Questions tagged [mishna]
The mishna which is part of the oral law, was written by the Tannaim in a short-form containing 6 volumes with 64 subvolumes.
60
questions
11
votes
7answers
27k views
List of Number of Mishnayos by chapter / masechta
I'm looking for a list that enumerates the number of Mishnayos in each perek, as well as totals by masechta. Does anyone here know of such a list (or have the ability to quickly produce one)?
14
votes
2answers
877 views
Sh'kalim, Kinim, Midos in daf yomi
Why are Sh'kalim (Y'rushalmi) and Kinim and Midos (mishnayos) learned as part of the standard daf yomi cycle for Talmud Bavli?
And if the answer relies on some fact of publication, then (a) why ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Why do Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel always argue?
Why is it that the Academies of Shammai and Hillel have contradictory opinions in most of the verses? It's almost as if one is waiting for the other to give a contradictory opinion.
Take, for example,...
10
votes
1answer
396 views
Why does the Mishna misquote the Tanakh?
In a number of instances, the Mishna provides quotes from Tanakh that differ from the versions of Tanakh that we have today. So, for example, Sotah 6:4 (31b). There, the mishna quotes Deuteronomy 19:...
4
votes
3answers
182 views
What was Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi's role in compiling the Mishnah?
I have always heard that Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi "compiled" the mishna. What were his roles in compiling it in the form that we currently have it? Specifically, did he perform any of these roles:
...
10
votes
4answers
224 views
Does Rashi's commentary on a quoted mishna reflect the true explanation?
Often the Bavli will quote a mishna from another maseches (tractate) or another part of the same maseches. Does Rashi's commentary on the Bavli's quotation of the mishna reflect his interpretation of ...
2
votes
0answers
179 views
Why are tractates arranged in descending order of size?
The tractates of the Mishna are in approximately descending order. That is, in each Order, the longest tractates come first and the shortest ones are last (although there are a few exceptions).
In ...
20
votes
5answers
717 views
Zeraim Moed Nashim Nezikim Kodshim Taharos - why not Moadim?
The names of the Shisha Sidrei Mishna (Six Orders of Mishnah) are: Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikim, Kodshim, Taharos. All of them besides Moed are in plural form. However Moed is in singular form. Why ...
17
votes
4answers
23k views
“Anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world”: Jewish life or any life?
I am puzzled by the Mishnah's original text of the famous Jewish idea that "whoever saves one life [...] saves an entire world" (Sanhedrin 4:5). The English from sefaria.org reads thus:
"It was for ...
10
votes
2answers
250 views
Is the Number of Chapters Per Tractate Relevant?
Much has been written about the sequence of tractates in each mishnaic order. Perhaps most famously, Rambam (in his introduction to Commentary on Mishnayos) explained the position of each tractate ...
8
votes
1answer
169 views
Is a mishna or a baraysa more authoritative?
Often, an opinion in a baraysa (by which I mean to include tosefta and any other non-mishna text of tanaim's halachic statements) and an opinion in a mishna differ on a matter of law. Is there any ...
6
votes
2answers
176 views
Can one use terumah to light a stove?
In Pesachim 23a, the gemara (in the name of Rav Papa) derives from Numbers 18:27 that the prohibition of terumah to non-priests only applies to eating and drinking, but not to other forms of enjoyment....
5
votes
6answers
270 views
Ehad Mi Yodea on the mishnayos
I have an idea to compile a song for the Passover Seder. It is based on the famous "Ehad Mi Yodea", but the answers to the question should be mishnayos mentioning the number. The intention is to make ...
3
votes
1answer
250 views
If someone doesn't believe in the Gemara, is he a heretic?
If someone says "I believe that the Mishnayos/Braisos/Toseftas are accurate, but I think that the Gemara made mistakes and has no holiness.
Is such philosophy heresy?
What about someone who argues ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
Difference between תא and לשכה
Middos 4:3 uses the term תאים to refer to the 38 chambers in the Beis HaMikdash.
I was surprised to see this usage, as the term לשכה appears 29 times in Mishnayos, plus another 12 in the plural, ...
2
votes
2answers
183 views
Difference in Nikkud for לא כי in Torah and Mishna
The phrase "Lo Ki" occurs in Tanach (Genesis 18, 15):
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ׀ לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָֽקְתְּ׃
and in Mishna:
רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא כִי, אֶלָּא חֲצִי בָצָל גָּדוֹל (Trumot 2, 5)
אָמַר לוֹ ...
