Kodashim – Wikipedia

Fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud

Kodashim (Hebrew: , "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, 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.

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 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.[1][2][3]

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 and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (tractate Middot), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (tractate Tamid). The order also includes tractate Hullin, 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, they were also included in the order regarding holy things.[2][3]

Seder Kodashim comprises eleven tractates, with a total of 90 chapters, as follows:[2][3][4]

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.[3]

The traditional reasoning for the order of the tractates according to Maimonides, 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 Temple in Jerusalem. 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 innim is placed before Tamid and Middot.[4]

As part of the Mishnah, the first major composition of Jewish law and ethics based on the Oral Torah, Kodashim was compiled and edited between 200220 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 Talmud, one produced in the Land of Israel c. 300350 CE (the Jerusalem Talmud), and second, more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylonia and published c. 450500 CE (the Babylonian Talmud).

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[2][3]

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 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.[2][3][9]

There is a Tosefta for the tractates Zevahim, Hullin, Bekhorot, Arakhin, Temurah, Me'ilah, and Keritot. Tamid, Middot and Kinnim have no Tosefta.[3]

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Kodashim - Wikipedia