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Meet the Mishnah
Discover why we study the Mishnah, where it comes from, and how to begin.
Why begin here?
The Mishnah gives us a first encounter with the way our sages teach: careful language, concrete cases, questions, and sometimes differing opinions. Its compact passages invite us to slow down and learn with a teacher or companion. Studying them helps us understand the foundations beneath Jewish practice.
Our first readings will come from Avot, a part of the Mishnah devoted to character, learning, and conduct. Its short teachings offer an approachable place to begin.
A collection, not the beginning of the tradition
Around 200 CE, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi—Rabbi Judah the Prince—compiled the Mishnah from teachings passed down and discussed by earlier generations of sages. The tradition reaches back much further than the collection.
Yeshua knew and engaged with the living oral teachings and traditions of our people. The Mishnah later gathered and organized this stream of learning, preserving earlier traditions alongside teachings from generations after his lifetime. Studying it helps us understand the Jewish conversations that form the setting of the Gospels.
Rambam, a medieval rabbi also known as Maimonides, explains that Rabbi Yehudah gathered this learning so it could remain accessible as hardship and the dispersal of communities threatened its transmission. The Mishnah became a shared foundation for continued study.
Six orders, many subjects
The Mishnah has six orders, its large subject divisions. Each order contains tractates, or named books, divided into chapters and individual teachings. One teaching is also called a mishnah.
- Zera’im · Seeds
- Blessings and agriculture
- Mo’ed · Appointed Time
- Shabbat and festivals
- Nashim · Women
- Marriage, divorce, and vows
- Nezikin · Damages
- Courts, civil law, and conduct
- Kodashim · Holy Things
- Sacrifices and the Temple
- Tohorot · Purities
- Ritual purity
Avot belongs to Nezikin. Its ethical teachings sit within a collection concerned with the whole of Jewish life. Pirkei Avot, “Chapters of the Fathers,” is its familiar name.
Listen to its opening
Avot begins by placing its teaching within a chain of transmission:
משה קיבל תורה מסיניי ומסרה ליהושוע
Moses received Torah from Sinai and passed it on to Joshua.
English rendering by Messianic Yeshiva
The passage continues from Joshua to the elders, the prophets, and the Men of the Great Assembly, a body of leaders in our tradition. Notice the two actions: received and passed on. The learner receives something entrusted to earlier generations, then shares responsibility for carrying it forward.
How to read a mishnah
Read a short passage twice. Ask who speaks, what the words mean, and what distinction or instruction matters. Then consult an explanation and compare it with the text. Reading a source will help you tell those voices apart.
The Mishnah often preserves debate rather than stating a final ruling. For a practical question, learn how the later discussion and halakhic authorities resolve it, with guidance from a knowledgeable rabbi.
Check your bearings
Did Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi invent the teachings he compiled?
No. He gathered and arranged teachings from the tradition of our sages. The collection preserves earlier learning and became a foundation for later discussion.
Is the whole Mishnah a collection of ethical sayings like Avot?
No. Avot focuses on character and conduct. Other tractates study many areas of Jewish life, including blessings, Shabbat, marriage, courts, the Temple, and ritual purity.
What two actions connect Moses and Joshua in the excerpt?
Moses received Torah and passed it on. The opening places teaching and learning within a continuing chain.
Explore the sources
The six orders and their tractates · Rambam’s introduction · Mark 7:1–13 · Meeting the Mishnah, Sefaria Education