Mishna

“ In direct opposition to the tendency of the Alexandrian and Gnostic schools to give especial prominence to the view that God's love was the characteristic feature of Judaism, the Mishna, the first positive code of Judaism, cautions its readers against this opinion, and orders silence to be imposed on one who desired to express this view in prayer: "Thy love extendeth even to the nest of the bird." ”

“ The Mishna refers to a case when the Pentecost falls on a Sabbath. And the case of Alexis was when it fell on the first day of the week.
MISHNA: One may wash his hands for common food and for second-tithes and for heave-offerings, but for hallowed things they must be bathed legally. For the sin-offering, if one's hands be defiled, his whole body is defiled.
If he have dipped for common food, he has credit as clean for common food, but is forbidden tithe; if for tithe, he has credit for tithe, but not for heave-offering ”

“ The Mishna goes on to say that if one has a big field with only a few poor coming to pick up food the sixtieth is based on the size of the field. If though one has a small field and more poor people coming to pick up food, one should base the sixtieth on the number of people coming. ”

“ The statement of the Mishna, "This rule is explanatory to the saying," refers to a man who was overtaken by dusk, while the teaching "for the poor man who has no bread, it is made easier," is according to the opinion of all. ”

“ The Mishna regarded as the greatest virtue the study of the doctrines of Judaism and the knowledge of the Law or of the Halachas (Talmud Torah) .474 Occupation in these subjects possessed peculiar merit or justification (Zechut Torah) ; it protected and advanced a person here and hereafter. "He who is acquainted with the Bible and tradition, and is careful of his behavior, will not easily fall into sin." ”

“ All such laws as do not appear in the Pentateuch are designated in the Mishna by the term, "the saying of those learned in the Scripture" (Dibre Soferim) , although its component parts are not rigorously divided into these two categories. It is true that in the Mishna the remembrance of the dissatisfaction of many Tanaites is still apparent, especially in the complaint that the numerous decisions which Joshua arrived at by means of interpretation, "resemble mountains hanging by a hair," that is to say, are far-fetched ”

“ Does the Mishna allude to skins belonging to private men only, hence skins belonging to an artisan, who is particular with them, may not be handled under any circumstances; or perhaps the Mishna allows even an artisan's skins? Answered R. Jonathan b. Elazar to them: It is reasonable to accept that it applies only to those belonging to private men but not to artisans, because they (the artisans) are particular. ”

“ The Tana of our Mishna is in accordance with the school of R. Ishmael of the following Boraitha: At four periods is the world judged: at Passover, in respect to grain; on Pentecost, in regard to the fruit of trees; on Tabernacles, in respect to rain, and on New Year's Day man is judged, but the sentence passed upon him is confirmed on the Day of Atonement, and our Mishna speaks of the opening of judgment only (and not the final verdict) . ”

“ And the School of Hillel retracted their decision and decided as the School of Shammai; consequently if he is yet half a slave, he is obliged, because he will be free, and the Mishna adds by "all" such a case.
"A deaf man, a fool, and a minor," etc. The Mishna mentions the deaf man together with fool, to teach us that as the fool has no intelligence, so also the deaf man is absolved when he has no intelligence, i.e., when he is both deaf and dumb; but if he speaks but cannot hear, or vice versa, he is obliged. ”

“ IT has been very generally believed among the Jews, that when God gave to Moses the written law, He gave him also another, not written; and that this was preserved by tradition among the doctors of the synagogue, until rabbi Judah, surnamed the Holy, collected these traditions together, and (150 B. C.) reduced them to writing. The collection thus formed received the name of Mishna, or Second Law. After a while, commentaries were written on the Mishna, and amongst these, that of rabbi 290
Johanas, composed about 230 A. D., and bearing the name of Gemara, or Completion, was the most celebrated. ”

