Kodashim (Hebrew : קׇדָשִׁים, romanized: Qoḏāšim, lit. 'holy things') is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the korbanot , or sacrificial offerings that were offered there, and other subjects related to these topics, as well as, notably, the topic of kosher slaughter.
This Seder (order, or division) of the Mishnah is known as Kodashim (“sacred things” or “sanctities”), because it deals with subjects connected with Temple service and ritual slaughter of animals (shehitah). The term kodashim, in the Biblical context, applies to the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service; and it is with these holy things, places and people that Kodashim is mainly concerned. The title Kodashim is apparently an abbreviation of Shehitat Kodashim ("the slaughter of sacred animals") since the main, although not the only subject of this order is sacrifices. [1] [2] [3]
The topics of this Seder are primarily the sacrifices of animals, birds, and meal offerings, the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the sin offering and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (tractate Middot), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (tractate Tamid). The order also includes tractate Hullin, which concerns the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial use, as well as other dietary laws applying to meat and animal products. Although Hullin is about the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial, and therefore unsanctified purposes, because the rules about the proper slaughter of animals and birds, and their ritual fitness for use were considered to be an integral part of the concept of holiness in Judaism, they were also included in the order regarding “holy things”. [2] [3]
Seder Kodashim comprises eleven tractates, with a total of 90 chapters, as follows: [2] [3] [4]
This Seder, or order, has eleven tractates, arranged, like most of the orders of the Mishnah, mostly in descending sequence according to the number of chapters. [3]
The traditional reasoning for the order of the tractates according to Maimonides, beyond the ordering according to number of chapters, is that Zevahim is first as it deals with the main physical purpose of the Temple, namely, animal sacrifices. Menahot continuing the subject of offerings, and so is placed next, according to the scriptural order and the status of meal-offerings as supplementary to the meat offerings. After dealing with offerings to the Temple, Hullin follows, dealing with the related topic of "secular" slaughter for meat. Bekhorot, Arakhin and Temurah all discuss auxiliary laws of sanctity and follow the order in which they appear in the Torah. Keritot then follows, as it largely discusses the offering for the transgression of certain commandments, and Me'ilah follows that as it also deals with transgressions of sanctity, although of a lighter nature. After dealing with laws, two mostly descriptive tractates were added, Tamid discussing the daily sacrifice and Middot which overviews the Temple in Jerusalem. Finally, Kinnim was placed last as its laws deal with accidental and rarely occurring situations.
In the Babylonian Talmud the sequence of the treatises follows the general order except that Bekorot is before Hullin, and Ḳinnim is placed before Tamid and Middot. [4]
As part of the Mishnah, the first major composition of Jewish law and ethics based on the Oral Torah, Kodashim was compiled and edited between 200–220 CE by Judah ha-Nasi and his colleagues. Subsequent generations produced a series of commentaries and deliberations relating to the Mishnah, known as the Gemara , which together with the Mishna are the Talmud , one produced in the Land of Israel c. 300–350 CE (the Jerusalem Talmud), and second, more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylonia and published c. 450–500 CE (the Babylonian Talmud).
In the Babylonian Talmud, all the tractates have Gemara for all their chapters except for Tamid which has it only for three chapters and Middot and Kinnim which don't have any [2] [3]
Although the subject matter was no longer directly relevant to life in the Babylonian academies, the Gemara was motivated by the idea that the study of the laws of the Temple service is a substitute for the service itself. Also, the rabbinic sages wanted to merit the rebuilding of the Temple by paying special attention to these laws. However, in the modern Daf Yomi cycle and in the printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah for the last two tractates are added at the end, to “complete” the order.
The Jerusalem Talmud has no Gemara on any of the tractates of Kodashim. Maimonides, however, mentions of the existence of a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim; however, it is doubtful he had seen it, as he is not known to have cited it anywhere. Nonetheless, this order was a subject of study in the Talmudic academies of the Land of Israel, as many statements contained in the Gemara of the Babylonian Talmud are attributed to the rabbinic scholars known as Amoraim in the Land of Israel. The assumption is that there was once a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim but that it has been lost. [2] [3] [9]
There is a Tosefta for the tractates Zevahim, Hullin, Bekhorot, Arakhin, Temurah, Me'ilah, and Keritot. Tamid, Middot and Kinnim have no Tosefta. [3]
The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first work of rabbinic literature, with the oldest surviving material dating to the 6th to 7th centuries BCE.
Seder Zeraim is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and blessings, primarily deals with the laws of agricultural produce and tithes of the Torah which apply in the Land of Israel, in both their religious and social aspects.
