") and ' ("Last Mishnah").

suggests that ''Mishnah Rishonah'' actually refers to texts from earlier Sages upon which Rebbi based his Mishnah. The Talmud records a tradition that unattributed statements of the law represent the views of

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishn ...

(Sanhedrin 86a), which supports the theory (recorded by

Sherira Gaon Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the ...

in his famous ''Iggeret'') that he was the author of an earlier collection. For this reason, the few passages that actually say "this is the view of Rabbi Meir" represent cases where the author intended to present Rabbi Meir's view as a "minority opinion" not representing the accepted law. There are also references to the "Mishnah of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...

", suggesting a still earlier collection; on the other hand, these references may simply mean his teachings in general. Another possibility is that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir established the divisions and order of subjects in the Mishnah, making them the authors of a school curriculum rather than of a book. Authorities are divided on whether Rabbi Judah the Prince recorded the Mishnah in writing or established it as an oral text for memorisation. The most important early account of its composition, the ''Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' (Epistle of Rabbi Sherira Gaon) is ambiguous on the point, although the Spanish recension leans to the theory that the Mishnah was written. However, the Talmud records that, in every study session, there was a person called the ''tanna'' appointed to recite the Mishnah passage under discussion. This may indicate that, even if the Mishnah was reduced to writing, it was not available on general distribution.

Mishnah studies

Textual variants

Very roughly, there are two traditions of Mishnah text. One is found in manuscripts and printed editions of the Mishnah on its own, or as part of the

. The other is found in manuscripts and editions of the Babylonian

; though there is sometimes a difference between the text of a whole paragraph printed at the beginning of a discussion (which may be edited to conform with the text of the Mishnah-only editions) and the line-by-line citations in the course of the discussion. Robert Brody, in his ''Mishna and Tosefta Studies'' (Jerusalem 2014), warns against over-simplifying the picture by assuming that the Mishnah-only tradition is always the more authentic, or that it represents a "Palestinian" as against a "Babylonian" tradition. Manuscripts from the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, ...

, or citations in other works, may support either type of reading or other readings altogether.

Manuscripts

Complete mss. bolded. The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud, Volume 3 The Literature of the Sages: First Part: Oral Tora, Halakha, Mishna, Tosefta, Talmud, External Tractates. ''Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum'', Ed. Shmuel Safrai, Brill, 1987,

Printed editions

The first printed edition of the Mishnah was published in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. There have been many subsequent editions, including the late 19th century

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

edition, which is the basis of the editions now used by the religious public. Vocalized editions were published in Italy, culminating in the edition of David ben Solomon Altaras, publ. Venice 1737. The Altaras edition was republished in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

in 1777, in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in 1797 and 1810 and in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

in many editions from 1823 until 1936: reprints of the vocalized Livorno editions were published in Israel in 1913, 1962, 1968 and 1976. These editions show some textual variants by bracketing doubtful words and passages, though they do not attempt detailed textual criticism. The Livorno editions are the basis of the Sephardic tradition for recitation. As well as being printed on its own, the Mishnah is included in all editions of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. Each paragraph is printed on its own, and followed by the relevant Gemara discussion. However, that discussion itself often cites the Mishnah line by line. While the text printed in paragraph form has generally been standardized to follow the Vilna edition, the text cited line by line in the Gemara often preserves important variants, which sometimes reflect the readings of older manuscripts. The nearest approach to a critical edition is that of

Hanoch Albeck Hanoch Albeck (Hebrew: חנוך אלבק) (August 7, 1890 - January 9, 1972) was a professor of Talmud at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. He was a foremost scholar of the Mishna and one of the pioneers of the scientific approach to Mis ...

. There is also an edition by

Yosef Qafiḥ Yosef Qafiḥ ( he, יוסף קאפח , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a dayan of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Israel, and ...

of the Mishnah together with the commentary of

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

, which compares the base text used by Maimonides with the Napoli and

editions and other sources.

