Nezikin

''Nezikin'' ( he, נזיקין ''Neziqin'', "Damages") or ''Seder Nezikin'' (, "The Order of Damages") is the fourth Order of the

Mishna 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 Torah ...

(also the Tosefta 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 ce ...

). It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court system. Nezikin contains ten volumes (or "tractates"): #''

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 ...

'' (, ''First Gate'') deals with civil matters, largely damages and compensation. 10 chapters. (See also

Shomer In Jewish religious law (''halacha''), a shomer ( he, שומר, pl. , shomrim) is a Jewish legal guardian entrusted with the custody and care of another's object. The laws of ''shomrim'' (pl. "keepers"; "watchmen") are derived from the Torah i ...

) #''

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 ...

'' (, ''Middle Gate'') deals with civil matters, largely torts and property law. 10 chapters. #'' Bava Batra'' (, ''Last Gate'') deals with civil matters, largely land ownership. 10 chapters. #'' Sanhedrin'' (, ''The Sanhedrin'') deals with the rules of court proceedings in the Sanhedrin, the death penalty, and other criminal matters. 11 chapters. #'' Makkot'' (, ''Lashes'') deals with colluding witnesses,

cities of refuge The cities of refuge ( ''‘ārê ha-miqlāṭ'') were six Levitical towns in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah in which the perpetrators of accidental manslaughter could claim the right of asylum. Maimonides, invoking talmudic lite ...

and the punishment of lashes. 3 chapters. #'' Shevu'ot'' (, ''Oaths'') deals with the various types of oaths and their consequences. 8 chapters. #''

Eduyot Tractate Eduyot (Hebrew: עדויות, lit. "testimonies") is the seventh tractate in the order Nezikin of the Mishnah. When, after the destruction of the Temple, it became necessary, through the removal of R. Gamaliel II from the office of patriar ...

'' (, ''Testimonies'') presents case studies of legal disputes in Mishnaic times and the miscellaneous testimonies that illustrate various Sages and principles of

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 ...

. 8 chapters. #'' Avodah Zarah'' (, ''Foreign worship'') deals with the laws of interactions between Jews and Gentiles and/or idolaters (from a Jewish perspective). 5 chapters. #'' Avot'' (, ''Fathers'') is a collection of the Sages' favourite ethical maxims. 6 chapters. #''

Horayot Horayot ( he, הוֹרָיוֹת; "Decisions") is a tractate in Seder Nezikin in the Talmud. In the Mishnah, this is the tenth and last tractate in Nezikin; in the Babylonian Talmud the ninth tractate; in the Jerusalem Talmud the eighth. It consi ...

'' (, ''Decisions'') deals with the communal sin-offering brought for major errors by the Sanhedrin. 3 chapters. Originally, the first three volumes were counted as one single, very lengthy volume. Since it was the chief repository of "civil" law, it was simply called ''Massekhet Nezikin'' ("Tractate Damages"). The traditional reasoning for the order of the volumes of Nezikin is as follows: The Order begins with civil law (the first 3 tractates) because it is considered the cornerstone of righteousness within a Jewish state. Sanhedrin naturally follows, as it deals with criminal law. Next comes Makkot, as it is a continuation of Sanhedrin's subject matter in terms of criminal procedure. Then, Shevuot, which continues the general topic dealt with in Makkot of the false testimony. After outlining the main points of civil and criminal law, Eduyot follows to fit it all into a halakhic framework. After dealing with "damages" within a society, the next stage is Avodah Zarah placed after to highlight what is seen as behavior that inflicts damage on the universe. Avot is probably placed next to counteract the negativity of the laws of Avodah Zarah and to relate maxims of the Sages, an essential aspect of whose teaching was to counteract idolatry. Finally, Horayot brings the discussion from lofty heights to a humble note, highlighting the concept that even the Sages and '' battei din'' can err. There is both a Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud to each of the tractates except for Eduyot and Avot. This is probably because these two tractates aren't concerned with individual laws and therefore don't lend themselves to a Gemara style analysis. {{mishnah Jewish courts and civil law