The Jerusalem Talmud or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talmud after Palestine or the Land of Israel—rather than Jerusalem—is considered more accurate, as the text originated mainly from Galilee in Byzantine Palaestina Secunda rather than from Jerusalem, where no Jews lived at the time.
Kinnim is a tractate in the order of Kodshim in the Mishna. The name, meaning "nests", refers to the tractate's subject matter of errors in bird-offerings. It is the last tractate in the order, because of its shortness and because it deals with a very rare and unusual area of Jewish law.
Hagigah or Chagigah is one of the tractates comprising Moed, one of the six orders of the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish traditions included in the Talmud. It deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot and the pilgrimage offering that men were supposed to bring to the Temple in Jerusalem. In the middle of the second chapter, the text discusses topics of ritual purity.
A masekhet is an organizational element of Talmudic literature that systematically examines a subject, referred to as a tractate in English.
Pe'ah is the second tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. This tractate begins the discussion of topics related to agriculture, the main focus of this seder (order) of the Mishnah. The tractate discusses the laws of gifts to the poor when a person harvests their field, vineyards or trees, based on commandments in the Torah. The tractate also deals with the laws of giving charity in general. The tractate is called Pe'ah because the first part of the tractate deals with the laws of Pe'ah, while the remaining part of the tractate deals with a number of other related topics.
Demai (Hebrew: דְּמַאי, is the third tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It deals with the Jewish legal concept of demai, meaning doubtfully tithed produce, and concerns the laws related to agricultural produce about which it is suspected that certain obligatory tithes have not been separated in accordance with requirements derived from the Torah. The tithes in question are ma'aser rishon, terumath ma'aser, and ma'aser sheni or ma'aser ani, depending on the year of the Sabbatical year cycle.
Terumot is the sixth tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Jerusalem Talmud. This tractate discusses the laws of teruma, a gift of produce that an Israelite farmer was required to set aside and give to a kohen (priest). There were two kinds of terumot given to the priest: the regular heave-offering, known also as the terumah gedolah, which the Israelites were required to give to the priest from the produce of their fields; the other was the terumat ma'aser, namely, the gift that the Levites were required to put aside for the priests from the tithe which ordinary Israelites had been required to give to them.
Pesachim, also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the Passover sacrifice, both called "Pesach" in Hebrew. The tractate deals with the laws of matza and maror, the prohibitions against owning or consuming chametz (leaven) on the festival, the details of the Paschal lamb that used to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, the order of the feast on the first evening of the holiday known as the Passover seder, and the laws of the supplemental "Second Pesach".
Hullin or Chullin is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use, and with the Jewish dietary laws in general, such as the laws governing the prohibition of mixing of meat and dairy.
Me'ilah is a tractate of Seder Kodashim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud. It deals chiefly with the exact provisions of the law concerning the trespass-offering and the reparation which must be made by one who has used and enjoyed a consecrated thing.
Tamid is the ninth tractate in Kodashim, which is the fifth of the six orders of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud.
Avodah Zarah is the name of a tractate of the Talmud, located in Nezikin, the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages. The main topic of the tractate is laws pertaining to Jews living amongst Gentiles, including regulations about the interaction between Jews and "avodei ha kochavim", which literally interpreted is "Worshipers of the stars", but is most often translated as "idolaters", "pagans", or "heathen."
Berakhot is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the rules of prayers, particularly the Shema and the Amidah, and blessings for various circumstances.
Tractate Middot is the tenth tractate of Seder Kodashim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. This tractate describes the dimensions and the arrangement of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and the Second Temple buildings and courtyards, various gates, the altar of sacrifice and its surroundings, and the places where the Priests and Levites kept watch in the Temple.
Masekhet Megillah is a tractate in Seder Moed of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. It deals with laws and stories relating to Purim, a Jewish holiday originating from the Book of Esther. Megillah continues to dictate how Purim is celebrated in Jewish communities worldwide to this day.
Tractate Menachot is the second tractate of the Order of Kodashim. It has Gemara in the Babylonian Talmud and a Tosefta.
Zevachim is the first tractate of Seder Kodashim of the Mishnah, the Talmud and the Tosefta. This tractate discusses the topics related to the sacrificial system of the Temple in Jerusalem, namely the laws for animal and bird offerings, and the conditions which make them acceptable or not, as specified in the Torah, primarily in the book of Leviticus. The tractate has fourteen chapters divided into 101 mishnayot, or paragraphs. There is a Gemara – rabbinical commentary and analysis – for this tractate in the Babylonian Talmud, and no Gemara in the Jerusalem Talmud.
Lauterbach, Jacob Z.; et al. (1904). "Kodashim". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia . Vol. 7. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 527-528.