Oral traditions and pronunciation

The Mishnah was and still is traditionally studied through

recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...

(out loud). Jewish communities around the world preserved local melodies for chanting the Mishnah, and distinctive ways of pronouncing its words. Many medieval manuscripts of the Mishnah are vowelized, and some of these, especially some fragments found in the Genizah, are partially annotated with

Tiberian Tiberian may refer to: * Tiberian vocalization, an oral tradition within the Hebrew language * Tiberian Hebrew, the variety of Hebrew based on Tiberian vocalization * Tiberias, a city in Lower Galilee, Israel * Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesa ...

cantillation Cantillation is the ritual chanting of prayers and responses. It often specifically refers to Jewish Hebrew cantillation. Cantillation sometimes refers to diacritics used in texts that are to be chanted in liturgy. Cantillation includes: * Chant ...

marks. Today, many communities have a special tune for the Mishnaic passage "Bammeh madliqin" in the Friday night service; there may also be tunes for Mishnaic passages in other parts of the liturgy, such as the passages in the daily prayers relating to sacrifices and incense and the paragraphs recited at the end of the

Musaf Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to th ...

service on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

. Otherwise, there is often a customary intonation used in the study of Mishnah or Talmud, somewhat similar to an Arabic

mawwal In Arabic Music, the ''mawwāl'' ( ar, موال; plural: ''mawāwīl'', ) is a traditional and popular Arabic genre of vocal music that is very slow in beat and sentimental in nature, and is characterised by prolonging vowel syllables, emotiona ...

, but this is not reduced to a precise system like that for the Biblical books. (In some traditions this intonation is the same as or similar to that used for the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

Haggadah The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...

.) Recordings have been made for Israeli national archives, and Frank Alvarez-Pereyre has published a book-length study of the Syrian tradition of Mishnah reading on the basis of these recordings. Most vowelized editions of the Mishnah today reflect standard

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

vowelization, and often contain mistakes. The Albeck edition of the Mishnah was vocalized by Hanoch Yelon, who made careful eclectic use of both medieval manuscripts and current oral traditions of pronunciation from Jewish communities all over the world. The Albeck edition includes an introduction by Yelon detailing his eclectic method. Two institutes at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in Jerusalem have collected major oral archives which hold extensive recordings of Jews chanting the Mishnah using a variety of melodies and many different kinds of pronunciation. These institutes are the Jewish Oral Traditions Research Center and the National Voice Archives (the ''Phonoteca'' at the Jewish National and University Library). See below for external links.

Commentaries

The main work discussing the Mishnah is the Talmud, as outlined, the Babylonian and Jerusalem versions. However, the Talmud is not usually viewed as a commentary on the Mishnah, ''per se'' - because, i.a., it also has many other goals, and its analysis here - "''

''" - often entails long, tangential discussions (also, neither version covers the whole Mishnah, with each on about 50–70% of the text. ). Here, then, numerous commentaries-proper on the Mishna have been produced, typically intended to allow for the study of the work without requiring direct reference to (and facility for) the ''Gemara''. Chronologically: *

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and '' poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...

: ** In 1168,

(Rambam) published ''Kitab as-Siraj'' (The Book of the Lantern, ar, كتاب السراج) a comprehensive commentary on the Mishnah. It was written in Arabic using Hebrew letters (what is termed

Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic dialects (, ; ; ) are ethnolects formerly spoken by Jews throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Under the ISO 639 international standard for language codes, Judeo-Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage under the code jrb, encomp ...

