__notoc__ Nashim ( he, נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the

Mishnah 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 traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

(also of the

Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

and

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 ...

) containing

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest. Nashim consists of seven

tractate A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise. One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...

s: #''

Yevamot Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conv ...

'' ( "Brothers-in-Law") deals with the Jewish law of

yibbum Yibbum (, Hebrew: ייבום) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism. As specified by , the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go throu ...

( levirate marriage) () and other topics such as the status of minors. It consists of 16 chapters. #''

Ketubot A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

'' (, "Prenuptial agreements") deals with the

ketubah A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

(Judaism's

prenuptial agreement A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...

), as well as topics such as

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, and the obligations of a couple towards each other. It consists of 13 chapters. #'' Nedarim'' (, "Vows") deals with various types of vows often known as ''nedarim'' and their legal consequences. It consists of 11 chapters. #'' ''Nazir'''' ( "One who abstains") deals with the details of the

Nazirite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...

vow and being a Nazirite (). It consists of 9 chapters. #''

Sotah Sotah ( he, סוֹטָה or he, שׂוֹטָה) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Number ...

'' ( "Wayward wife") deals with the ritual of the

sotah Sotah ( he, סוֹטָה or he, שׂוֹטָה) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Number ...

, the woman suspected of adultery () as well as other rituals involving a spoken formula (such as breaking the heifer's neck, the King's Septennial public Torah reading, the Blessings and Curses of Mount Gerizim and

Mount Ebal Mount Ebal ( he, ''Har ʿĒyḇāl''; ar, جبل عيبال ''Jabal ‘Aybāl'') is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank ( biblical ''Shechem''), and forms the northern side of the valley i ...

, etc...). It consists of nine chapters. #''

Gittin Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get'' ...

'': ( "Documents") deals with the concepts of

divorces Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

and other documents. It consists of 9 chapters. #'' Kiddushin'': ( "Betrothal") deals with the initial stage of marriage –

betrothal An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, as well as the laws of Jewish lineages. It consists of 4 chapters.

Order of tractates

The traditional reasoning for the order of tractates according to

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 Tora ...

is as follows: *''Yevamot'' is first because unlike the others, it is largely concerned with a compulsory commandment (levirate marriage) as opposed to a voluntary one. *''Ketubot'' follows as it signifies the beginning of married life. *''Nedarim'' follows because once a man is married to a woman, he has the legal right (under certain conditions) to annul her vows. *''Nazir'', dealing with a special type of vow is a continuation on the subject of vows. *The penultimate sections deal with the end of a marriage with ''Sotah'' which is concerned with infidelity and ''Gittin'' which is about actual divorce (Rambam's order swaps these two). *''Kiddushin'' is at the end because it follows the Scriptural order that once a woman is divorced, she can get betrothed to any man, this subsequent betrothal symbolised by the placement of ''Kiddushin''. Both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds have a Gemara on each of the tractates in the order.

Order of tractates

References

External links