Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first 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 Tora ...

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 cen ...

, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and blessings, primarily deals with the laws of agricultural produce and tithes of the Torah which apply in the Land of Israel, in both their religious and social aspects.

Topics

Zeraim deals principally with the religious and social aspects of the agricultural laws of 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 s ...

. It interprets and elaborates upon the Torah commandments regarding the rights of the poor and of the priests and

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

to the produce of the harvest, as well as the rules and regulations concerning the cultivation and sowing of fields, gardens and orchards. These laws are dealt with in eleven tractates, each of which concerns a separate aspect of the general subject for which this Order is named. The first tractate, Berakhot, concerns the daily prayers and blessings that observant Jews are obligated to recite. One explanation for the inclusion of the tractate Berakhot, whose topic is seemingly quite different from the remainder of the tractates of the Order is given in the

itself ( Shabbat 31a), by Resh Lakish, who homiletically states that the first of the six terms in a verse in Isiah () – the word “emunah” (faith) corresponds to Seder Zeraim. This designation is seen as addressing how regulations regarding prayers and blessings – and especially those concerning the recital of the Shema prayer – the emblematic Jewish declaration of faith in the

One God Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

– came to be grouped with agricultural laws, which are seen both as an expression of faith through reliance on God and, according to

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...

, the foremost Talmudic commentator (1040 – 1105 CE), as an expression of faithfulness in social relationships, by providing their respective dues to the poor and the priests and

as described in the other tractates of this Order.

Content

Seder Zeraim comprises eleven tractates, with a total of 74 chapters, as follows: * Berakhot ("Blessings"), consists of nine chapters and deals with the rules for daily prayer, particularly the ''

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...

'' and the '' Amidah'', and other blessings and prayers said before and after eating, and on other occasions. * Pe'ah ("Corner"), has eight chapters and deals with the

commandments Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...

concerning the gifts to the poor from the produce of the land, namely from the corners of the field which must be left to the poor, gleanings, and forgotten produce assigned to them, as specified in the Torah , and (), and with the topic of charity and rights of the poor in general. *

Demai Demai (Mishnaic Hebrew: ) is a Halakhic term meaning "doubtful". The ''demai'' status applies to agricultural produce acquired from common people ( am ha'aretz) who are suspected of not correctly separating tithes according to Jewish law. As a ...

("Doubtfully Tithed Produce"), has seven chapters and deals with cases in which it is uncertain that tithes have been set aside from produce for the Kohanim (priests) and

. * Kil'ayim ("Mixed Species"), has nine chapters and deals with rules regarding forbidden mixtures in agriculture, clothing and animal breeding, as specified in and . * Shevi'it ("Seventh Year") has ten chapters which deal with the agricultural and fiscal regulations concerning the Sabbatical Year, and the remission of debts, as specified in , and * Terumot ("Donations") comprises eleven chapters dealing with the laws regarding the '' terumah'' donation given to the Kohanim, as specified in , . * Ma'aserot or Ma'aser Rishon ("Tithes" or "First Tithes") has five chapters concerning the rules regarding the tithe to be given to the

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew d ...

s as specified in . * Ma'aser Sheni ("Second Tithe"), comprising five chapters, deals with the rules concerning the tithe or its equivalent which was to be eaten in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in the first, second, fourth and sixth years of the seven-year agricultural cycle culminating in the Sabbatical Year and as mandated by the

, as stated in . * Hallah ("Dough") comprises four chapters that deal with the laws regarding the offering of dough to be given to the Kohanim as specified in . * Orlah ("First Fruits of Trees") with three chapters deals chiefly with the prohibitions on the use of a tree for the first three years after it has been planted, as specified in and the requirements regarding the fruit of the fourth year. * Bikkurim ("First Fruits") has three chapters with the laws concerning the first-fruit gifts to the Kohanim and the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

and a description of the donation ceremony, as specified in and .

Structure

Zeraim is the first ''seder'' (order or division) of the Mishnah, in accordance with the traditional order specified by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a), although Rabbi Tanhuma suggests in the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

( Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15–16) that another tradition has Zeraim as the second order of the Mishnah. Seder Zeraim differs from the general pattern of the other orders that the tractates are arranged in descending order of the number of chapters and, in fact, according to an early tradition, Shevi’it and Kil'ayim come between Terumot and Ma'aserot. There is also evidence that Demai was placed between Kilayim and Ma'aserot. In many editions of the Mishnah, even early ones like those of Naples (1492), and of Riva (1559), as well as in most of the editions of the Babylonian

, a fourth chapter, which is likely a Baraita, has been added to Bikkurim. The sequence of the volumes of Zeraim in both editions (as above) corresponds with that given by

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 Torah ...

Talmud

Zeraim was compiled and edited between 200–220 CE by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi and his colleagues, 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� ...

. Subsequent generations produced a series of commentaries and deliberations relating to the Mishnah, known as the ''

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishna ...

''. These together with the Mishnah compose the ''

'': one known as 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 ...

, (Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel) which was produced 300–350 CE and a second, more extensive one compiled in

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state ...

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 cen ...

). For Zeraim, in the Babylonian Talmud, there is

– rabbinical commentary and analysis – only for tractate Berakhot. In the

there is a Gemara for all the tractates of Zeraim, as the laws with which they deal mostly concern the Land of Israel, where this Talmud was compiled and these laws were applicable.

References and sources

{{Authority control Mishnah Talmud Jewish agrarian laws Land of Israel laws in Judaism