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Mishnah

Looking for a good mishnah set or volume?

Okay, class. Let's talk terminology for a moment. The Mishnah is the Oral Torah as redacted by Rabbi Judah the Prince, better known as Rabi Yehuda Hanasi, when it seemed that the oral tradition might be lost if not written down. The sages who take part in its discussions are called tannaim.

As thorough as the tannaim were, guess what? Later sages had comments and questions about what the tannaim said. These later sages, some of them even a few hundred years after the tannaim, and mostly in Babylonia instead of the Land of Israel, were known as amoraim. Their commentaries on the Mishnah are known as the Gemara. Together, the Mishnah and the Gemara make up the Talmud. Got that? If it sounds confusing, don't let it bother you. It's sort of like learning the American political system by first looking at the historical development of bicameral legislatures. If you really want to learn how Congress works, it's better to just visit the Capitol and watch them in session. Or catch them on C-SPAN. Then the theory will start to make sense.

Here, too, don't be bothered about figuring out who's who and what's what (unless you like doing that). Better to jump in - get a text and start studying. It will become clear. And studying Mishnah and Gemara is rather like sitting in the visitors' gallery of the legislature, listening to the proceedings - with this very important exception: in the visitors' gallery, you have to watch silently. By us, you are not only invited, but required, to take part in the discussion.

New! Mishnah and Talmud Software

Here are computer programs and other goodies to help you learn Mishnah and Talmud (and how about reading Rashi script?), courtesy of our affiliate jewishsoftware.com.

Reading Rashi - Interactive Education for Reading Rashi Script	Gemara Buddy - Perek Eilu Metzios - Technology for Talmud Study and Review	Gemara Tutor	Talmud Master - Interactive Talmud Trainer	Wolfson Talmud - 26 CD-ROMS
Talmud HaMuklat - 22 CDs - Technology for Talmud Study and Review in Hebrew	Master Mishna – Complete Set - Technology for Mishna Study and Review - 6 CDs	Master Mishna – Zeraim	Master Mishna – Moed	Master Mishna – Nashim
Master Mishna – Nezikin	Master Mishna - Kodshim	Master Mishna - Tahoros	Bar Ilan Responsa 10	Bar Ilan Responsa 10 Plus Encyclopedia Talmudit
Tanach Plus - includes Tanach, 24 Bible Commentaries, Talmud Bavli and Commentaries, Zohar, and more	Judaic Bookshelf - Master Library - Tanach, Bible Commentaries, Talmud Bavli with Commentaries, Zohar, Sifrei Mussar, Machshava, and Siddurim	Bar Ilan Talmud Torah Study Buddy	Encyclopedia Talmudit complete on CD	ArtScroll Stone Chumash with English Rashi - CD-ROM

Artscroll Mishnah, Blackman Mishnayoth, and other books on Mishnah

Artscroll has a lovely series of Mishnah editions, shown below. They include the Hebrew text with English translations and commentaries. If you're looking for a complete set of the Mishnah, with Hebrew text, English translation, and brief commentary, we suggest the six-volume Blackman Mishnayoth (mishnayot, as we would spell it now, being the plural of mishnah). Also shown below are a few of the many books written by Jacob Neusner on the Mishnah, its authors, and the environment in which they worked.

Artscroll Mishnah Zeraim volume 1: BERACHOS	Artscroll Mishnah Zeraim 2a: PEAH	Artscroll Mishnah Zeraim 2b: DEMAI	Artscroll Mishnah Zeraim 3a: KILAYIM	Artscroll Mishnah Zeraim 3b: SHEVIIS
Artscroll Yad Avrohom Mishnah Series: Tractate TERUMOS (Seder Zeraim)	Artscroll Mishnah Moed 1a:SHABBOS	Artscroll Mishnah Moed 1b Eruvin, BEITZAH	Artscroll Mishnah Moed 2 Pesachim, SHEKALIM	Artscroll Mishnah Moed 3 ROSH HASHANAH, YOMA, SUCCAH
Artscroll Mishnah Moed 4 TAANIS, MEGILLAH, MOED KATAN, CHAGIGAH	Artscroll Mishnah Nashim 1a: YEVAMOS	Artscroll Mishnah Nashim 1b: KESUBOS	Artscroll Mishnah Nashim 2a: NEDARIM	Artscroll Mishnah Nashim 2b: NAZIR, SOTAH
Artscroll Mishnah Nashim 3 GITTIN, KIDDUSHIN	Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 1a: BAVA KAMMA	Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 1b: BAVA METZIA	Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 1c: BAVA BASRA	Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 2a: SANHEDRIN
Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 2b: MAKKOS - SHEVUOS	Artscroll Mishnah Nezikin 3b: AVODAH ZARAH / HORAYOS	Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 1a: ZEVACHIM	Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 1b: MENACHOS	Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 2a: CHULLIN
Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 2b: BECHOROS	Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 3a: ARACHIN	Artscroll Mishnah Kodashim 3c: KERISOS	Artscroll Mishnah Tohoros 2A: OHOLOS Volume 1	Artscroll Mishnah Tohoros 2B: OHOLOS Volume 2
Artscroll Mishnah Tohoros 4b: NEGAIM	Artscroll Mishnah Tohoros 4b: MIKVAOS	The Mishnah: A New Translation	Mishnah	Tractate Baba Kama
Blackman Mishnayoth (6 Volume Set)	Maimonides' Introduction to the Talmud: A Translation of Maimonides Introduction to His Commentary on the Mishna With Complete Original Hebrew Text	The Mishnah: An Introduction	Midrash, Mishnah and Gemara: The Jewish Predilection for Justified Law	Vanquished Nation, Broken Spirit: The Virtues of the Heart in Formative Judaism

More Mishnah Editions and Books on Mishnah!

