Mishnah

Question 1

what is the mishnah

Answer 1

• this is the oral laws spoken as it was first written down by Moses as Given by God
• these laws are featured in the Talmud
• the laws were sometimes interpreted by Rabbi’s and sometimes different opinions are included
• 2 rabbi’s Hillel and Shammai had different opinions but both were considered acceptable
• as the mishnah are explained by rabbis the explanations are called gemera - which is a colection of commentaries on the oral law
• it is also a collection of stories, discussions, parables history and legal ruling - these are orders covering six topics in the Mishnah

Question 2

what are the 6 topics covered in the Mishnah

Answer 2

1. Seeds - deals mostly with portions of crops and food stuff that must be set aside for the poor
2. Festivals - the weekly sabbath and cycle of the annual festivals
3. women - concerning marriage, divorce, etc. inc
4. Torts (damages) - covers full range of civil and criminal laws; the structure of the judiciary itself
5. Sacred things - contains the temple and the sacrificial worship
6. Purity - concerns rules of purity e.g. Tzedek, kashrut etc.

Question 3

what is the Talmud

Answer 3

• this is referred to as the ‘oral Torah’
• it is a collection of the mishanh and gemera
• it is the second source of authority as it gives oral laws and a collection of interpretations of the Torah from thousands of contributors
• the talmud is a rule book which Jews can refer to for social/religious laws