Type: Text

Type: Code of Law

Mishnah

Image Map of a traditional edition of the Mishnah
Click on any section for an explanation

The Mishnah

• Terminology
• Dates
  • Composition
  • Redaction
• Author
• Place
• Description

Terminology

Thus, Mishnah can refer in a general way to the full tradition of the Oral Torah, as formulated by the Rabbis in the first centuries of the Common Era. These traditions could not be written down, but had to be transmitted and learned by word of mouth. This restriction was observed quite scrupulously throughout the eras of the Mishnah and Talmud.

In some contexts "Mishnah" is contrasted with "Midrash." The latter term denotes Rabbinic teachings that are attached to the text of the Bible, whereas the former term refers to teachings that are organized or formulated independently of Scipture.

In its most narrow sense, as it is employed here, "the Mishnah" refers to a specific work of Rabbinic literature that embodies the features outlined above.

The Jewish sages whose statements are quoted in the Mishnah are known as Tanna'im (singular: "Tanna"), derived from the Aramaic root related to the Hebrew "ShNH". The era in which the Mishnah was developed is therefore referred to as the "Tanna'itic" era.
The term "Tanna" was originally applied to the functionary in the later Talmudic academies whose job it was to memorize and recite the oral traditions of the Tanna'itic era, serving as a sort of "living book." By extension it came to be applied to the actual Rabbis whose opinions make up the Mishnah and its contemporary works.

With a very few exception (e.g., quotations from Aramaic legal documents), the Mishnah is composed entirely in Hebrew, in a dialect that appears to reflect the spoken vernacular of Judea.

The Mishnah was composed entirely in the Land of Israel, and all the sages quoted there, even if they resided originally in other places (Babylonia, Rome, etc.), were active in the Holy Land.

On the Talmud page, the passages from the Mishnah (for which the Talmud serves as a commentary) are introduced with the abbreviation "MTNY'," short for the Aramaic"Matnitin," "our mishnah." It is customary for the Babylonian Talmud to refer to "our Mishnah" (or: We learned), to distinguish it from other, "external," mishnahs, referred to in Aramaic as "baraita." At the beginnings of chapters or tractates no introductory formula is required, since all chapters in the Talmud must begin with a Mishnah citation.

Dates

• Composition

  Although there are traditions in the Mishnah that claim to go back to the fifth century B.C.E. (the "Great Assembly"; cf. Nehemiah 8-10), as well as a few additions from as late as the mid-third century, the main body of the Mishnah consists of teachings attributed to authorites from about the middle of the first century, through to the second decade of the third century C.E.

  This time period witnessed some major historical turning-points for the Jewish nation, such as the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple in 70, and the catastrophic failure of the revolt against Rome under the leadership of Simeon bar Kokhba (or: bar Kuziba) in 135. Because the Mishnah is a technical work of religious law, these momentous historical events find almost no explicit mention in the Mishnah, even though the very composition of the Mishnah is often viewed as a response to those very events.

  It has become customary in scholarly and historical literature to divide the era of the Mishnah into "generations" that are identified by the towns in which the main centres of Rabbinic leadership were situated.
  Following this convention, scholars refer to the following generations:

  Yavneh [Jamnia, Jabneh]

  The centre of Jewish communal leadership and Torah scholarship moved to this Judean coastal town following the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E.
  The Rabbis of Yavneh (the term "Rabbi" to denote a religious teacher was probably not in use before this time) were faced with the responsibility of reconstructing Judaism and adapting it to the new situation, in which its major centre of religious life was no longer in existence. It is likely that the drive to preserve the oral traditions of previous generations was initiated at Yavneh as a central part of this mission.

  "Yavneh" is usually used to designate at least two full generations, extending from 70 to 135 C.E.

  The first Yavneh generation was dominated by such figures as Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai (the academy's founder), Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanos and Rabbi Joshua ben Hanania. The later Yavneh period (sometimes called "the generation of Betar" with reference to the military centre of the Bar-Kokhba insurrection) was known for the appearance of the two influential schools of Rabbis Akiva and Ishmael, each of which formulated a distinctive approach to the interpretation of the Torah.

  Usha

  The tragic aftermath of the Bar-Kokhba uprising saw the complete destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and the devastation of the region of Judea, the southern portion of the Land of Israel that had hitherto been the main centre of Jewish religious leadership. This situation led to widespread migration to the northern region, the Galilee, and the seat of rabbbinic judicial authority resided for a while in the Galilean village of Usha, home of Rabbi Meir.

  By far the greatest proportion of Mishnah's contents derive from this generation. Almost all the "Ushan" Rabbis mentioned in the Mishnah were students of Rabbi Akiva. These include Rabbis Meir, Judah [bar Ilai], Simeon ben Yohai, Yose [ben Halafta], Rabbi Eleazar [ben Shamua] and the Patriarch (Nasi) Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel.

  Bet Sha'arayim/Sepphoris: The Generation of the Redaction

  On this, see below.

