mishna
Definition
Noun: * The Mishna: The first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions, known as the Oral Torah. It forms the core text of the Talmud, compiled around 200 CE by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. It is a legal code that systematically organizes Jewish law, ethics, and customs.
Usage
- The word "Mishna" is typically used with the definite article "the" when referring to the text as a whole.
- It is a proper noun and is often capitalized.
- It is used in academic, religious, and historical contexts to discuss Jewish law and literature.
Examples
- Academic/Historical:
- Religious Study:
- Comparative Context:
Advanced Usage
- Mishnaic (adjective): Pertaining to the Mishna, its language (Early Rabbinic Hebrew), or its period.
- The Mishnaic period followed the destruction of the Second Temple.
- Mishnayot (plural): The individual units, chapters, or tractates that make up the Mishna.
- He is learning several mishnayot by heart.
Variants and Related Words
- Mishnah: An alternate common transliteration of the same Hebrew word.
- Talmud: The central text of Rabbinic Judaism, which consists of the Mishna plus its later commentary, known as the Gemara.
- Gemara: The rabbinical analysis and commentary on the Mishna that, together with the Mishna, makes up the Talmud.
- Halakha: Jewish law, derived from both the written Torah and oral traditions like those codified in the Mishna.
Synonyms
- Oral Law (as codified): Refers to the same body of tradition that the Mishna compiled into written form.
- Teaching, Repetition: These are the literal meanings of the Hebrew root () from which "Mishna" is derived.
Notes on Meaning
The term "Mishna" specifically refers to the compiled, edited text. It is distinct from: * Midrash: A different genre of rabbinic literature focused on biblical exegesis and homiletics. * Baraita: A teaching from the Mishnaic period that was not included in the final, authoritative compilation of the Mishna by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi.
Noun
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the first part of the Talmud; a collection of early oral interpretations of the scriptures that was compiled about AD 200