“ Accepted by the Pharisees, rejected by the Sadducees, confined by Shammai's school within narrow boundaries, extended in its application by the school of Hillel, and greatly enriched by the followers of the latter, it was through Judah that tradition first acquired a settled form, and was able to exercise, by means of its contents and its mode of exposition, a spiritual influence during a number of centuries. Concurrently with the Bible, the Mishna was the principal source of intellectual activity and research ”

“ Yea, he did; for the last part of the Mishna relates, that R. Jose forbids the making of a partition with new pottery filled with water, because such vessels are liable to burst and extinguish the fire; and if R. Jose forbids this, surely R. Simeon (the first Tana) must have permitted it in the first part of the Mishna.
The rabbis taught: If a candle fall on the table, the table board may be raised and the candle dropped to the floor, and if it become extinguished, it matters not. ”

“ Where is a cellar mentioned in the Mishna, that barrels should be discussed? The Mishna means to state as follows: "In all places, where it is not usual to put leaven, it is not necessary to search for leavened bread, and cellars of wine or of oil need not be searched." ”

“ Translator's Introduction The Talmud (teaching) comprises the Mishna and the Gemara. The Mishna (“learning” or “second law”) was, according to Jewish tradition, delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. “Rabbi Levi, the son of Chama, says, Rabbi Simon, the son of Lakish, says, what is that which is written, ‘I will give thee tables of stone, and a law and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them’?1 The Tables are the ten commandments; the Law is the written law; and the commandment is the Mishna; ‘which I have written’ means the prophets and sacred writings ”

“ But if it should be necessary, shall we make it an intercalary month? This would disturb the position of New Year's Day. It is better that the position of New Year's Day alone should be disturbed than that all the holidays should be disarranged. And it seems to be so, for the Mishna says that the messengers were sent for Tishri on account of appointing the order of the festivals.
"And for Kislev on account of Hanuka, and for Adar on account of the Feast of Esther." But the Mishna does not say if it be a leap year, that the messengers were sent out in the second Adar on account of Purim. ”

“ Does such a question as to whether a thing be dry or wet exist as regards sacred things? Does not love for the sacred things make men cautious in regard to defilement? The Mishna treats of a case, that a man's companion put a piece of the sacred things into his mouth, or he put it into his own mouth with a spindle or with a skewer, or attempted to eat along with these an onion or garlic taken from unconsecrated things. As to sacred things the rabbis ordained so, but as to heave-offering they did not.
"The mourner and he who lacks atonement." ”

“ In the preceding Mishna the remainder of offerings is treated of, and it made no difference how little the remainder was, it could be thrown into the chest. In this Mishna, the case of a man who vows to bring an offering is spoken of, and a minimum value is placed.
28:f2 Incidentally we are told that the meat of the sacrifices belonged to the Divinity, while the hides belonged to the priests ”

“ Oftentimes, when they found the Mishna differing with an established custom in their days, they resorted to subtle inquiry and minute discussion, until they succeeded in establishing harmony between the differing points. ”

“ But according to R. Johanan, who explains that the first Tana means to say the second of the second pair (shall be sacrificed) , but of the first shall be put to death, because a living thing can be postponed, consequently R. Jehudah differs from the first Tana only on one point, on the congregational offering. Why does the Mishna say, "and also"? This difficulty remains. (From this we see, the Mishna is according to Rabh, not R. Johanan.)
"If the blood has been spilled, the scapegoat should be put to death." ”

“ While the ceremonial law was rigorous, its observance was saved from being mechanical by the importance laid on sincerity of intention and on inner devotion. Not the brazen serpent but the repentant heart cured afflicted Israel in the wilderness, the Mishna reminds us, pointing its moral with the quotation from the prophet Joel, "Rend your hearts, not your garments." To go beyond the Law in the keeping of one's word merits the highest praise. Many prohibitions were imposed against actions not wrong in themselves, as barriers against possible wrong. ”

“ It is this application of the Law to the needs of Jewish Society, by a process slow and gradual, that has made each successive stage of development, in Jewish opinion, more valuable than its predecessors. Thus if the Law has been likened to water, the Mishna, which gives a later direction to its precepts, is as wine; and the Gemara, declaring as it does the sense in which the Mishnic Hilkoth are to be taken, is as hippocras. ”