• Redaction:

  All ancient sources are in agreement that the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah the "Prince," before his death around 217 C.E. On the author se= e below. It should be emphasized that--contrary to a view that appears in many histories and introductions, and which is based on the writings of medieval Spanish Jewish authorities--this redaction did not involve writing down the traditions, but merely the determining and organizing of a fixed text that was subsequently disseminated by memory. It is clear from the internal evidence of the Talmud that the teachings of the Rabbis continued to be studied orally throughout the Talmudic era, and this continued to be the practice in the Babylonian academies well into the middle ages.

  The Mishnah's redactor, who had studied with most of the important teachers of the previous ("Usha") generation, assembled early redactions that had been shaped in various different academies, combining them into a new and integrated work. The Mishnah contains almost no material that is contemporary with its redactor.

  Author

  Rabbi Judah ben Simeon bore the Hebrew title of "Nasi," signifying the position of Patriarch, the official political representative of the Jewish people.

  From an internal Jewish perspective, the Nasi presided over Judaism's supreme judiciary and legislative body, the Sanhedrin. The title had become a hereditary one, almost without interruption, since the days of the revered Hillel the Elder in the first century B.C.E.

  In Talmudic texts, Rabbi Judah is usually referred to simply as "Rabbi" or, by virtue of his legendary piety: "Rabbenu Ha-Qadosh" ("our holy master").

  Place

  After migrating from Judea, Rabbi Judah the Prince resided in Beit Sha'arayim, and later in Sepphoris, both in the Galilee. Presumably the project of redacting the Mishnah was conducted in both locations.

  Description

  With a few significant exceptions (e.g., the tractate "Avot" ["Fathers"]), the Mishnah deals only with the legal component of the Jewish Oral Tradition, known in Hebrew as "halakhah."

  The Mishnah is distinguished by its topical organization, dividing the traditions of Jewish religious law into six main areas, designated as "sedarim" (singular: "seder"; English: "Orders"), which are in turn divided into separate topical treatises, or tractates (in Hebrew: "Masekhet." While the topical classification is the dominant one, there are numerous digressions, several of which reflect the alternative criteria of organization employed in previous stages of redaction. The six orders of the Mishnah are:

  1. Zera'im ("Seeds"): 11 tractates

     Deals mostly with portions of crops and foodstuffs that must be set aside for the Priests and poor, etc., as well as other land-related regulations (sabbatical years, mixed sowing, etc.).
     The opening tractate, Berakhot, is concerned with blessing and prayers.

  2. Mo'ed ("Festivals"): 12 tractates

     The weekly Sabbath and the cycle of annual festivals.

  3. Nashim ("Women"): 7 tractates

     Concerning marriage, divorce, etc., including laws of oaths.

  4. Neziqin ("Torts"): 10 tractates

     Covers the full range of civil and criminal laws, including the structure of the judiciary itself. This order also includes two tractates (Avot and 'Eduyyot) that trace the history of Rabbinic authority.

  5. Qodashim ("Sacred Things"): 11 tractates

     About the Temple and sacrificial worship.

  6. Tohorot ("Purity"): 12 tractates

     About the rules of purity.

  The order of tractates within an order is usually determined by the number of chapters (in descending order). Zera'im does not fit this pattern.

  Each tractate is divided into chapters, which are in turn composed of numbered units, each of which is termed a mishnah or halakhah. The normal manner of citation would thus be: Tractate Name chapter number: mishnah number (e.g., Zevahim 4:2. The Mishnah citations in the Babylonian Talmud are not numbered.

  The Mishnah was clearly not designed to encompass the whole of the Oral Torah tradition. The same Rabbis who contributed to it also figured prominently in the Tannai'itic Midrashic collections.
  The Mishnah form lent itself most effectively to traditions that were not derived from Scripture or, more commonly, to the unfolding of legal principles whose Biblical roots had been so elaborated that they could be discussed adequately without having to return to their exegetical origins.

  In formulating its laws the Mishnah employs a number of different literary structures:

  • Some rulings are cited anonymously, implying that they are not contested.
  • Some rulings are subject to disputes between named Rabbis. In general, the Mishnah is very laconic about describing only the contents of these disputes (e.g.: "Rabbi X says: it is permitted, and Rabbi Y says: it is forbidden"), without usually explaining their underlying reasons.
  • Often the Mishnah juxtaposes anonymous views with those of identified Rabbis. If an anonymous opinion is placed after a named one, it is introduced by the formula: "And the Sages say..."
    The traditional explanation of the above situation is that the anonymous views were intended to represent the views of the majority, and hence are being presented as legally normative.
  Although most of the Mishnah is made up of legal rulings and disputes, there are several other literary types included in it, including midrashic segments (i.e., Biblical passages accompanied by their Rabbinic interpretations), anecdotal precedents, extensive narrative descriptions of rituals and procedures (especially of Temple ceremonies), and more.

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