26
votes
Accepted
Is there an online list of Perakim of Mishnayos arranged alphabetically?
My code to generate this list in python from the Sefaria API:
import collections, requests, json
masechtos = ['Berakhot', 'Peah', 'Demai', 'Kilayim', 'Sheviit', 'Terumot', 'Maasrot', 'Maaser Sheni', '...
- 9,302
24
votes
Accepted
"Anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world": Jewish life or any life?
In the manuscript Parma 3173 there is no "מישראל";
In the manuscript Budapest Kaufman A50 no more.
The Mishna of Mechon Mamre, Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5 based on Rambam manuscript idem;
לפיכך ...
- 23k
14
votes
How do we understand the idea of something missing from the mishnah חסורי מיחסרא והכי קתני?
The Meiri writes in his introduction to Avot that this is an example of the Ammoraim disagreeing with the Tannaim which they would occasionally do if the Sages of the generation agreed. So that would ...
- 35.9k
14
votes
Does the Mishnah have Taamei Mikrah?
Some Mishnah manuscripts have sporadic taamim. For example, MS Parma B (containing order Tahorot) has conjuctive accents connecting words and disjunctive accents marking pauses.
Here is the beginning ...
- 3,937
13
votes
Accepted
Mishnah on looking down while walking in street
It's a Mishna in Sota 3:4 where it says:
הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, חָסִיד שׁוֹטֶה, וְרָשָׁע עָרוּם, וְאִשָּׁה פְרוּשָׁה, וּמַכּוֹת פְּרוּשִׁין, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ מְכַלֵּי עוֹלָם
As Sefaria translates:
He [...
- 44.1k
13
votes
How can Bet Shamai argue on Shamai?
This phenomenon is described by R. Shimshon of Chinon in his Sefer HaKeritot (Leshon Limmudim, Sha'ar Sheni, 73).
He suggests that:
ושמא בילדותו תנא להו כמו שאמרו ב"ש וחזר בו בזקנותו והמשנה לא זזה ...
- 45.1k
12
votes
Accepted
Why was it improper to stick out a thumb in the Temple?
The Mishnah there is describing how certain jobs in the Basis Hamikdash would be appointed if there were multiple Kohanim vying for the same job. The Kohanim would form a circle around the supervisor, ...
- 6,873
12
votes
Accepted
Longest Mishna By Word Count
I analysed the mishnayot according to how they appear on Mechon Mamre and how they appear on Sefaria.
For Mechon Mamre's mishnayot, the raw data is here, where I removed punctuation and eliminated ...
- 10.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Who was the author/compiler of the Ikkar Tosfos Yom Tov?
Two editions of Mishnayot I have on hand1 ascribe this commentary, the עיקר תוספות יום טוב, to R' Meshulam Katz.
This Geni page attributes Ikkar Tosafot Yom Tov to R' Meshulam Katz, and identifies him ...
- 48.4k
11
votes
Is it mentioned anywhere in all of the Mishna or the Talmud that Paul of Tarsus was a student of Rabban Gamaliel
For more information, I would recommend reading "Paul and Gamliel", in Jacob Neusner and Bruce Chilton (eds.), In Quest of the Historical Pharisees (Baylor University Press, 2007), 175-223 - but ...
- 19k
11
votes
What should I use for Mishna study?
I have learned the entire Mishna based on the Artscroll Yad Avraham series in English. I also own many of the newer Artscroll Schottenstein Edition of the Mishna. Here are a few thoughts
I found the ...
- 53.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Aramaic in a baraisa
According to Dr. Michael Higger in Otzar Habaraitot, vol. 8 (my translation):
"And so we should also note that in a few places we find that the Talmud, when writing "and it was taught in a ...
- 26.8k
11
votes
How much does a ma'ah cost in £/$ in today's world?
According to the table of coins in the "Practical Talmudic Dictionary" by R. Yitzchak Frank, מעה/Ma'ah is a silver coin weighing about 0.7 gram / 0.02251 oz (early opinion per Double AA), ...
- 2,435
10
votes
The New Artscroll Mishnayos: Product Recommendation
I have learned the entire Mishna based on the Yad Avraham series in English. I also own much of the newer Schottenstein Edition of the Mishna. Here are a few thoughts
I found the introductions to ...