2
votes
1answer
267 views
Can one learn Mishnah out of order?
I cannot remember ever attending a siyum of an order of the Mishna where the person making the siyum did not learn the last mishna of the last masechta of the seder. Is there some problem with ...
1
vote
1answer
110 views
No divine form for the Oral Law?
This seriously puzzles me. The Oral Law in the form of the Mishnah (and the following Gemmorah), which is the six Sdarim, is well known, and the Gemmorah itself testifies (Shabbos 31a) its division is ...
0
votes
2answers
182 views
Why aren't Zeraim or Toharos included in the Bavli as Mishnayos?
Whatever the reason, there is no Gemara on most of Zeraim and Toharos. Why, though, were the mishnayos themselves not included in their entireties in the redacted Talmud Bavli?
It seems strange that ...
18
votes
4answers
583 views
How do we understand the idea of something missing from the mishnah חסורי מיחסרא והכי קתני?
The gemoro often reconciles the argument of a mishnah with other evidence by saying
חסורי מיחסרא והכי קתני - there is something missing from the mishnah and this is how you must learn it. See for ...
11
votes
1answer
704 views
What is the source of the 'elu devarim' text printed in siddurim?
The girsa of the Elu devarim text that appears in many prayer books after the blessings on the Torah cannot be sourced, so far as I can tell, to any particular rabbinic text. Here's the version that ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
What should I use for Mishna study?
I'm new to Mishna study, and I want to participate in a communal effort to study Mishna. I picked out a section to study, and now I need to find a convenient resource to learn from. I don't ...
7
votes
1answer
85 views
What is the logic underlying the Mishna's chapter breaks
The Mishna was separated into chapters by R Yehuda HaNasi.
I see that at times there is a chapter break in the middle of a topic (today's example: Menachot chapter 1 & 2 - more examples here). It ...
11
votes
3answers
281 views
Why do siddurim and Shulchan Oruch OC start with Shacharis?
Why do siddurim and Shulchan Oruch OC start with the morning? Since the day starts with night, they should start with Maariv as does the mishnah.
9
votes
1answer
230 views
Who was the author/compiler of the Ikkar Tosfos Yom Tov?
I've noticed when learning Mishnayos that with the more basic layouts consist of the Mishna and the commentaries of Rav Ovadia M'Bartenura and the Ikkar Tosfos Yom Tov.
It is known that Rav Yom-Tov ...
8
votes
1answer
290 views
Division of Mishnayos in Pirkei Avos / Meseches Avos
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?
8
votes
1answer
147 views
When the Mishnayos were compiled, were they compiled into the perakim we have today, or were they just compiled into masechtos?
Many times throughout Shas, it seems as if the Perakim are sliced in completely arbitrary places. To name a few examples:
In Maseches Shabbos, the halachos of Tzad, trapping, are discussed in 13:5-14:...
7
votes
1answer
251 views
Getting married at 18
The Mishna in Avos says that one should get married at 18 , is there a reason for this particular age ?
6
votes
1answer
688 views
Why was the Mishna written in Hebrew while the Gemara wasn't?
By the time of the Mishna, people speaking in Aramaic on a day-to-day basis. Nonetheless, R' Yehuda Hanasi wrote the Mishna in Hebrew. So were the Toseftas and the Braisos.
Why?
On the other hand, ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
Mishnayot in the Bavli
In the Miqraot Gedolot, an index exists called Toldot uVeit Aharon. It lists "every" passage in the early rabbinic literature that references every individual passuk, and is extremely useful. Another, ...
4
votes
2answers
126 views
Why are disputes in pairs?
The final paragraph of this answer:
We do have the tools to derive from the Torah what those Halachos are (Moshe Rabeinu taught them to us), but these rules are very general in nature and therefore ...
11
votes
2answers
618 views
How can Bet Shamai argue on Shamai?
How do we explain that Bet Shammai is documented as arguing on their teacher Shammai?
I didn't notice any of the classic Meforshim discussing this peculiarity.
There are at least 4 documented cases ...
10
votes
5answers
902 views
Reading Mishnayos without understanding
Is it considered Talmud Torah if one just reads mishnayos without understanding what he's saying?
9
votes
6answers
502 views
How does salt “add heat” (mishna in Shabbos 4(1))
The mishna in Shabbos 4(1) tells us which materials may not be used to insulate foods for Shabbos because they "add heat". One of these materials is salt. Can anyone explain how salt can add heat ...
