150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim ( he, קדשים, "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, and deals largely with the services within the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

, its maintenance and design, the '' korbanot'', or sacrificial offerings that were offered there, and other subjects related to these topics, as well as, notably, the topic of kosher slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial purposes.

Topics

This Seder (order, or division) of the Mishnah is known as Kodashim (“sacred things” or “sanctities”), because it deals with subjects connected with Temple service and

ritual slaughter Ritual slaughter is the practice of slaughtering livestock for meat in the context of a ritual. Ritual slaughter involves a prescribed practice of slaughtering an animal for food production purposes. Ritual slaughter as a mandatory practice of sla ...

of animals (''shehitah''). The term ''kodashim'', in the Biblical context, applies to the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service; and it is with these holy things, places and people that Kodashim is mainly concerned. The title Kodashim is apparently an abbreviation of ''Shehitat Kodashim'' ("the slaughter of sacred animals") since the main, although not the only subject of this order is

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

. The topics of this Seder are primarily the sacrifices of animals, birds, and meal offerings, the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the

sin offering A sin offering ( he, קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת, ''korban ḥatat'', , lit: "purification offering") is a sacrificial offering described and commanded in the Torah (Lev. 4.1-35); it could be fine flour or a proper animal.Leviticus 5:11 A sin ...

and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (

tractate A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise. One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...

Middot An interpunct , also known as an interpoint, middle dot, middot and centered dot or centred dot, is a punctuation mark consisting of a vertically centered dot used for interword separation in ancient Latin script. (Word-separating spaces did n ...

), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (

Tamid Tamid ( he, תָמִיד ''ṯāmīḏ''; "daily offerings") is the ninth tractate in the Order of Kodashim, which is the fifth of the six orders of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud. The main subject of Tamid is the morning and evening burn ...

). The order also includes

Hullin Hullin or Chullin (lit. "Ordinary" or "Mundane") is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use (as opposed to sacred use ...

, which concerns the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial use, as well as other dietary laws applying to meat and animal products. Although Hullin is about the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial, and therefore unsanctified purposes, because the rules about the proper slaughter of animals and birds, and their ritual fitness for use were considered to be an integral part of the concept of holiness in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, they were also included in the order regarding “holy things”.

Seder Kodashim comprises eleven tractates, with a total of 90 chapters, as follows: *

Zevachim Zevachim ( he, זְבָחִים; lit. "Sacrifices") is the first tractate of Seder Kodashim ("Holy Things") of the Mishnah, the Talmud and the Tosefta. This tractate discusses the topics related to the sacrificial system of the Temple in Jerusale ...

(“Sacrifices”), with fourteen chapters, and originally called ''Shehitat Kodashim'' ("slaughtering of the holy animals") deals with the sacrificial system of the Temple period, namely the laws for animal and bird offerings, and the conditions which make them acceptable or not, as specified in the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, primarily in the book of Leviticus ( and on). *

Menachot Tractate Menachot ( he, מְנָחוֹת; "Meal Offerings") is the second tractate of the Order of Kodashim. It has Gemara in the Babylonian Talmud and a Tosefta. Menachot deals with the rules regarding the preparation and presentation of grain- ...

("Meal Offerings"), comprising thirteen chapters, 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

( and on); the bringing of the ''

omer Omer may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Omer (unit), an ancient unit of measure used in the era of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem * The Counting of the Omer (''sefirat ha'omer''), a 49 day period in the Jewish calendar * Omer (Book of Mormon), a Jaredite ...

'' of barley (), the two loaves (), and the showbread (). *

or Chullin ("Ordinary or Mundane"), also called also ''Shehitat Hullin'' ("slaughtering of non-consecrated animals"), has twelve chapters and 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. * Bekhorot ("Firstborns"), consists of nine chapters and deals mainly with the sanctification and redemption of human and animal firstborns, as specified in the

(, and ), and the tithing of cattle (). *

Arakhin Arakhin (Arachin, עֲרָכִין) ( ows of thevalues f people is the fifth tractate in the Order of Kodashim 150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim ( he, קדשים, "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, To ...

("Dedications" or “Estimations”), with nine chapters, 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 (). * Temurah ("Substitution"), comprising seven chapters, outlines the rules about the substitution of one sacrificial animal for another in accordance with the Torah’s instructions (). *

Keritot Keritot is a tractate of the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud. It is the seventh tractate in the Order of Kodashim. Its name is the plural of the punishment kareth which the Torah specifies for intentional violation of certain sins; unintentional viol ...

("Excisions"), with six chapters, 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, if done deliberately, and the type of sin-offering sacrifice that had to be offered to effect atonement if the transgression was committed in error. *

Me'ilah Me'ilah ( he, מ֧עילׇה; "misuse of property") is a tractate of Seder Kodashim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud. It deals chiefly with the exact provisions of the law (Lev. 5:15-16) concerning the trespass-offering and the repa ...

