Mishnah: The Summary of the Oral Torah

What? The Mishnah is a summary of the study of halacha (Jewish law) throughout the hundreds of years that preceded it. The Mishnah contains quotations of halachic rulings established by previous Tannaim (sages), and covers almost all areas of halacha.

The Mishnah is divided topically into six "orders:"

Zeraim - includes the commandments related to the Land of Israel, Moed - includes the laws of Shabbat and holidays, Nashim - includes the laws of marriage and family purity, Nezikin - includes the monetary laws and rules of justice, Kodshim - includes the laws of sacrifices and the Temple, Taharot includes the laws of purity and impurity. The mnemonic for remembering the six orders of the Mishnah is: "zeman nakat" (an acronym of the orders' Hebrew names). Each order is divided into tractates, and there are a total of 63 different tractates in the six orders. The tractates are subdivided into chapters (525 in total), and the chapters are divided into individual mishnayot (4,224 in total). The mishnayot are written concisely. They present disputes between Tannaim, rulings, testimonies, and rabbinic precedents, among other things. The Mishnah is the foundation upon which the Talmud was written and thus forms the basis for all ensuing halachic discussions.

Why? Until the period of the last Tannaim, the Oral Torah was traditionally passed down (as its name suggests) orally. However, after the destruction of the Second Temple and the dispersion of Jews to foreign lands, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi realized that the hardships of exile and ongoing strife that afflicted the community threatened the survival of the oral transmission and therefore decided to write down the Oral Torah. Although this was forbidden, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi decided that it was absolutely necessary in that generation. He based his actions on the verse: "It is time to act for Hashem – they have violated Your Torah." With its compilation, the Mishnah became the agreed-upon corpus of halacha and it is relied upon for all matters of halachic ruling, without dispute. 

Something to think about. In most cases, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi (often referred to as just "Rabbi") presented the general approach that aligned with the majority view. In other cases, he included additional approaches, even if they were not accepted as halacha. When Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi codified a halacha according to a particular approach, he presented it without attributing it to its author, and alongside it, he presented the dissenting opinions. On the whole, the Mishnah presents the opinions of the sages of the generation before Rabbi and his own generation. Sometimes, Rabbi included his own opinion in the Mishnah as a minority view, in addition to the majority opinion, which formed the mainstream halacha.

As mentioned, the Mishnah is arranged topically. That said, on occasion, the connection between mishnayot is peripheral. For example, in Tractate Megillah (Chapter 1) there is a long list of laws that share the opening "There is no difference between" and all address distinctions in halacha, such as distinctions between the first Adar and the second Adar, distinctions between holidays and Shabbat, distinctions between the Tabernacle at Shiloh and the Temple, among other things. Sometimes the rulings of a single sage on different topics are presented sequentially (see Ketubot Chapter 13, Admon and Chanan). Dozens of commentaries have been written on the Mishnah throughout the generations. Among the well-known commentators are the Rambam, Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller,and  Rabbi Israel Lipschitz.