Talmud

A complete set of the Babylonian Talmud

The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד, talmūd, meaning instruction, learning is a central text of mainstream Judaism, considered second to the Torah. The Talmud is the codification of the Oral Law. Today the Oral Law is a written law, codified in the Mishna (Hebrew: משנה, Mishna) and the Gemara (Hebrew: גמרא, Gemara) forming the Talmud. The Oral Law of Judaism is divided into "six orders" and the Talmud is also traditionally referred to as ש״ס, Shas, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the "six orders". The whole Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and it is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic.

Writing the Oral Law

The Mishna was drafted around the third century by Rabbi Judah the Prince, (יהודה הנשיא, Yehudah HaNasi, meaning Judah the Prince). It was forbidden to record these teachings but Rabbi Judah transgressed this precept in order to safeguard the Oral Torah of strain for future generations as the people of Israel was becoming dispersed throughout the world.

Two Talmuds

There are in fact two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד ירושלמי, Talmud Yerushalmi), and the Babylonian Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד בבלי, Talmud Bavli). Both have in common the same Mishna and differ by Gemara.

Tractates

Order of the Mishnah	Translation	Description	Talmud Tractate	Translation	Subject
סדר זרעים, Zeraim	Seeds	Deal with prayer and blessings, tithes and agricultural laws	ברכות, Berakhot	Blessings	Deals with the rules of blessings and prayers, particularly the Shema and the Amidah.
			פאה, Pe'ah	Corner	Deals with the regulations concerning the commandment to leave the corner of one's field for the poor (Leviticus 19:9–10 , Leviticus 23:22 , Deuteronomy 24:19–22 ), and with the rights of the poor in general.
			דמאי, Demai	Doubtful Produce	Deals chiefly with various cases in which it is not certain whether the priestly donations have been taken from produce.
			כלאים, Kil'ayim	Mixture or Confusion	It deals with the laws of various forbidden production and uses of mixtures from produce.
			שביעית, Shevi'it	Seventh year	It deals with all laws of allowing the land to rest in the seventh year, the laws of shmita produce and the remission of debts.
			תרומות‎, Terumot	Donations	It deals with two type of donations; the first, the terumah, which is generally 1/50 of one's crop and 10% of the Maaser.
			מעשרות‎, Ma'aserot	Tithes	It deals with It discusses the types of produce liable for tithing as well as the circumstances and timing under which produce becomes obligated for tithing.
			מעשר שני, Ma'aser Sheni	Second Tithe	It concerns the Second tithe obligation as well as the laws of Revai.
			חלה, Hallah	Loaf	It concerns the requirement to separate Challah from the bread dough.
			ערלה, Orlah	Blockage of Trees	It deals with the laws pertaining to any fruit bearing tree, whose fruits cannot be eaten during the first three years the tree produces fruit.
			ביכורים‎, Bikkurim	First-fruits	It discuss the commandment to bring the Bikkurim (first fruits) to the Temple in Jerusalem and to make a declaration upon bringing it.(Deuteronomy 26:1-11 )
מועד, Moed	Festival	Pertaining to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals	שבת‎‎, Shabbat	Shabbat	It deals with laws relating to Shabbat and the activities prohibited on Shabbat.
			ערובין‎, Eruvin	Mixtures	It deals with the various types of eruvs (mixtures).
			פסחים‎, Pesahim	Passovers	It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Passover as well as the Passover lamb offering.
			שקלים, Shekalim	Shekels	It deals with the collection of the half-Shekel as well as the expenses and expenditure of the Temple. This is the only one in the Order of Moed of which no Gemara has come down to us.
			יומא, Yoma	Day	It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their sins from the previous year.
			סוכה, Sukkah	Hut‎	It deals mainly with laws relating to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
			ביצה‎, Beitza	Egg	It deals with the laws of Yom Tov (holidays).
			ראש השנה, Rosh Hashanah	Head [of] the year	It deals with the calendar year, the description of the inauguration of the months, laws on the form and use of the shofar and laws related to the religious services during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
			תענית, Ta'anit	Fast, Fasting	It is devoted chiefly to the fast-days, their practices and prayers.
			מגלה‏‎, Megillah	Scroll, Volume	Deal with the laws of Purim and offers exegetical understandings to the Book of Esther.
			מועד קטן, Mo'ed Katan	Little festival	It is concerned with the laws of the days between the first and last days of Passover and Sukkot.
			חגיגה, Hagigah	Festival Offering	It deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) and the pilgrimage offering that men were supposed to bring in Jerusalem.
מועד, Nashim	Women	Concerning marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite	יבמות, Yevamot	Brother's Widow	It deals with the laws of Yibbum and, briefly, with conversion to Judaism.
			כתובות, Ketubot	Prenuptial agreements	It deals with a variety of marital responsibilities, especially those intended for the marital contract, also named the ketubah.
			נדרים, Nedarim	Vows	It deals with obligations that are not imposed by the Torah, but are voluntarily created by an individual.
			נזיר‎, Nazir	One who abstains	It is devoted chiefly to a discussion of the laws of the Nazirite laid down in Numbers 6:1-21.
			שוטה‎, Sotah	Wayward wife	It deals with the ordeal of the bitter water—the woman suspected of adultery—as well as other rituals involving speech.