- 53.6k
10
votes
Accepted
When the Mishnayos were compiled, were they compiled into the perakim we have today, or were they just compiled into masechtos?
The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia answers that the division of the several treatises into chapters as well as the sequence of these chapters was the work of Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] himself although some ...
- 53.6k
10
votes
Accepted
How to determine who offered the second Korban Tamid of the day?
The gemara on Yoma 26a explains that there was just one lottery that covered both services:
א"ר יוחנן אין מפייסין על תמיד של בין הערבים אלא כהן שזכה בו בשחרית זוכה בו ערבית
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: ...
- 6,515
10
votes
Why record retracted opinions in the mishnah?
It's explained in Eduyot 1:4:
וְלָמָּה מַזְכִּירִין אֶת דִּבְרֵי שַׁמַּאי וְהִלֵּל לְבַטָּלָה,
לְלַמֵּד לַדּוֹרוֹת הַבָּאִים שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא אָדָם עוֹמֵד עַל דְּבָרָיו,
שֶׁהֲרֵי אֲבוֹת הָעוֹלָם ...
- 22.9k
10
votes
Is there more than one text of the Mishnah?
Yes, there are several mishna traditions. The Wikipedia article has the gist: there are the Mishnah-only manuscripts, Talmud Yerushalmi manuscripts, and Talmud Bavli manuscripts. The first two are ...
- 10.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Why is Shekalim in Moed?
The Meiri answers your question in his introduction to Berachot (as quoted in artscroll's introduction to Shekalim):
Logically, the subject matter of this tractate would seem to belong in
Seder ...
- 53.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Why does the Mishnah use the terms poor person and homeowner when discussing carrying on Shabbat?
Bartenura Shabbat 1:1:
ולהכי נקט הוצאה בלשון עני ועשיר, דאגב אורחיה קמ״ל דמצוה הבאה בעבירה אסורה וחייבין עליה:
The reason for discussing carrying between domains in the context of a poor ...
- 45.1k
8
votes
Is it mentioned anywhere in all of the Mishna or the Talmud that Paul of Tarsus was a student of Rabban Gamaliel
Although Paul of Tarsus is not mentioned by name, the Talmud in Shabbat 30b has a student of Rabbi Gamliel* who scoffs at his teachings.
Some scholars have suggested that this character might be Paul,...
- 19k
8
votes
Accepted
Hebrew/Aramaic names with Nekudot for Mishna Tractates
Here are the mishnayos (and their titles) with nikud, based on the Kaufmann manuscript from "late 11th - mid-12th c.".
- 23.9k
8
votes
What should I use for Mishna study?
The classic modern Mishnah commentary was written in Hebrew by R. Pinchas Kehati, and is also available in English translation (e.g. here). As a bonus, there are free iOS and Android apps available ...
- 45.1k
8
votes
How many Mitzvos does the Mishnah cover?
The only real answer to this question can come from going through the list and finding a mishnah for each mitzvah. I was hoping this had been done before, but if it has, nobody here has found it. So,...
8
votes
Accepted
Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices?
A possible answer:
Rambam on the mishnah states that this was done as part of worship of Baalim. The city of Baalbek, which was originally a Baal center of worship, eventually became a center of ...
- 26.8k
8
votes
Any pre 7th century Jewish source, teaches that non-Jewish prophets will never be sent again?
From the Talmud, tractate Brachot, 7a: (450-550 CE)
And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei regarding Moses’ request that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it once had: Moses ...
- 9,334
7
votes
Which came first the Mishnah Torah or the Pirush HaMishnayos
Rambam states explicitly in the first paragraph of his introduction to Sefer Hamitzvot that the Commentary to the Mishnah came first:
After having completed our previous well-known work wherein we ...
- 49.8k
7
votes
What should I use for Mishna study?
When I first learned Mishnayos, the only translation available to me was that of Phillip Blackman. I happened to like it a lot. The goal of the translation was to make it accessible, and to provide ...
- 59k
7
votes
What should I use for Mishna study?
Three resources, none of which relate to English translation, to add to the existing good answers that do:
The first resource I would recommend based on personal experience is patience. When I ...
- 23.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible