Pillar II
Talmud & Mishnah
The Oral Torah — the Mishnah (compiled c. 200 CE) and the Gemara that expounds it, arranged in six orders (sedarim). The major tractates are catalogued here with their subjects.
Zeraim זְרָעִים — Seeds — agricultural law and blessings
Berakhot בְּרָכוֹת
Blessings and prayers — the Shema, the Amidah, and the liturgy of daily life. The only tractate of Zeraim with Babylonian Gemara.
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Moed מוֹעֵד — Festivals — the Sabbath and the holy days
Shabbat שַׁבָּת
The laws of the Sabbath — the thirty-nine forbidden categories of labour, and the sanctity of the seventh day.
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Eruvin עֵירוּבִין
The laws of Sabbath boundaries and the merging of domains (eruv).
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Pesachim פְּסָחִים
Passover — the removal of leaven, the paschal offering, and the seder.
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Yoma יוֹמָא
The Day of Atonement — the Temple service of Yom Kippur and the laws of repentance and fasting.
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Sukkah סֻכָּה
Tabernacles — the sukkah, the four species, and the festival of Sukkot.
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Rosh Hashanah רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
The New Year — the calendar, the sanctification of the month, and the shofar.
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Megillah מְגִלָּה
Purim and the reading of the Scroll of Esther; the public reading of the Torah.
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Nashim נָשִׁים — Women — marriage, divorce, and vows
Ketubot כְּתֻבּוֹת
Marriage contracts — the mutual obligations of husband and wife.
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Gittin גִּטִּין
Bills of divorce — the law and procedure of the get.
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Kiddushin קִדּוּשִׁין
Betrothal — the modes of marriage and questions of lineage.
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Nezikin נְזִיקִין — Damages — civil and criminal law, ethics
Bava Kamma בָּבָא קַמָּא
The First Gate — torts and damages: the ox, the pit, fire, and theft.
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Bava Metzia בָּבָא מְצִיעָא
The Middle Gate — lost property, bailments, usury, and labour law.
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Bava Batra בָּבָא בָּתְרָא
The Last Gate — real estate, partnership, inheritance, and contracts.
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Sanhedrin סַנְהֶדְרִין
Courts and capital law — the structure of justice, the kings, and the doctrine of the World to Come.
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Avodah Zarah עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה
Idolatry — relations with the surrounding pagan world.
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Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת
Ethics of the Fathers — the great tractate of moral maxims and the chain of tradition from Sinai. Has no Gemara; studied on its own.
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Kodashim קׇדָשִׁים — Holy Things — the Temple service
Chullin חֻלִּין
Non-sacred slaughter — the laws of kosher slaughter (shechitah) and dietary law.
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Menachot מְנָחוֹת
Meal-offerings — tefillin, tzitzit, and the grain offerings of the Temple.
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Tohorot טׇהֳרוֹת — Purities — ritual purity
Niddah נִדָּה
The laws of menstrual purity — the only tractate of Tohorot with Babylonian Gemara.
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