Mishnah

The Mishnah is the oldest authoritative postbiblical collection and codification of Jewish oral laws.

It was systematically compiled by numerous scholars (Tannaim) over a period of about two centuries and given final form by Judah ha-Nasi in the early 3rd century CE. The Mishnah supplements the written laws found in the Pentateuch and presents various interpretations of selective legal traditions that had been preserved orally since at least the time of Ezra.

It is divided into six major sections (sedarim) containing 63 tractates, each further divided into chapters.

The Mishnah has played a decisive role in the religious life of the Jewish people and serves as the foundation for both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds.