Mishnah

The Mishnah or the Mishna (/ˈmɪʃnə/; Hebrew: מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb shanah שנה‎, or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first work of rabbinic literature, with the oldest surviving material dating to the 6th to 7th centuries BCE.[1][2][3]

The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi probably in Beit Shearim or Sepphoris[4] between the ending of the second century CE and the beginning of the third century[5][6] in a time when 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 (516 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten.

Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Jewish Western Aramaic.

  1. ^ The same meaning is suggested by the term Deuterosis ("doubling" or "repetition" in Koine Greek) used in Roman law and Patristic literature. However, it is not always clear from the context if the reference is to the Mishnah or the Targum, which could be regarded as a "doubling" of the Torah reading.
  2. ^ Fine, Steven; Koller, Aaron J. (2014). Talmuda de-Eretz Israel: archaeology and the rabbis in late antique Palestine. Studia Judaica. Center for Israel studies. Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 231–237. ISBN 978-1-61451-485-5.
  3. ^ Maimonides. "Commentary on Tractate Avot with an Introduction (Shemona perakim)". World Digital Library. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Mishnah". Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. ^ Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). "Mishnah". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 14 (2 ed.). p. 319. ISBN 978-0-02-865942-8.. Heinrich Graetz, dissenting, places the Mishnah's compilation in 189 CE (see: H. Graetz, History of the Jews, vol. 6, Philadelphia 1898, p. 105 Archived 2022-11-02 at the Wayback Machine), and which date follows that penned by Rabbi Abraham ben David in his "Sefer HaKabbalah le-Ravad", or what was then anno 500 of the Seleucid era.
  6. ^ Trachtenberg, Joshua (13 February 2004) [Originally published 1939]. "Glossary of Hebrew Terms". Jewish Magic and Superstition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (published 2004). p. 333. ISBN 9780812218626. Retrieved Mar 14, 2023. Mishna—the "Oral Law" forming basis of the Talmud; edited c. 220 C.E. by R. Judah HaNassi.