) and was one of the first commentaries of its kind. In it, Rambam condensed the associated Talmudical debates, and offered his conclusions in a number of undecided issues. Of particular significance are the various introductory sections – as well as the introduction to the work itself – these are widely quoted in other works on the Mishnah, and on the

Oral law An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or community application, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is orally transmitted. M ...

in general. Perhaps the most famous is his introduction to the tenth chapter of tractate Sanhedrin where he enumerates the thirteen fundamental beliefs of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. ** Rabbi

Samson of Sens Samson ben Abraham of Sens (שמשון בן אברהם משאנץ; c. 1150 – c. 1230),was one of the leading French Tosafists in the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. He was the most outstanding student and the s ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) was, apart from Maimonides, one of the few rabbis of the early medieval era to compose a Mishnah commentary on some tractates. It is printed in many editions of the Mishnah. It is interwoven with his commentary on major parts of the Tosefta. **

Asher ben Jehiel Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...

(Rosh)'s commentary on some tractates **

Menachem Meiri Menachem ben Solomon Meiri or Hameiri (1249–1315) was a famous Catalan rabbi, Talmudist and Maimonidean. Biography Menachem Meiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the Principality of Catalonia. He was the student of Rab ...

's commentary on most of the Mishnah, ''Beit HaBechirah'', providing a digest of the Talmudic-discussion and Rishonim there ** An 11th-century CE commentary of the Mishnah, composed by Rabbi

Nathan ben Abraham Nathan ben Abraham, known also by the epithet ''President of the Academy'' () in the Land of Israel (died ca. 1045 – 1051), was an 11th-century rabbi and exegete of the Mishnah who lived in Ramla, in the Jund Filastin district of the Fatimid C ...

, President of the Academy in ''Eretz Israel''. This relatively unheard-of commentary was first printed in Israel in 1955. ** A 12th-century Italian commentary of the Mishnah, made by Rabbi

Isaac ben Melchizedek Isaac ben Melchizedek (; also known by the acronym Ribmaṣ ; c. 1090–1160), , was a rabbinic scholar from Siponto, Italy, and one of the first medieval scholars to have composed a commentary on the Mishnah, of which only his commentary on '' S ...

(only ''

Seder Zera'im Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and bles ...

'' is known to have survived) *

Acharonim In Jewish law and history, ''Acharonim'' (; he, אחרונים ''Aḥaronim''; sing. , ''Aḥaron''; lit. "last ones") are the leading rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisors) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifi ...

: ** Rabbi

Obadiah ben Abraham Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro ( he, ר׳ עוֹבַדְיָה בֵּן אַבְרָהָם מִבַּרְטֵנוּרָא; 1445 – 1515), commonly known as "The Bartenura", was a 15th-century Italian rabbi best known for his popular comme ...

of Bertinoro (15th century) wrote one of the most popular Mishnah commentaries. He draws on Maimonides' work but also offers Talmudical material (in effect a summary of the Talmudic discussion) largely following the commentary of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

. In addition to its role as a commentary on the Mishnah, this work is often used by students of Talmud as a review-text and is often referred to as "the ''Bartenura''" or "the ''Ra'V''". ** Yomtov Lipman Heller wrote a commentary called ''Tosafot Yom Tov.'' In the introduction Heller says that his aim is to make additions (''tosafoth'') to Bertinoro’s commentary. The glosses are sometimes quite detailed and analytic. That is why it is sometimes compared to the

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

– discussions of Babylonian gemara by French and German scholars of the 12th–13th centuries. In many compact Mishnah printings, a condensed version of his commentary, titled ''Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov'', is featured. ** Other

who have written Mishnah commentaries: *** The ''Melechet Shlomo'' ( Solomon Adeni; early 17th century) *** ''Kav veNaki'' (Amsterdam 1697) b
R. Elisha Ben Avraham
a brief commentary on the entire Mishnah drawing from "the ''Bartenura''", reprinted 20 times since its publication *** ''Hon Ashir'' by Immanuel Hai Ricchi (Amsterdam 1731) *** The

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

(''Shenot Eliyahu'' on parts of the Mishnah, and glosses ''Eliyaho Rabba'', ''Chidushei HaGra'', ''Meoros HaGra'') *19th century ** A (the) prominent commentary here is ''Tiferet Yisrael'' by Rabbi

Israel Lipschitz Yisrael Lifschitz ( he, ישראל ליפשיץ ; 1782–1860) was a leading 19th-century Ashkenazi rabbi, first in Dessau and then in the Jewish Community of Danzig. He was the author of the commentary "Tiferes Yisrael" on the Mishnah. Biog ...

