Mishnah - Structure

Structure

The Mishnah consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder סדר), each containing 7–12 tractates (masechtot, singular masechet מסכת; lit. "web"), 63 in total. Each masechet is divided into chapters (peraqim, singular pereq) and then paragraphs or verses (mishnayot, singular Mishnah). The Mishnah is also called Shas (an acronym for Shisha Sedarim – the "six orders").

A mnemonic that is used to remember the sequence of the orders was provided by Resh Lakish (Shab. 31a) that is based on the verse, "And there shall be faith in your times, strength, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge" (Isa. 33:6).

"Faith" refers to Zeraim (Seeds), because a farmer sowing the crop must have faith to believe God will provide a bountiful harvest. "Your times" refers to Moed (Festival). "Strength" refers to order Nashim (Women). "Salvation" refers to Nezikin (Damages) because knowledge of civil law "saves" people from each other. "Wisdom" refers to order Kodashim (Holy Things) and "knowledge" refers to order Tehorot (Purities) because they are so difficult to understand.

An acronym is often used, which is another popular mnemonic "Z'MaN NaKaT."

The Mishnah orders its content by subject matter, instead of by biblical context. Likewise it discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash. It includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash.

The six orders are:

• Zeraim ("Seeds"), dealing with prayer and blessings, tithes and agricultural laws (11 tractates)
• Moed ("Festival"), pertaining to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals (12 tractates)
• Nashim ("Women"), concerning marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite (7 tractates)
• Nezikin ("Damages"), dealing with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths (10 tractates)
• Kodashim ("Holy things"), regarding sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the dietary laws (11 tractates) and
• Tehorot ("Purities"), pertaining to the laws of purity and impurity, including the impurity of the dead, the laws of food purity and bodily purity (12 tractates).

In each order (with the exception of Zeraim), tractates are arranged from biggest (in number of chapters) to smallest.

The word Mishnah can also indicate a single paragraph or verse of the work itself, i.e. the smallest unit of structure in the Mishnah.

The Babylonian Talmud (Hagiga 14a) states that there were either six hundred or seven hundred orders of the Mishnah. Hillel the Elder organized them into six orders to make it easier to remember. The historical accuracy of this tradition is disputed. There is also a tradition that Ezra the scribe dictated from memory not only the 24 books of the Tanakh but 60 esoteric books. It is not known whether this is a reference to the Mishnah, but there is a case for saying that the Mishnah does consist of 60 tractates. (The current total is 63, but Makkot was originally part of Sanhedrin, and Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia and Bava Batra may be regarded as subdivisions of a single tractate Nezikin.)

Interestingly, Reuvein Margolies (1889–1971) posited that there were originally seven orders of Mishnah, citing a Gaonic tradition on the existence of a seventh order containing the laws of Sta"m (scribal practice) and Berachot (blessings).