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

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

of the

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

(also the

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

and

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

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

Bava Kamma Bava Kamma () 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 other two of these tractates are Bava Metzia ('The Middle Gate') and Bava Batra ('Th ...

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

Shomer In Jewish religious law (''halacha''), a shomer (, 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 in the Book of ...

) #''

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (, "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 a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or ...

'' (, ''Middle Gate'') deals with civil matters, largely torts and property law. 10 chapters. #''

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; ) 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 property. It is part of Judaism's oral law. Originally it, to ...

'' (, ''Last Gate'') deals with civil matters, largely land ownership. 10 chapters. #''

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

'' (, ''The

'') deals with the rules of court proceedings in the

, the death penalty, and other criminal matters. 11 chapters. #''

Makkot Makkot () 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 beth din ('' halakhic'' courts) and the punishments which they may administer and may be regarded as a ...

'' (, ''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 ...

and the punishment of lashes. 3 chapters. #''

Shevu'ot Shevu'ot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, "Oaths") is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oaths in halakha (Jewish law). Mishnah The Mishnah to Shevu'ot cont ...

'' (, ''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 patri ...

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

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

. 8 chapters. #''

Avodah Zarah ''Avodah Zarah'' (Hebrew: , or "foreign worship", meaning " idolatry" or "strange service") is the name of a tractate of the Talmud, located in '' Nezikin'', the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages. The main topic of the tractate ...

'' (, ''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 (; "Decisions") is a Masekhet, tractate in Nezikin, Seder Nezikin in the Talmud. In the Mishnah, this is the tenth and last tractate in Nezikin, the ninth tractate in the Babylonian Talmud, and the eighth in the Jerusalem Talmud. It cons ...

'' (, ''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 The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

style analysis.

References

{{mishnah Jewish courts and civil law