8
votes
2answers
439 views
Why does the Mishnah/Gemara begin with Masekhet Berakhot?
As mentioned (link 1, link 2) and I've seen on the ArtScroll Talmud series (though I don't have a picture to support the fact), the Mishnah/Gemara "begin" with Masekhet Berakhot.
Why was this order ...
7
votes
1answer
165 views
Does the Mishnah have Taamei Mikrah?
In this book (end of #20, in bold), R' Shmaryahu Horowitz quotes the book "Maase Efod" by R' Yitzhak ben Moshe Halevy (1350-1415), that lists the proper ways of Torah learning and mentions ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Reasons for divorcing a woman (sourcing a chiddush)
The Mishna in Gittin 9:10 provides a few different interpretations of ערות דבר (Deuteronomy 24:1). While the school of Shammai hold that for a man to divorce his wife he needs to find significant ...
6
votes
1answer
185 views
is there a list of the 93 vessels used in the temple daily?
The mishna in tamid 3:4 indicates there were 93 keilim used in the Beit HaMikdash daily. Is there a source which lists all 93?
5
votes
1answer
224 views
Understanding a Fine Point in the Rambam's Laws of Yibbum
In MT, Hilkhot Yibbum veChalitzah 7:11, the Rambam presents the case of three brothers, two of whom are married to two sisters and the third of whom is married to an unrelated woman. In the event that ...
5
votes
2answers
272 views
German and Ethiopian Jews in the time of the Mishna?
According to Negaim 3:1, the laws of negaim only apply to Jews (הכל מטּמאין בנגעים חוץ מגוים), but according to Negaim 2:1 they apply to people from Germany (גרמני) and Ethiopia (or Numibia, etc; ״כוש״...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
Where can I find a chart of the Mishna Yomit (daily Mishna learning)?
Where can I find a chart of the Mishna Yomit (daily Mishna learning) - either online or offline?
4
votes
2answers
345 views
Is every mishna mentioned in the Bavli?
On a previous question that I asked, one correspondent pointed out the existence of a Mishnaic index, which lists every page of the early rabbinic literature on which there is a reference (or allusion)...
4
votes
0answers
38 views
Middah keneged middah vs Moddedin
I've seen two expressions used by Chazal:
Hashem judges a person מידה כנגד מידה, measure for measure, for example Nedarim 32a
במידה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו, by the measure a person uses They use to ...
3
votes
1answer
216 views
Hebrew/Aramaic names with Nekudot for Mishna Tractates
What are the names of the Mishna Tractates and Seders in Hebrew/Aramaic with Nekudot?
When I come across Tractate and Seder names (eg. מועד, גיטין, אבות, etc) they never have Nikkud. Are the names ...
3
votes
0answers
55 views
How do we evaluate a b'raisa that quotes Rebbe against an anonymous Mishna?
At Rosh Hashanah 19b, the Gemara raises a b'raisa quoting Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (aka "Rebbe") -- the editor of the Mishna -- to counter the opinion of the anonymous Tanna quoted in the previous Mishna ...
2
votes
1answer
110 views
Why are some Mishnayot formulated positively and some negatively?
I'm a bit of a nagger, but I think the question is legit:
I start with an assumption that the formulation of the Mishnah was purposeful and not circumstantial, that Rebbe did put much thought in ...
2
votes
0answers
66 views
What were the “pieces” of Moses' transmission of the Oral Law?
BT Eruvin 54b presents the method of Moses' Torah study:
תנו רבנן: כיצד סדר משנה? משה למד מפי הגבורה. נכנס אהרן ושנה לו משה פירקו ... נכנסו בניו ושנה להן משה פירקן ... וכו'
The Sages taught: What was ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Does calling someone by a nickname remove one's share in the world to come?
The Mishnah states that someone who calls one by a nickname others have given him has no share in the world to come. What exactly does this mean? How is this defined? Can you not call your friend by a ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Mishnayot not in Bavli
Does anyone know of a list of all Mishnayot to which there is no Gemara in Talmud Bavli? I.e., those Mishnayot that are not quoted at the head of a section of their own Gemara.
Apologies if this ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
Understanding a qal vechomer in the Mishna
This is a fairly long-handled question, but it boils down to a desire to understand R' Shimon's qal vechomer in the Mishna, Negaim 10:2. Usually, for a qal vechomer to work, there needs to be a ...
