The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi probably in Beit Shearim or Sepphoris at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic.
Rosh Hashanah is the name of a text of Jewish law originating in the Mishnah which formed the basis of tractates in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud of the same name. It is the eighth tractate of the order Moed. The text contains the most important rules concerning the calendar year, together with a description of the inauguration of the months, laws on the form and use of the shofar and laws related to the religious services during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
The Jerusalem Talmud, also known as the Palestinian Talmud or 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.
Kodashim 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 of animals for non-sacrificial purposes.
Nezikin or Seder Nezikin is the fourth Order of the Mishna. It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court system.
Capital punishment in traditional Jewish law has been defined in Codes of Jewish law dating back to medieval times, based on a system of oral laws contained in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud, the primary source being the Hebrew Bible. In traditional Jewish law there are four types of capital punishment: a) stoning, b) burning by ingesting molten lead, c) strangling, and d) beheading, each being the punishment for specific offences. Except in special cases where a king can issue the death penalty, capital punishment in Jewish law cannot be decreed upon a person unless there were a minimum of twenty-three judges (Sanhedrin) adjudicating in that person's trial who, by a majority vote, gave the death sentence, and where there had been at least two competent witnesses who testified before the court that they had seen the litigant commit the offence. Even so, capital punishment does not begin in Jewish law until the court adjudicating in this case had issued the death sentence from a specific place on the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem.
Bava Metzia is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called Nezikin, each Bava being a Part or subdivision. Bava Metzia discusses civil matters such as property law and usury. It also examines one's obligations to guard lost property that have been found, or property explicitly entrusted to him.
Bava Batra is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law. Originally it, together with Bava Kamma and Bava Metzia, formed a single tractate called Nezikin.
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.
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.
Mo'ed Katan or Mo'ed Qatan is the eleventh tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and the Talmud. It is concerned with the laws of the days between the first and last days of Passover and Sukkot. These days are also known as "Chol HaMoed" days. Mo'ed Katan also discusses the laws of Aveilus (Bereavement). Consisting of only three chapters, it has a Gemara from both Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.
Makot is a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the order of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of the Jewish courts and the punishments which they may administer, and may be regarded as a continuation of tractate Sanhedrin, of which it originally formed part.
Horayot is a tractate in Seder Nezikin in the Talmud. In the Mishnah, this is the tenth and last tractate in Nezikin; in the Babylonian Talmud the ninth tractate; in the Jerusalem Talmud the eighth. It consists of three chapters in the Mishnah and two in the Tosefta. The tractate mainly discusses laws pertaining to erroneous rulings by a Jewish court, as well as unwitting actions performed by leading authorities of the Jewish people, and the sacrificial offerings that might be brought as a consequence of these actions. The conclusion of the tractate (12a-13b) deals with the prioritization of korbanot in the temple and explores the question of how to quantify human life in emergency situations.
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."
Shevi'it is the fifth tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah, dealing with the laws of leaving the fields of the Land of Israel to lie fallow every seventh year; the laws concerning which produce may, or may not be eaten during the Sabbatical year; and the cancellation of debts and the rabbinical ordinance established to allow a creditor to reclaim a debt after the Sabbatical year (Prozbul).
Shabbat is the first tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate deals with the laws and practices regarding observing the Jewish Sabbath. The tractate focuses primarily on the categories and types of activities prohibited on the Sabbath according to interpretations of many verses in the Torah, notably Exodus 20:9–10 and Deut. 5:13–14.
Megillah is the tenth Tractate of Mishnah in the Order Moed. It and its Gemara deal with the laws of Purim and offers exegetical understandings to the Book of Esther. It also includes laws concerning the public reading of the Torah and other communal synagogue practices. There is also a segment in the first chapter which details certain miscellaneous laws. A megillah is a finely detailed account or book but the term by itself commonly refers to the Book of Esther.
Nedarim is a masechet of the order of Nashim of the Mishnah and the Talmud. Its subject is laws relating to the neder, a kind of vow or oath in Judaism.