(“Sacrilege” or "Trespass"), with six chapters, 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 . *

("The Daily Sacrifice", lit. “The Continual ffering��), with seven chapters (in most editions), outlines the Temple service for the daily morning and evening sacrifice, known as the ''Korban Tamid'', in accordance with the Torah ( and ). *

("Measurements" or “Dimensions”), comprises five chapters containing 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. *

Kinnim Kinnim (Hebrew: ) is a tractate in the order of Kodshim in the Mishna. The name, meaning "nests", refers to the tractate's subject matter of errors in bird-offerings. It is the last tractate in the order, because of its shortness (3 chapters) and ...

("Nests"), with three chapters, deals with the instructions regarding the offering of birds, in penitence for certain offences and certain conditions of uncleanness, as described in the Torah (, and ); and discusses the case in which birds belonging to different persons or to different offerings have become mixed up with one another; the name of the

(nests) refers to the pairs of birds prescribed in the Torah as offerings ().

Structure

This Seder, or order, has eleven tractates, arranged, like most of the orders of the Mishnah, mostly in descending sequence according to the number of chapters. The traditional reasoning for the order of the tractates according to

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

, beyond the ordering according to number of chapters, is that ''Zevahim'' is first as it deals with the main physical purpose of the Temple, namely, animal sacrifices. ''Menahot'' continuing the subject of offerings, and so is placed next, according to the scriptural order and the status of meal-offerings as supplementary to the meat offerings. After dealing with offerings to the Temple, ''Hullin'' follows, dealing with the related topic of "secular" slaughter for meat. ''Bekhorot'', ''Arakhin'' and ''Temurah'' all discuss auxiliary laws of sanctity and follow the order in which they appear in the Torah. ''Keritot'' then follows, as it largely discusses the offering for the transgression of certain commandments, and ''Me'ilah'' follows that as it also deals with transgressions of sanctity, although of a lighter nature. After dealing with laws, two mostly descriptive tractates were added, ''Tamid'' discussing the daily sacrifice and ''Middot'' which overviews the

. Finally, ''Kinnim'' was placed last as its laws deal with accidental and rarely occurring situations. In the Babylonian Talmud the sequence of the treatises follows the general order except that Bekorot is before Hullin, and Ḳinnim is placed before Tamid and Middot.

Talmud and Tosefta

As part of the

, the first major composition of Jewish law and ethics based on the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...

, Kodashim was compiled and edited between 200–220 CE by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi and his colleagues. Subsequent generations produced a series of commentaries and deliberations relating to the Mishnah, known as the '' Gemara'', which together with the Mishna are the ''

'', one produced in the Land of Israel 300–350 CE (the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

), and second, more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylonia and published 450–500 CE (the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

). In the Babylonian Talmud, all the tractates have Gemara for all their chapters except for Tamid which has it only for three chapters and Middot and Kinnim which don't have any Although the subject matter was no longer directly relevant to life in the Babylonian academies, the Gemara was motivated by the idea that the study of the laws of the Temple service is a substitute for the service itself. Also, the rabbinic sages wanted to merit the rebuilding of the Temple by paying special attention to these laws. However, in the modern

Daf Yomi ''Daf Yomi'' ( he, דף יומי, ''Daf Yomi'', "page of the day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen of learning the Oral Torah and its commentaries (also known as the Gemara), in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud is covere ...

cycle and in the printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud, the Mishnah for the last two tractates are added at the end, to “complete” the order. The Jerusalem Talmud has no Gemara on any of the tractates of Kodashim. Maimonides, however, mentions of the existence of a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim; however, it is doubtful he had seen it, as he is not known to have cited it anywhere. Nonetheless, this order was a subject of study in the Talmudic academies of the Land of Israel, as many statements contained in the Gemara of the Babylonian Talmud are attributed to the rabbinic scholars known as Amoraim in the Land of Israel. The assumption is that there was once a Jerusalem Talmud Gemara to Kodashim but that it has been lost.The Jerusalem Talmud on Kodashim, claimed to have been discovered by Solomon Leb Friedlander and of which he published several tractates under the title Talmud Yerushalmi Seder Kodashim ( Szinervaralja 1907-8), was proven to be a forgery. See H. L. Strack, ''Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash'' (English ed.), Philadelphia, 1931, pp. 68 and 266, n. 16. There is a

for the tractates Zevahim, Hullin, Bekhorot, Arakhin, Temurah, Me'ilah, and Keritot. Tamid, Middot and Kinnim have no Tosefta.

References

{{Mishna Jewish animal sacrifice Land of Israel laws in Judaism Mishnah Oral Torah Tabernacle and Temples in Jerusalem Talmud

Topics

Contents

Structure

Talmud and Tosefta

References