. It is subdivided into two parts, one more general and the other more analytical, titled ''Yachin'' and ''Boaz'' respectively (after two large pillars in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

). Although Rabbi Lipschutz has faced some controversy in certain Hasidic circles, he was greatly respected by such sages as

Rabbi Akiva Eiger A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, whom he frequently cites, and is widely accepted in the

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

world. The ''Tiferet Yaakov'' is an important gloss on the ''Tiferet Yisrael''. **Others from this time include: *** Rabbi

Akiva Eiger Rabbi Akiva Eiger (, also spelled Eger; , yi, עקיבא אייגער), or Akiva Güns (17611837) was an outstanding Talmudic scholar, influential halakhic decisor and foremost leader of European Jewry during the early 19th century. He was also ...

(glosses, rather than a commentary) *** The ''Mishnah Rishonah'' on ''Zeraim'' and the ''Mishnah Acharonah'' on ''Tehorot'' (Rav Efrayim Yitzchok from Premishla) *** The ''Sidrei Tehorot'' on ''Kelim'' and ''Ohalot'' (the commentary on the rest of ''Tehorot'' and on ''Eduyot'' is lost) by Gershon Henoch Leiner, the Radziner Rebbe *** The ''Gulot Iliyot'' (Rav Dov Ber Lifshitz) on ''Mikvaot'' *** The ''Ahavat Eitan'' by Rav Avrohom Abba Krenitz (the great grandfather of Rav

Malkiel Kotler Aryeh Malkiel Kotler (born April 1951) is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, Lakewood, New Jersey, one of the largest yeshivas in the world. He is a member of the Moetzes ...

) *** The ''

Chazon Ish Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...

'' on ''Zeraim'' and ''Tohorot'' *Commentaries produced in the 20th century: **

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ( he, חיים נחמן ביאַליק; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vangu ...

's commentary to Seder

with vocalization (partially availabl
here
in 1930 was one of the first attempts to create a modern commentary on Mishnah. His decision to use the Vilna text, as opposed to a scientific edition, as well as write an introduction to every mesechta that included a description of the content and all of the relevant biblical material influenced

, whose project was considered a continuation and expansion of Bialik's. **

's edition (1952–59) (vocalized by Hanoch Yelon), includes the former's extensive commentary on each Mishnah, as well as introductions to each tractate (Masekhet) and order (Seder). This commentary tends to focus on the meaning of the mishnayot themselves, without as much reliance on the Gemara's interpretation and is, therefore, considered valuable as a tool for the study of Mishnah as an independent work. Especially important are the scholarly notes in the back of the commentary. ** Symcha Petrushka's commentary was written in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

in 1945 (published in Montreal). Its vocalization is supposed to be of high quality. ** The commentary by Rabbi

Pinhas Kehati Pinchas Kehati (; 1910 – December 21, 1976) was a Polish-Israeli rabbi, teacher, and author. He is best known as the author of ''Mishnayot Mevoarot'' (, "Explained Mishnayot", popularly known as "the ''Kehati Mishnayot''") which is a commentary ...

