What Is a Mishnah?
מִשְׁנָה
Where the Mishnah came fromHow the Mishnah is builtHow to read a Mishnah
Motzei Shabbos Mishnayos Chabura · Winter 5787
Where the Mishnah came from
Everyone Has Rules
Your rebbe has rules
Your morah has rules
Your parents have rules
Shabbos
What counts as “work”?
Lulav & Esrog
Which fruit is the esrog?
Sukkah
How tall? How many walls?
Shechita
How do you shecht?
Devarim 12:21
“…and you shall shecht… as I have commanded you.”
As commanded… where?
“…and you shall shecht… as I have commanded you.”
As commanded… where?
וְזָבַחְתָּ מִבְּקָרְךָ וּמִצֹּאנְךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ה׳ לְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ
“The Torah has lots of rules for us, but the Torah doesn't really spell it out completely.”
Where the Mishnah came from
At Har Sinai, the Torah Came in Two Parts
תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב
The Written Torah
The five books of the Torah, the Chamishah Chumshei Torah
תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה
The Oral Torah
The explanation, passed from teacher to student
Hashem gave both to Moshe Rabbeinu. One was written down. The other was taught, rebbe to talmid.
Where the Mishnah came from
The Books of Tanach
בְּרֵאשִׁית
שְׁמוֹת
וַיִּקְרָא
בְּמִדְבַּר
דְּבָרִים
Torah5 books · the mitzvos
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
שׁוֹפְטִים
שְׁמוּאֵל
מְלָכִים
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ
יִרְמְיָהוּ
יְחֶזְקֵאל
תְּרֵי עָשָׂר
Nevi'im8 books · the story of Eretz Yisrael
תְּהִלִּים
מִשְׁלֵי
אִיּוֹב
שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים
רוּת
אֵיכָה
קֹהֶלֶת
אֶסְתֵּר
דָּנִיֵּאל
עֶזְרָא
דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים
Kesuvim11 books · Tehillim, the Megillos…
…
מִשְׁנָה
That's all 24 books of Tanach. Then nothing is written for a very long time.
The first major book written after Tanach: the Mishnah, the first book of the Torah SheBaal Peh.
More than a thousand years from Yehoshua to the Mishnah. So what happened? Nobody learned Torah?
Where the Mishnah came from
The Chain of Torah
Mesoras HaTorah
Mesoras HaTorah
Mishnah Avos 1:1
מֹשֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי,
וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ,
וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים,
וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים,
וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה.
Mosheat Har Sinai2448 · 1313 BCE
Yehoshuaone talmid2488 · 1273 BCE
Zekeinimthe eldersfrom 2516 · 1245 BCE
Nevi'imShmuel … Yirmiyahu2870–3340 · 890–420 BCE
Anshei Knesses HaGedolahEzra, Nechemyahabout 3410 · 350 BCE
Zugosthe pairs · Hillel & Shammai3560–3770 · 200 BCE–10 CE
Tannaimthe Mishnah3770–3980 · 10–220 CE
Amoraimthe Gemara3980–4260 · 220–500
GeonimBavel4350–4800 · 590–1040
RishonimRashi, the Rambam4800–5260 · 1040–1500
Acharonimuntil today5260–today · 1500–today
Your rebbe, your parents
Who is the next link?
You
Rebbe to talmid, for more than three thousand years, and almost none of it written down.
Where the Mishnah came from
Who Lived When?
Where the Mishnah came from
Follow the Trail of the Yeshivos
1
Yerushalayim while the Beis HaMikdash stands
Hillel and Shammai, and their yeshivos, Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai
2
Yavneh after the Churban, 70
Rabban Gamliel leads in Yavneh. The others teach in their own towns: Rabbi Eliezer in Lod, Rabbi Yehoshua in Peki'in, Rabbi Akiva in Bnei Brak, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai in Beror Chayil (Sanhedrin 32b)
3
Usha after Bar Kochba, 135
Rabbi Akiva's talmidim: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua
4
Shefaram · Beis She'arim · Tzippori · Teveria
Further north, into the Galil. Rebbi leads from Beis She'arim and Tzippori.
When you learn Mishnayos and you see Rabbi Meir, you know you're talking about somebody who learned in Usha.
Where the Mishnah came from
Why Did the Oral Torah Have to Be Written Down?
70
The second Beis HaMikdash is destroyed.
135
Bar Kochba's rebellion is crushed by Rome.
then
Jews are scattered and the troubles are growing. There is a real fear the Torah SheBaal Peh will be forgotten.
Can you name every player on your favorite team?
- This year's team
- Last year's team
- The team from ten years ago
Things that are less important or not as fun are not necessarily well remembered. So eventually you have to write it down.
Where the Mishnah came from
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi Gathers the Mishnah
מִשְׁנָהabout 200–220
Rebbi Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi
- A descendant of Hillel, and the leader of the Jews, the Nasi
- One of the last of the Tannaim
- There were traditions, and even writings, before him. He collected it all and set it in order, as one book.
- Finished around the year 200–220, about 1,800 years ago
A questionWhere did Rebbi live?
Tzippori
Up north in the Galil. The Gemara says it is called Tzippori because it sits on top of the mountain כְּצִפּוֹר, like a bird.
