The Talmud is the basis for Halacha – Jewish Law. These blog posts will be a series of how to approach the Talmud, how to analyze it, and understand its rulings. While there are other sources that are used for Halachic rulings, the vast majority come from the rulings of the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud consists of two parts: Mishnah, and Gemarah.
Mishnah: The Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi in the second century C.E. It was compiled from all the traditions of all of the sages before him. It is written in a concise form, and was meant to be memorized and recited, and was not supposed to be written down and published. But because of the turbulent times caused by the Roman oppression in Eretz Israel, it was written down in the form that we have today.
The Mishna, being a law book, is composed of a case and a law. Sometimes a reason is given in the Mishna for why this case produces this law, but more often it does not. The factor is usually discussed in the Gemarrah. We can look at the structure through the following formula: Case, Law, Factor, in which in the Factor is what produces the Law for this Case. We can look at it as Case =>{Factor] => Law. The Factor could also be a Biblical source, in which case it would be quoted as a verse.
When the Mishnah doesn’t give a Factor, it is a good practice, before you look into the Gemara or Rashi, for you to try to think of one or more possible Factors. This helps to open your mind to the many possibilities that could be attributed to this Law.
There is one more element that is important to note. Often there is more than one opinion in a Mishnah. This will be indicated by the Mishna giving the name of the Rabbi who holds that opinion. There can be more than one name listed, and unless the Mishnah indicates that they agree, then we know that they disagree. If no name is cited, this is known as a סתם משנה a Stam, or unauthored, Mishnah.
Tomorrow we will go through these elements of the Mishnah by bringing an example to show how this works.