“ If he have performed to her the ceremony of taking off the shoe, and she die, he is allowed to marry her sister; if she marry another man, and die, he is allowed to marry her sister."
The Mishna is a collection of legends and expositions said to have been learned by Moses in the mount, and handed down by tradition. It was compiled in the second century, and testifies what was the common and received sense of the law among the Hebraizing Jews. The Magazine writer says, "it is the most exact representation of the ancient Jewish opinion;" ”

“ Because the first part of the Mishna refers to victuals, and a man cannot save more than sufficient for three meals, while the last part of the Mishna refers to clothing; and as a man can change his clothing as often as he pleases, he may call to others to come and help him save whatever is possible. ”

“ This opinion of R. Johanan is quite correct, for we find that a Boraitha quotes all the verses that he quotes here, and arrives at the same conclusion.
R. Hisda says: The rule of the Mishna--that the year of the kings begins with Nissan--refers to the kings of Israel only, but for the kings of other nations it commences from Tishri. As it is said [Neh. i. 1] : "The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakhaliah. ”

“ The rabbi seems to ‘babble’ when he tries to express in words the truth he sees. The pure white light of truth, seen through the medium of the flesh, is composed of many coloured rays. Evil is like the dark lines in the spectrum. The whole duty of man is to learn to love. If he fails, it matters not; he has learned the art: ‘so much for the attempt—anon performance.’ Love is the sum of our spiritual intuitions, the law of our practical conduct.”
Notes.—Mishna, the second or oral Jewish law ”

“ Mishnah 12
[One who says to a woman,] "I betrothed your daughter," and she says, "you betrothed none other than myself" — the relatives of the younger one are forbidden to him, and his relatives are permitted to the younger one; the relatives of the older one are permitted to him, and his relatives are forbidden to the older one. Mishnah 13
Wherever there is betrothal and no sin, the child goes after the male. ”

“ Anyone who increases conversation with the woman — He causes evil to himself, and neglects the words of Torah, And in his end he inherits Gehenna. Mishnah 6
Yehoshua ben Perachiah and Nittai of Arbel received the transmission from them. Yehoshua ben Perachia said, Make for yourself a rabbi, acquire for yourself a friend; and judge every person in their favor. Mishnah 7
Nittai of Arbel said, Distance yourself from a bad neighbor, Do not befriend a wicked person, And do not despair of punishment. ”

“ Mishnah 7 One can not sell to them (to gentiles) bears, lions, or anything that can do harm to the public. One cannot build with them a basilica, a scaffold, a stadium, or a stage. But one can build with them public bathhouses or private ones. When they reach the place where they stand an object of idol worship, it is forbidden to help.
Mishnah 8 One may not make jewelry for purposes of idol worship. Necklaces, nose rings, or rings. Rabbi Eliezer says, 'It is permissible to do so in return for a salary. One may not sell them (gentiles) produce that is unplucked. ”

“ When he comforts others, everyone passes by one after one, and an appointed person places himself between him and the people. When he is being comforted by others, everyone says to him, "we atone for him," and he says to them "you are blessed from heaven." And when he is fed in comfort, the whole nation sits on the ground and he sits on a bench.
Mishnah 2 The king cannot judge or be judged himself, cannot serve as a witness nor can others serve as a witness against him, cannot perform Levirate nullification, nor can others perform Levirate nullification for his widow. ”

“ Mishnah 1
Rabbi Meir says: Anyone who involves himself in Torah for its own sake merits many things, and moreover the entire world is worthwhile for his sake; He is called "friend," "beloved," "lover of the Ominpresent," "lover of [all] creatures," "delighter of the Ominpresent," "delighter of [all] creatures;" He is clothed in humility and reverence, and it prepares him to be righteous, devout, upright and trustworthy, and it distances him from sin, and draws him near to merit ”