			גיטין, Gittin	Documents	It deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the Get.
			קידושין, Kiddushin	Betrothal	It deals with the laws of betrothal and marriage.
נזיקין, Nezikin	Damages	Deal with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths	בבא קמא, Bava Kamma	The First Gate	It deals with civil matters such as damages and torts.
			בבא קמא, Bava Metzia	The Middle Gate	It discusses civil matters such as property law and usury.
			בבא בתרא, Bava Batra	The Last Gate	It deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property.
			סנהדרין, Sanhedrin	The Sanhedrin	It deals with the rules of court proceedings in the Sanhedrin, the death penalty, and other criminal matters.
			מכות, Makkot	Lashes	It deals with collusive witnesses, cities of refuge and the punishment of lashes.
			שבועות, Shevu'ot	Oaths	It deals with the various types of oaths and their consequences.
			עדויות, Eduyot	Testimonies	It presents case studies of legal disputes in Mishnaic times and the miscellaneous testimonies that illustrate various Sages and principles of halakha.
			עבודה זרה, Avodah Zarah	Foreign worship	It deals with the laws of interactions between Jews and Gentiles and/or idolaters (from a Jewish perspective).
			אבות, Avot	Fathers	It is a collection of the Sages' favourite ethical maxims.
			הוריות, Horayot	Decisions	It deals with the communal sin-offering brought for major errors by the Sanhedrin.
קדשים‎, Kodashim	Holy things	Regarding sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the Kashrut (dietary laws)	זְבָחִים, Zevahim	Sacrifices	It discusses the topics related to the sacrificial system of the Temple in Jerusalem.
			זְבָחִים, Menachot	Meal Offerings	It deals with the rules regarding the preparation and presentation of grain-meal and drink offerings, including the meal-offering that was burnt on the altar and the remainder that was consumed by the priests as specified in the Torah; the bringing of the omer of barley, the two loaves, and the showbread.
			זְבָחִים, Hullin	Ordinary, Mundane	It deals with the laws for slaughtering animals and birds for meat for ordinary use, as opposed to sacred use, with other rules relating to the eating of meat, and with the dietary laws in general.
			בכורות, Bekhorot	Firstborns	It deals mainly with the sanctification and redemption of human and animal firstborns, as specified in the Torah, and the tithing of cattle.
			ערכין, Arakhin	Dedications, Estimations	It deals with the rules for determining the amount which must be paid in fulfilment of a vow to dedicate to the Temple the 'market-value' or 'worth' of a person, field or object in accordance with the Torah, or voluntary contributions to the upkeep of the Temple, and also with laws relating to the Jubilee year.
			תמורה‎, Temurah	Substitution	It outlines the rules about the substitution of one sacrificial animal for another in accordance with the Torah’s instructions.
			כריתות, Keritot	Excisions	It deals with the transgressions for which the penalty is karet, meaning, sins punishable by premature or sudden death, or being cut off from the community of Israel.
			מעילה, Me'ilah	Sacrilege, Trespass	It deals with laws concerning disrespectful treatment of property belonging to the Temple or using holy objects in a prohibited manner, and with restitution for the misappropriation of Temple property, in accordance with Leviticus 5:15-16 .
			תמיד, Tamid	The Daily Sacrifice	It outlines the Temple service for the daily morning and evening sacrifice, known as the Korban Tamid, in accordance with the Torah.
			מידות, Middot	Measurements, Dimensions	It contains descriptions of the Second Temple’s architecture including its courts, gates and halls; its furnishings such as the Altar; and an account of the service of the priestly workshifts in the Temple.
			קינים, Kinnim	Nests	It deals with the instructions regarding the offering of birds, in penitence for certain offences and certain conditions of uncleanness, as described in the Torah.
טָהֳרוֹת, Tohorot	Purities	Pertaining to the laws of purity and impurity, including the impurity of the dead, the laws of food purity and bodily purity	כלים, Keilim	Vessels	It deals with a large array of various utensils and how they fare in terms of purity.
			אוהלות, Oholot	Tents	It deals with the uncleanness from a corpse and its peculiar property of defiling people or objects either by the latter "tenting" over the corpse, or by the corpse "tenting" over them, or by the presence of both corpse and person or object under the same roof or tent.
			נגעים, Nega'im	Plagues	It deals with the laws of the tzaraath.
			פרה, Parah	Cow	It deals largely with the laws of the Red Heifer.
			טהרות, Tohorot	Purities	It deals with miscellaneous laws of purity, especially the actual mechanics of contracting impurity and the laws of the impurity of food.
			מקואות, Mikva'ot	Ritual Baths	It deals with the laws of the mikveh.
			נידה, Niddah	Separation	It deals with the Niddah, a woman either during her menstrual cycle or shortly after having given birth.
			מכשירין, Makhshirin	Preliminary acts of preparation	It deals with the liquids that make food susceptible to tumah (ritual impurity).
			זבים, Zavim	Seminal Emissions	It deals with the laws of a person who has ejaculated.
			טבול יום, Tevul Yom	Immersed [on that] day	It deals with a special kind of impurity where the person immerses in a mikveh but is still unclean for the rest of the day.
			ידיים, Yadayim	Hands	It deals with a Rabbinic impurity related to the hands.
			עוקצים, Uktzim	Stalks	It deals with the impurity of the stalks of fruit.