How the Mishnah is built
The Mishnayos Pyramid
6
Sedarimsix broad topics
63
Masechtoseach about one topic
523
Perakimchapters, “like chapter books”
And how many Mishnayos? Guess!
~4,200
Mishnayosusually four to seven in a perek
1+
Halachosin every Mishnah, at least one
Seder·Masechta·Perek·Mishnah·Halacha
How the Mishnah is built
The Six Sedarim
זמ״ן נק״ט
Zeman Nakat: that's where our website gets its name, zemannakat.com
Your turn
Which Seder Does It Belong In?
Tap a masechta to send it home
Our Chabura
Where We Have Been, and Where We Are Going
We've touched all six sedarim.
Seder Nezikin · 10 masechtos
This winter
מַכּוֹת
Masechta Makkos
3 Perakim · 34 Mishnayos
3 Perakim · 34 Mishnayos
How to read a Mishnah
What a Page of Mishnayos Looks Like
The MishnahIn the middle, like a page of Gemara: כֵּיצַד הָעֵדִים נַעֲשִׂים זוֹמְמִין…
The Ravרַבֵּנוּ עוֹבַדְיָה מִבַּרְטְנוּרָא
Bartenura · Italy, about 1445–1515. When we say “the Rav,” we mean him.
Bartenura · Italy, about 1445–1515. When we say “the Rav,” we mean him.
Tosafos Yom Tovרַבִּי יוֹם טוֹב לִיפְּמַן הֶלֶר
Prague and Krakow, 1578–1654
Prague and Krakow, 1578–1654
And more around itThe Rambam's Peirush HaMishnayos, Meleches Shlomo, and at the bottom Tiferes Yisrael, the “Yachin uBoaz”
The first page of Masechta Makkos, this winter's masechta
“One day you'll walk into a shul with five minutes before Mincha, take a Mishnayos off the shelf, and it will look like this.”
How to read a Mishnah
Every Mishnah Has Some of These Parts
כּוֹתֶרֶת / נוֹשֵׂא
Title · Topic
אוֹמֵר
Who is speaking
מִקְרֶה
Case · Event
דִּין
Rule
טַעַם
Reason
The first Mishnah in Shas · Berachos 1:1
מֵאֵימָתַי קוֹרִין אֶת שְׁמַע בְּעַרְבִית.
מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁהַכֹּהֲנִים נִכְנָסִים לֶאֱכֹל בִּתְרוּמָתָן, עַד סוֹף הָאַשְׁמוּרָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה,
דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר.
וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, עַד חֲצוֹת.
רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, עַד שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה עַמּוּד הַשָּׁחַר.
מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁבָּאוּ בָנָיו מִבֵּית הַמִּשְׁתֶּה, אָמְרוּ לוֹ, לֹא קָרִינוּ אֶת שְׁמַע.
אָמַר לָהֶם, אִם לֹא עָלָה עַמּוּד הַשַּׁחַר, חַיָּבִין אַתֶּם לִקְרוֹת.
וְלֹא זוֹ בִּלְבַד, אֶלָּא כָּל מַה שֶּׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים עַד חֲצוֹת, מִצְוָתָן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה עַמּוּד הַשָּׁחַר. הֶקְטֵר חֲלָבִים וְאֵבָרִים, מִצְוָתָן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה עַמּוּד הַשָּׁחַר. וְכָל הַנֶּאֱכָלִים לְיוֹם אֶחָד, מִצְוָתָן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה עַמּוּד הַשָּׁחַר.
אִם כֵּן, לָמָּה אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים עַד חֲצוֹת, כְּדֵי לְהַרְחִיק אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעֲבֵרָה.
How to read a Mishnah
What Kind of Mishnah Is It?
a rulea casea listhow it’s donea maaseh
Ask this first. Then you know what to look for.
A list
Makkos 3:2 · The ruling: each of these gets lashes (malkus)
הַטָּמֵא שֶׁאָכַל אֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ… וְהָאוֹכֵל חֵלֶב, וְדָם… וְהָאוֹכֵל חָמֵץ בְּפֶסַח, וְהָאוֹכֵל וְהָעוֹשֶׂה מְלָאכָה בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים…
- eats kodashim while tamei
- eats cheilev, or blood
- eats chametz on Pesach
- eats, or works, on Yom Kippur
- … and more. The list is the teaching.
…with a machlokes
The same Mishnah: how much tevel must he eat to get lashes?
Rabbi Shimonany amount
כָּל שֶׁהוּא
כָּל שֶׁהוּא
Chachamima kezayis
כַּזַּיִת
כַּזַּיִת
Rabbi Shimon: “Don’t you agree that a tiny ant gets lashes?” Chachamim: “That is because it is a whole creature.” Rabbi Shimon: “So is one grain of wheat!”
A case
Makkos 1:1
Witnesses say: “he is a ben gerushah”→Proven false: they were somewhere else→They don’t become ben gerushah. They get forty lashes.
How it’s done
Makkos 3:12 · כֵּיצַד מַלְקִין אוֹתוֹ
His hands are tied to the post→His chest is bared→The chazzan, standing on a stone, gives the lashes
This winter
“Whichever masechta you open, it won't be foreign to you.”
“By the time we are done, you'll be impressed to know that you know most of this.”