The main goal of this class is to learn how to analyze a mishnah. As a core text in the Jewish Oral Tradition, Mishnah has the opportunity to be a comfortable entry point into the world of Talmudic thinking through its compact form of short sentence legal rulings and discussions, and it being in Hebrew instead of Aramaic. Mishnah includes an array of fundamental patterns and modes of Talmudic thinking – rabbinic disputes, stories that have impact on practice, and insight into a previous world of living that has reverberations on Jewish practice for many millennia after the Mishnah’s composition. By exploring about 4 or 5 mishnayot per class, we will have the opportunity to learn how to dissect a mishnah though creating charts, looking for repetitive themes, and figuring out how to use resources available to understand a mishnah better. These skills will hopefully lead to the ability of the reader of Mishnah to eventually be able to access these texts independently, and thereby be more able to read and participate in the tradition of Jewish textual reading found in the Mishnah and then the Talmud in its analysis of the Mishnah.

Tractate Rosh Hashanah itself is an especially interesting and rich tractate to use as a springboard to increase Mishnah textual skills. The tractate covers topics such as the formation of the Jewish calendar, establishing a lunar calendar and the nature of witnessing of the moon, rabbinic disputes regarding prioritizing unity over one’s own perception of truth, and the rituals of the holiday of Rosh HaShanah such as the blowing of the shofar and prayer. These topics in addition to being a helpful medium for learning textual skills, are worthwhile context and background to many aspects of Jewish life.