A ( he, מַסֶּכֶת, Sephardic: , Ashkenazic: ; plural ) is an organizational element of

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 ...

ic literature that systematically examines a subject, referred to as a

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 i ...

in English. A tractate/ consists of chapters (; singular: or ).

Etymology

The word ''masakhet'' () appears in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' warp and weft used in weaving. It also refers to a work of in-depth examination of a topic comprising a framework of discussions, research and conclusions. It refers in particular to the sections 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 ...

, Tosefta,

Beraita ''Baraita'' (Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "ou ...

, and Gemara of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds.

Usage

The "major" tractates, which are those of the Mishnah itself, are organized into six groups, called ''sedarim'', while 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 ...

s, which were not canonized in the Mishnah, stand alone. The

comprises sixty-three tractates, each of which is divided into chapters and paragraphs. The same applies to the Tosefta. Each ''masekhet'' or tractate is named after the principal subject with which it deals, for example, Masekhet Berakhoth, Masekhet Shabbath, or Masekhet Sanhedrin. The

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 i ...

word ''masekhta'' (מסכתא) is used interchangeably with the Hebrew word ''masekhet''. The following are the tractates of the Mishnah, in the six divisions known as ''Sedarim'' (Orders): 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 cent ...

has Gemara—rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah—on thirty-seven ''masekhtot''; the Jerusalem Talmud has Gemara on thirty-nine ''masekhtot''. There are fifteen Minor Masekhtot. They are usually printed at the end of '' Seder Nezikin'' in the

. They contain diverse subjects such as

Aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

including folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice in various spheres, laws and customs pertaining to death and mourning, engagement, marriage and co-habitation, deportment, manners and behavior, maxims urging self-examination and modesty, the ways of peace between people, regulations for writing Torah scrolls and the Mezuzah,

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 ...

and for making

Tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usual ...

, as well as

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. ...

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 w ...

which expounds upon such Talmudic literature may organize itself similarly (e.g. the ''

Halachot ''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 ...

'' by Alfasi), but many works follow a different structure (e.g. ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

'' by

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 ...

). Non-Mishnaic literature, such as

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

, even when from the Mishnaic-era, is not organized into tractates.

References

{{reflist Minor tractates Mishnah Oral Torah Rabbinic literature Talmud