ʾOhaloth (אוהלות, literally "Tents") is the second tractate of the Order of

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 ...

in 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 ...

. It consists of eighteen chapters, which discuss the ritual impurity of corpses, and the peculiar quality they have to make all objects in the same tent-like structure impure as well. This tractate, along with

Nega'im Neghaʿim (Hebrew: נגעים, "Blemishes") is the third tractate of the order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It consists of fourteen chapters. Nega'im describes the various forms of ''tzaraath'', a leprosy-like disease described in the Parshiyot of ...

, was considered one of the most difficult tractates; according to a Jewish legend, King

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

is said to have asked of God that reading the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

be considered the equivalent of studying the tractate of Negaim and Oholot.

Midrash Tehillim Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Shocher Tov or the Midrash to Psalms, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms. It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome, by R. Isaac ben Juda ...

1 There is no

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 ...

for Oholot in either the Babylonian or

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 ...

. Some suggest that the name of this tractate should be pronounced Ahilot (''Ah-he-lote'') which means "coverings" (the plural

gerund In linguistics, a gerund ( abbreviated ) is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun. In English, it has the properties of both verb and noun, such as being modifiab ...

) instead of Oholot which means "tents." This is because the discussion does not only focus on the transfer of '' tumah'' through tents but through other coverings as well.

References

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