We don't all speak
Aramaic, or Hebrew, and since I have used quite a few words from those ancient
languages, I thought it was only fair to explain some of them to you.
If there's anything else you don't understand, or anything else about the Mishnah
you'd like to know, just email me! If I don't know, I assure you that I will
know somebody who does...
| Aramaic | Semitic-group language spoken in ancient Middle-East, related to Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and Amharic. |
| Commonwealth | Post-Babylonian Israel was ruled by a council of Rabbis, the Sanhedrin |
| Eruv | A shared territory in which the laws of carrying on Shabbos are parly over-ridden |
| Gemorah | Literally 'completion' - the Talmud completed the Mishnah |
| Golem | An animated humanoid creature, created by Kaballistic magic |
| Halachah | Laws of the Jewish people, as taught from the Torah, or derived by analogy to an example in it. |
| Kaballah | Jewish mystical/hidden knowledge. Not for the feint-hearted. (Or for non-Jewish celebrities) |
| Kelim | Vessels, tools, pots, objects etc. Items used in daily life. |
| Kodashim | Holy Things, items dedicated to Temple use. 5th Seder of Mishnah. |
| Masechta | A division of the Mishnah; part of a Seder. (Aramaic term - Hebrew is Masechet) |
| Minyan | A gathering of at least 10 men, required to allow the recitation of various communal prayers, and the reading of the Law from a scroll. |
| Mishnah | The collected Oral law of the Jewish people. Based on the word for "repetition" of study. |
| Mishnayot | Plural of Mishnah. |
| Moed | Festivals - fixed 'times' in the calendar. 2nd Seder of Mishnah. |
| Nashim | Women. 3rd Seder of Mishnah. |
| Nezikin | Damages. 4th Seder of Mishnah. |
| Rabbi | A Jewish communal/spiritual/educational legal leader: primarily a teacher of laws and Jewish culture. |
| Rashi | Rabbi Shimon Yitzchaki - one of the greatest commentators on the written Torah. |
| Sanhedrin | The council of 70 Rabbis who ruled Yehudah in the Second Commonwealth period. |
| Seder | "Order", major division of the Mishnah and Gemorah, there are 6 Sedarim. |
| Shabbos | The Sabbath, governed by complex rules of enforced rest, in the name of Heaven. |
| Sinai, Mt. | The mountain where the Torah was given to the Jewish people through Moses. |
| Succah | A temporary booth in which Jews live for 7 days of the Succos festival, a reminder of the 40 years wandering in the desert. Masechta of Mishnah. |
| Taharos | Ritual purity - required to enter the Temple courtyard. 6th Seder of Mishnah. |
| Talmud | "Teaching". Another term for the Gemarah. |
| Temple | The heart of the Jewish nation in ancient times, where Hashem's presence on Earth was evident. |
| Torah | "Teaching": The written law, generally the Five Books of Moses in particular. |
| Tosephos Yom Tov | A commentary, sumarising the Gemorah, to help with learning the Mishnah. |
| Yehudah | The ancient name for the Jewish nation and state until Roman times, centred on Jerusalem. |
| Zeraiim | Seeds. Name of 1st Seder of Mishnah concerning agriculture. |
Zeraiim - Moed - Nashim - Nezekin - Kodoshim - Tahorot
What is Mishnah? - Why is it so Interesting? - A Few of My Favourite Things - Mishnah Glossary