, which uses the Albeck text of the Mishnah, is written in

Modern Israeli Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

and based on classical and contemporary works, has become popular in the late 20th century. The commentary is designed to make the Mishnah accessible to a wide readership. Each tractate is introduced with an overview of its contents, including historical and legal background material, and each Mishnah is prefaced by a thematic introduction. The current version of this edition is printed with the Bartenura commentary as well as Kehati's. ** The encyclopedic editions put out by ''Mishnat Rav Aharon'' (''Beis Medrosho Govoah'', Lakewood) on ''Peah'', ''Sheviit'', ''Challah'', and ''Yadayim''. ** Rabbi

Yehuda Leib Ginsburg Yehuda Leib Ginsburg (1888–1946) was a ''posek'' and Talmudic scholar in Yaroslavl, Russia, and later in Denver, CO, in the early 20th century. He is most well known for his commentary on the Mishna which he entitled ''Musar HaMishna,'' as we ...

wrote a commentary on ethical issues, ''Musar HaMishnah''. The commentary appears for the entire text except for

and

. **

Shmuel Safrai Shmuel Safrai (Hebrew: שמואל ספראי) (born 1919; died 2003) was Professor Emeritus of History of the Jewish People at Hebrew University. Safrai authored over eighty articles and twelve books. Awards In 1986, Safrai received the Jerusalem P ...

, Chana Safrai and

Ze'ev Safrai Ze'ev Safrai ( he, זאב ספראי; born 1948, Jerusalem) is an Israeli Professor in the Department for Israel Studies in Bar Ilan University, as well as an author, lecturer and researcher of Israel in the Second Temple era . His main project is ...

have half completed a 45 volume socio-historic commentary " Mishnat Eretz Yisrael". ** ''Mishnah Sdura'', a format specially designed so as to facilitate recital and memorization, produced by Rabbi E. Dordek in 1992. The layout is such that an entire chapter and its structure is readily visible, with each Mishnah, in turn, displayed in its component parts using line breaks (click on above image to view); includes tables summarizing each tractate, and the ''Kav veNaki'' commentary. **

ArtScroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll' ...

's "Elucidated Mishnah", a phrase-by-phrase translation and elucidation based on the Bertinoro - following the format of the Schottenstein Edition Talmud. Its "Yad Avraham" commentary comprises supplementary explanations and notes, drawing on the Gemara and the other Mishnah commentaries and cross referencing the ''

'' as applicable. The work also includes a general introduction to each tractate. The

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

(''Ryzman'') edition includes all these features.

As a historical source

Both the Mishnah and Talmud contain little serious biographical studies of the people discussed therein, and the same tractate will conflate the points of view of many different people. Yet, sketchy biographies of the Mishnaic sages can often be constructed with historical detail from Talmudic and

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic sources. According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica (Second Edition), it is accepted that Judah the Prince added, deleted, and rewrote his source material during the process of redacting the Mishnah. Modern authors who have provided examples of these changes include J.N. Epstein and S. Friedman. Following Judah the Prince's redaction there remained a number of different versions of the Mishnah in circulation. The Mishnah used in the Babylonian rabbinic community differing markedly from that used in the Palestinian one. Indeed within these rabbinic communities themselves there are indications of different versions being used for study. These differences are shown in divergent citations of individual Mishnah passages in the Talmud Yerushalmi and the Talmud Bavli, and in variances of medieval manuscripts and early editions of the Mishnah. The best known examples of these differences is found in J.N.Epstein’s Introduction to the Text of the Mishnah (1948). Epstein has also concluded that the period of the Amoraim was one of further deliberate changes to the text of the Mishnah, which he views as attempts to return the text to what was regarded as its original form. These lessened over time, as the text of the Mishnah became more and more regarded as authoritative. Many modern historical scholars have focused on the timing and the formation of the Mishnah. A vital question is whether it is composed of sources which date from its editor's lifetime, and to what extent is it composed of earlier, or later sources. Are Mishnaic disputes distinguishable along theological or communal lines, and in what ways do different sections derive from different schools of thought within early Judaism? Can these early sources be identified, and if so, how? In response to these questions, modern scholars have adopted a number of different approaches. * Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and statements within the Mishnah (and later, in the Talmud.) Lacking outside confirming texts, they hold that we cannot confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can say little for certain about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to answer. See, for example, the works of Louis Jacobs, Baruch M. Bokser,

Shaye J. D. Cohen Shaye J. D. Cohen (born October 21, 1948) is a modern scholar of Hebrew Bible. Currently he is the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University. Backgro ...