Here are many more Mishnah editions and various books on Mishnah, available from Amazon.

1.		From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, Second Edition from Westminster John Knox Press Price: $27.95 Customer Review: If a history of the Jewish polity from about 167 BCE to 70 CE is part of what you are looking for here, you will need to look elsewhere. The text is comprised of an introduction and six stand alone essays. This material concerns the socio-religious development of the proto-Judaism of 539 BCE into... more info	Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 Click here for more information

2.		Jewish Literature Between The Bible And The Mishnah, with CD-ROM, Second Edition from Fortress Press Price: $19.14 Customer Review: I got this book because Nickelsburg is one of the leading scholars in intertestimental literature. In scholarly works, I expect a very exacting respect for the difference between fact and surmise. Nickelsburg knows his topic, but I found myself frustrated by his dedication to literary analysis, such... more info	Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

3.		The Oral Law of Sinai: An Illustrated History of the Mishnah from Jossey-Bass Price: $26.37	Click here for more information

4.		The Mishnah: A New Translation from Yale University Press Price: $45.90 Customer Review: The translation is rather weak for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is superficial and gives the reader the wrong understanding of the Mishna because it is not thorough. For example, in the very last Mishna in Uktzin, Shammai and Hillel's explanations of when a fish is susceptible to impurity are... more info	Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

5.		Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics (Modern Commentary On) (Modern Commentary On) from Urj Press Price: $11.21 Customer Review: "Pirke Avot" (the "Chapter of the Fathers") is a tractate of the Mishnah that collects not laws but sayings of the tannaitic Rabbis, mostly concerning the virtues of Torah study and the proper conduct of scholars. It is one of the classics of rabbinic literature, included (in whole or in part) in... more info	Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 Click here for more information

6.		Ethics of the Sages: Pirke Avot (Skylight Illuminations) from Skylight Paths Publishing Price: $11.55 Customer Review: This book is very good, but at some point, the interpretations are very repetitive...maybe some more depth would have made this book excellent.	Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 Click here for more information

7.		Torah & Company: The Weekly Portion of Torah, Accompanied by Generous Helpings of Mishnah and Gemara, Served up with Discussion Questions to Spice up Your Sabbath Table from Ben Yehuda Press Price: $11.65 Customer Review: I was disappointed in this book. There is not enough substance. I thought it would be a more indepth study of the weekly parsha.	Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0 Click here for more information

8.		Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the Mishnah: A Historical and Literary Introduction from Augsburg Fortress Publishers Price: $27.00 Customer Review: In this book, Nickelsburg places a number of non-canonical books into their historical setting. He begins with a brief history of the Return and the Dispersion then goes on to explain how nu-merous books came about as a response to the Dispersion, the wake of Alexander the Great, the Romans and... more info	Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

9.		Antiquities of the Jews - a history of the Jewish people, from LeClue Price: $0.99	Click here for more information

10.	[no image]	Mishnah Oral Teachings of Judaism from Schocken Books Customer Review: Rabbi Lipman provides the reader with an introduction to the 'Mishnah'. The Mishnah is the compilation of Oral Laws made in the second century which along with the commentary on it ( the Gemara) constitute the Oral Law, basis of Jewish religious practice. Rabbi Lipman in his introductory chapter... more info	Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

12.		The Mishnah from Oxford University Press, USA Price: $246.00 Customer Review: The Mishnah was the first recording of the oral law written by the Scribes and Pharisees between 70-200 CE, that is about 37 to 167 years after the Messiah's death. The Mishnah explains that the New Moon Day was determined by the observance of the Crescent New Moon. It was the general understanding... more info	Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 Click here for more information

13.		The Study of Ancient Judaism, Volume I from University of South Florida Price: $74.95	Click here for more information

14.		Pirke Avot: Wisdom of the Jewish Sages from Ktav Publishing House	Click here for more information

18.	[no image]	Chattel or Person?: The Status of Women in the Mishnah from Oxford University Press, USA Customer Review: Wegner tries to understand the status of woman as given in the Mishnah. Her major point is that it is by and large determined by her sexual status. A minor girl is under the authority of her father, a married woman under that of her husband. The father can sell the daughter to her prospective... more info	Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

20.		Wisdom, Politics, and Historiography: Tractate Avot in the Context of the Graeco-Roman Near East (Oxford Oriental Monographs) from Oxford University Press, USA Price: $121.79	Click here for more information

22.		Jewish Law Review Vol. 2: The Mishnah on Lost & Found from Torah Aura Productions Price: $6.95	Click here for more information

23.		Tractate Sanhedrin, Mishnah and Tosefta: The Judicial Procedure of the Jews (Forgotten Books) from Forgotten Books Price: $7.98	Click here for more information

25.		Ask the Rabbi: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How of Being Jewish (Arthur Kurzweil Books) from Jossey-Bass Price: $15.61 Customer Review: Chatty, easy to read, easy to research question and answer format. Just like having the rabbi right there with you.	Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information

27.		Rabbinic Interpretation of Scripture in the Mishnah from Oxford University Press, USA Price: $209.00	Click here for more information

29.		The Economics of the Mishnah (Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism) from University Of Chicago Press Price: $24.00	Click here for more information

30.	[no image]	Pirkei Avos: Ethics of the Fathers (Artscroll Mesorah Series) from Artscroll Price: $5.99 Customer Review: This is a good translation of Perkei Avos. It doesn't have much (or really any) commentary but that is made up for by the fact that it is a pocket sized edition. Being without the commentary it isn't really good for serious study (though it isn't really meant as such). However, it is good for those... more info	Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Click here for more information