What is the Mishnah and the oral tradition?

The Mishnah (Hebrew מִשְׁנָה, literally means “repetition” or “secondary education”) is the first written compilation of the Oral Law jewish (Torah shebe'the pe). It constitutes the core of the Talmud and one of the foundational rabbinic thought. Basically, it is the fundamental work to understand the Bible, the judeo-christianism, and the Kabbalah.

The Mishnah was written around the year 200 d.C. by Rabbi Yehuda hanassi (Judah the Prince), also known as Rabbi. Its purpose was to preserve the oral tradition that has passed from generation to generation since the time of Moses, and prevent your forgetfulness after the destruction of the Second Temple (in the year 70 ce.C.) and the diaspora.

Origin and historical context

• Period of composition: Approximately between the first century a.C. and the II century d.C.
  
• Reason: After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the romans, the sages feared that the dispersion of the people and the persecution did disappear the oral tradition.
  
• Study centers: The main academies rabbinical were in Yavne, Usha, Tziporí and Tiberias.
  
• Main author: Rabbi Yehuda hanassi compiled the teachings of several generations of scholars, known as the Tanaím (Hebrew tana, “repeater” or “master”).
  
• Sources: Traditions of the schools of Hillel and Shamai, in addition to teaching legal and ethical collected from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
  

Structure of the Mishnah

The Mishnah is organized in six main orders (Sedarim, סדרים), which in turn are divided into 63 treaties (Masejtot, מסכתות), chapters (Perakim, פרקים) and paragraphs (Mishnayot, משניות). The Mishnah has 6 orders as the 6 days of creation of Bereshit, on Genesis.

The six orders of the Mishnah:

1. Zeraim (זרעים – “Seeds”)
   
   • Topics: agricultural Laws, tithes, blessings.
     
   • Example of treaties: Berachot (Blessings), Peah, Demai, Kilayim.
     
   • Approach: the Relationship of man with the earth, and gratitude to God.
     
2. Moed (מועד – “Feast”)
   
   • Topics: Shabbat and jewish holidays.
     
   • Example: Shabbat, Pesajim, Yomá, Suká.
     
   • Approach: The sacred time and your sanctification.
     
3. Nashim (נשים – “Women”)
   
   • Topics: Marriage, divorce, votes, and family relationships.
     
   • Example: Yevamot, Ketubot, Nedarim, Sotah, Guitin.
     
   • Focus: family Law and sexual morality.
     
4. Nezikin (נזיקין – “Damages”)
   
   • Topics: civil Law and criminal justice, social ethics.
     
   • Example: Bava Kamma, Sanhedrin, Avot (Ethics of the Fathers).
     
   • Approach: the Responsibility and the social order.
     
5. Kodashim (קדשים – “holy Things”)
   
   • Topics: the Sacrifices, the rituals of the Temple, the laws of purity.
     
   • Example: Zevajim, Menajot, Hullin, Tamid.
     
   • Approach: Worship, holiness and sacrifice.
     
6. Tohorot (טהרות – “Purities”)
   
   • Topics: ritual Purity, impurity by contact with dead bodies, etc
     
   • Example: Nidá, Mikvaot, Oholot.
     
   • Approach: the Concept of spiritual purity.

Nature and content

The Mishnah is not a book narrative, but a work of legislation and legal argument. Each passage records the opinion of several scholars (called tanaím), often in disagreement among themselves, reflecting the richness of the debate rabbinic.

Their topics include:

• Religious law (Halachah)
  
• Ethical teachings (Agadá)
  
• Principles of interpretation
  
• Customs and rituals
  

The Mishnah is, therefore, a work of practical wisdom and regulations, which defines how you should live a jew in all aspects of life.

The Mishnah as the basis of the Talmud

The Talmud arises as a direct development of the Mishnah.
Following the drafting of this, the sages of the following generations —the Amoraím— devoted centuries to analyze, explain and discuss each line of the Mishnah. These discussions form the Gemara (גמרא), which together with the Mishna are the Talmud.

There are two versions of the Talmud:

1. Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi) — compiled in Eretz yisrael (~IV century d.C.)
   
2. Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavlí) — compiled in Babylon (~V century d.C., more extensive and used universally)
   

Structure of the Talmud = Mishnah + Gemara

The Mishnah is the text-based; the Gemara is the commentary dialectical that expands and analyzed.

Importance and relevance

to. In the jewish tradition

• It is the foundation of the Halacha, jewish religious law.
  
• Preserves the traditions of the Second Temple and the spiritual life of Israel.
  
• It is a source of rabbinic authority together with the written Torah.
  

b. In the universal thought

• Represents a legal codification and ethics without precedent in Antiquity.
  
• Influenced moral philosophy, hermeneutics and the canon law.
  
• Constitutes an early form of comparative jurisprudence.
  

c. In the modern studio

• Today is studied in yeshivot, universities and academic centers of philosophy, history and law.
• For academic study of the Bible, of philology, the christianity or protocristianismo, the Mishnah is essential in providing the context for religious and spiritual of the time.
  
• His dialectical method (the discussion of opposing views) inspired the talmudic logic and analytical thinking jew.

Language and style

• Written primarily in Hebrew mishnáico, with some sections in aramaic.
  
• It is characterized by its conciseness extreme: every word counts.
  
• Use formulas nemotécnicas, repetitions and parallelisms to facilitate memorization and oral.

Transmission and study

• It is studied in the memory, and he repeated (hence its name, “Mishnah” = repeat).
  
• The study was done in pairs or groups, a method that continues until today.
  
• Their study forms the basis of the formation of the rabbinic.

Relevance spiritual

The Mishnah is not only regulates the practical life; it is also a spiritual and moral guidance. His ultimate purpose is to elevate the everyday actions to the plane of holiness, by teaching that every human act can be a way of serving God.

Major treaties highlights

Some of the most studied and cited are:

• Berachot – Blessings and prayers.
  
• Avot (Pirkei Avot) – Ethics of the Fathers; proverbs moral.
  
• Shabbat – the Laws of the sacred day.
  
• Sanhedrin – criminal Law and judicial.
  
• Yevamot / Ketubot / Guitin – Right to marriage and family.
  
• Tamid / Yomá – priestly Service in the Temple.
  
• Nidá – Purity of the family.

The Mishnah is the central pillar of rabbinic judaism or traditional and one of the most influential in the history of human thought. It is the backbone of the Talmud, the basis of jewish law, and a model of wisdom, structured and analytical.

His study not only reveals the evolution of the religious right, but also the vision to ethical, social and spiritual Israel, that is still alive until today in the jewish people and the intellectual currents that flow from it.