In the Siddur, Pirkei Avos has a different division (in each Perek the amount of Mishnayos) than in the Mishnayos Avos. Who determined the division of the Mishnayos in the Siddur?
asked May 22, 2011 at 3:19
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4There are more than two divisions of mishnayos in general (not limited only to Avos) and they are not necessarily divided along the sidur/independent sefer line. For example, the Ramba"m's division is famously different from the standard one, which is very often different from the divisions in the Vilna sha"s.– WAFCommented May 22, 2011 at 3:24
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However the Siddur is different than both of those. Who determined the division that is printed in the Siddur?– Gershon GoldCommented May 22, 2011 at 3:30
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2Which sidur ?– WAFCommented May 22, 2011 at 3:31
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2Which difference in division are you asking about? The last two mishnayot of the fifth perek are probably not part of the original mishna, and don't appear in many manuscripts. The sixth perek of pirkei avos of course is not mishna at all.– AviCommented May 22, 2011 at 8:09
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2@Gershon - Apparently, you could make your question a lot more answerable by detailing the differences between the divisions you're asking about.– Isaac Moses ♦Commented May 22, 2011 at 17:10
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1 Answer
It seems to me that there is no canonical division of mishnayos beyond the level of perek.
My basis for the statement is the way the Gemara handles and speaks of the mishnayos. In the Gemara, the division of the mishnayos is based only on the discussion. At times (ex. the third chapter of Taanis, starting on 18b) the Gemara will have the entire perek of mishnayos as one undifferentiated lump at the begging of the perek, followed by the Gemara. The term 'מתניתין' - "our Mishnah" - is always used to refer to the entire perek, including teachings that are found later.
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2Can you provide a source for this assertion? If so, please edit it into your answer.– Isaac Moses ♦Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 17:17
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3I don't know of any source that says this explicitly. My basis for the statement is the way the Gemara handles and speaks of the mishnayos. In the Gemara, the division of the mishnayos is based only on the discussion. At times the Gemara will have the entire perek of mishnayos as one undifferentiated lump at the begging of the perek, followed by the Gemara. The term 'מתניתין' - "our Mishnah" - is always used to refer to the entire perek, including teachings that are found later.– LazerACommented Feb 5, 2012 at 14:25
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I have found that there are always different ways of dividing the text of a chapter of mishnah. Between the printed Mishnaios, the printed Gemara, Rashi, Tosafos, the Yerushalmi, Rif, Rambam and Meiri, I have always found differences. Commented Apr 29, 2021 at 21:49
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It is a reasonable guess, but the Rambam in his introduction to Mishnayos clearly says the perakim were split up into individual halachos. sefaria.org/…– N.T.Commented Apr 30, 2021 at 9:09