Seder Zeraim (, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

, and the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, 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 The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

, 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 ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. It explains and elaborates upon the Torah commandments regarding to the rights of the poor and of the

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

s and Levites 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 Talmud itself (

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

31a), by Shimon ben Lakish, who homiletically states that the first of the six terms in a verse in Isaiah ()the word ''emunah'' "faith" corresponds to Seder Zeraim. This designation is seen as addressing how regulations regarding prayers and blessingsand especially those concerning the recital of the Shema Yisraelthe emblematic Jewish declaration of faith in the One Godcame 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 (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

, 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 Kohens and Levites 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'' and the ''

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

'', 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 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 Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

and rights of the poor in general. * Demai ("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 Levites. * 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 A ''terumah'' (), the priestly dues or heave offering, is a type of offering in Judaism. The word is generally used for offerings to God, but can also refer to gifts to a human. The word ''terumah'' refers to various types of offerings, but mos ...

'' 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 Levites 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 is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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 place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

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''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

( 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 Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

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 () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

. 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 Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

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

'': one produced in the

300–350 CE (the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

); and a second, more extensive Talmud compiled in

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

and published 450–500 CE (the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) 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 centerpiece of Jewi ...

). 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

, 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