, Steven D. Fraade. * Some scholars hold that the Mishnah and Talmud have been extensively shaped by later editorial redaction, but that it contains sources which we can identify and describe with some level of reliability. In this view, sources can be identified to some extent because each era of history and each distinct geographical region has its own unique feature, which one can trace and analyze. Thus, the questions above may be analyzed. See, for example, the works of Goodblatt, Lee Levine, David C. Kraemer and Robert Goldenberg. * Some scholars hold that many or most of the statements and events described in the Mishnah and Talmud usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious sources of historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial additions (itself a very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a reliable historical text. See, for example, the works of

Saul Lieberman Saul Lieberman (Hebrew: שאול ליברמן, May 28, 1898 – March 23, 1983), also known as Rabbi Shaul Lieberman or, among some of his students, The ''Gra"sh'' (''Gaon Rabbeinu Shaul''), was a rabbi and a Talmudic scholar. He served as Professo ...

David Weiss Halivni David Weiss Halivni ( he, דוד וייס הלבני; September 27, 1927 – June 28, 2022) was a European-born American-Israeli rabbi, scholar in the domain of Jewish sciences, and Professor of Talmud. He served as '' Reish Metivta'' of the U ...

, Avraham Goldberg and Dov Zlotnick.

Cultural references

A notable literary work on the composition of the Mishnah is

Milton Steinberg Milton Steinberg (November 25, 1903 – March 20, 1950) was an American rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author. Life Born in Rochester, New York, he was raised with the combination of his grandparents' traditional Jewish piety and his fath ...

's novel '' As a Driven Leaf''.

Notes

References

English translations

* Philip Blackman. ''Mishnayoth''. The Judaica Press, Ltd., reprinted 2000 (). Online

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

at HebrewBooks
ZeraimMoedNashimNezikinKodashimTehorot
*

Herbert Danby Herbert Danby (20 January 1889 – 29 March 1953) was an Anglican priest and writer who played a central role in the change of attitudes toward Judaism in the first half of the twentieth century. Education Danby was educated at Church Middle Cl ...

. ''The Mishnah''. Oxford, 1933 (). *

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Life and career Neusner was born in Hartfor ...

. ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. New Haven, reprint 1991 (). *

Isidore Epstein Rabbi Ezekiel Isidore Epstein (יחזקא-ל יצחק אפשטיין ;1894-1962) was an Orthodox rabbi and rabbinical scholar in England. He is best known as Editor of the first complete English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, and for hi ...

(ed.). Soncino Talmud. London, 1935-1952. Includes Mishnah-translations for those tractates without Gemara. * Various editors. ''The Mishnah, a new translation with commentary Yad Avraham''. New York:

Mesorah Publications ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll ...

, since the 1990s. (

mentioned above) * Yoseph Milstein + Various editors. ''The Mishnah, a new integrated translation and commentary based on Rabbeinu Ovadiah M'Bartenurah'', Machon Yisrael Trust, available online at eMishnah.com. *Various editors.

Sefaria Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Calling itself "a living library of Jewish texts", Sefar ...

