Mishnah

by Brad Scott

Talmud is divided up first into two large sections called Mishnah and Gemara. Mishnah is the study of halakhic law, or simply put, the ancient Rabbinical Torah commentary on how to walk or live. It is taken from the Hebrew word shanah (שנה). This word should look familiar, for it is the Hebrew word for year as in Rosh HaShanah. It's root meaning, however, is to repeat, as in cycles.

Sh^emot (Exodus) 12:1-2And YHVH spoke unto Mosheh and Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

The idea in studying Mishnah is to repeat it over and over again. When reading Talmud, one cannot help but notice that it is a bit repetitive. The mi (מ) prefix gives its literal understanding as from repetition.

Shalom Alecheim! ◊