br>full text of the Mishnah with various open-source English translations

Historical study

* Shalom Carmy (Ed.) ''Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations'' Jason Aronson, Inc. * Shaye J.D. Cohen, "Patriarchs and Scholarchs", Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 48 (1981), pp. 57–87 * Steven D. Fraade, "The Early Rabbinic Sage," in ''The Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East'', ed. John G. Gammie and Leo G. Perdue (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1990), pp. 417–23 * Robert Goldenberg ''The Sabbath-Law of Rabbi Meir'' (Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1978) * John W McGinley '' 'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly'' * Jacob Neusner ''Making the Classics in Judaism'' (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989), pp. 1–13 and 19–44 * Jacob Neusner ''Judaism: The Evidence of the Mishnah'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), pp. 14–22. * Gary Porton, ''The Traditions of Rabbi Ishmael'' (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982), vol. 4, pp. 212–25 * Dov Zlotnick, ''The Iron Pillar Mishnah'' (Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1988), pp. 8–9 * Reuvain Margolies, ''Yesod Ha-Mishnah V'Arichatah'' (Heb.) * David Tzvi Hoffman, ''Mishnah Rishonah U'flugta D'tanna'e'' (Heb) * Hanokh Yalon, ''Mavo le-nikud ha-Mishnah'' ntroduction to the vocalization of the Mishnah(Jerusalem 1964) (Heb) * Robert Brody, ''Mishna and Tosefta Studies'' (Jerusalem 2014)

Recitation

* Frank Alvarez-Pereyre, ''La Transmission Orale de la Mishna. Une methode d'analyse appliquee a la tradition d'Alep'': Jerusalem 1990

External links

Wikimedia projects

* * * * Wikisource's Open Mishna Project is developing Mishnah texts, commentaries, and translations. The project is currently available in four languages:

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

(the largest collection),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Digitised manuscripts

Complete Mishnah manuscript (15th century CE), Cambridge Digital Library

Other electronic texts

Learn Mishna in Someone's Memory
– Create a Shloshim Mishnah list online.

(Hebrew) – Hebrew text of the Mishnah according to Maimonides' version (based on the manuscript of his Mishnah commentary in his own handwriting).

– Hebrew text according to the Albeck edition (without vowels) with special formatting.
Online Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library
in Hebrew.

– High resolution images of this important textual witness.
eMishnah
– English Translation & Commentary.
Mishnah (Hebrew & English)
– English text as translated in The William Davidson edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Mishnah study and the daily Mishnah

* * – One Mishnah per day. (Note: this study-cycle follows a different schedule than the regular one; contains extensive archives in English).
Mishnah Yomit
– MishnahYomit.com hosts a weekly publication complementing the learning of people studying the regular program. It include articles, review questions and learning aids. * – A program of two Mishnayot per day. Currently inactive, but archives contain the complete text of Kehati in English for Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, and about half of Kodashim. * – Custom learning and review programs for Mishnah.
MishnaSdura
– Popular edition of Hebrew text (with vowels), used in many schools, formatted to encourage review and aid memory. Tables summarizing content. Mishna songs and recordings. Wiki article in Hebrew Mishna Sdura
Perek HaYomi
(Hebrew) – Host to Shiurim, and learning and review according to the Perek HaYomi in Mishna instituted by the Maharal.
2 Mishnas A Day
– A program of learning two mishnayos every day. Site include Hebrew and English together with a link for audio for each day.

Audio lectures

Rav Avraham Kosman – Slabodka
on the Mishnah and Talmud in English – Produced in Israel
Mishna Audio
– given by Rabbi Chaim Brown in English
Rav Grossman on the Mishna
in English produced in Los Angeles

Oral traditions and pronunciation

The National Sound Archives
at the Hebrew University (catalogue not currently online).

– Recordings of Seder Zera'im in Syrian tradition {{Jews and Judaism 3rd-century texts Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Hebrew words and phrases Hebrew-language literature Jewish texts in Aramaic Jewish texts

Structure

Omissions

Mishnah, Gemara, and Talmud

Content and purpose

The Mishnah and the Hebrew Bible

Rejection

Authorship

Mishnah studies

Textual variants

Manuscripts

Printed editions

Oral traditions and pronunciation

Commentaries

As a historical source

Cultural references

See also

Notes

References

English translations

Historical study

Recitation

External links

Wikimedia projects

Digitised manuscripts

Other electronic texts

Mishnah study and the daily Mishnah

Audio lectures

Oral traditions and pronunciation