Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Nezikin" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Hebrew. (November 2023) Click for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Hebrew Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|he|סדר נזיקין}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Nezikin (Hebrew: נזיקין Neziqin, "Damages") or Seder Nezikin (סדר נזיקין‎, "The Order of Damages") is the fourth Order of the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court system.

Nezikin contains ten volumes (or "tractates"):

1. Bava Kamma (בבא קמא‎, First Gate) deals with civil matters, largely damages and compensation. 10 chapters. (See also Shomer)
2. Bava Metzia (בבא מציעא‎, Middle Gate) deals with civil matters, largely torts and property law. 10 chapters.
3. Bava Batra (בבא בתרא‎, Last Gate) deals with civil matters, largely land ownership. 10 chapters.
4. Sanhedrin (סנהדרין‎, The Sanhedrin) deals with the rules of court proceedings in the Sanhedrin, the death penalty, and other criminal matters. 11 chapters.
5. Makkot (מכות‎, Lashes) deals with colluding witnesses, cities of refuge and the punishment of lashes. 3 chapters.
6. Shevu'ot (שבועות‎, Oaths) deals with the various types of oaths and their consequences. 8 chapters.
7. Eduyot (עדויות‎, Testimonies) presents case studies of legal disputes in Mishnaic times and the miscellaneous testimonies that illustrate various Sages and principles of halakha. 8 chapters.
8. Avodah Zarah (עבודה זרה‎, Foreign worship) deals with the laws of interactions between Jews and Gentiles and/or idolaters (from a Jewish perspective). 5 chapters.
9. Avot (אבות‎, Fathers) is a collection of the Sages' favourite ethical maxims. 6 chapters.
10. Horayot (הוריות‎, Decisions) deals with the communal sin-offering brought for major errors by the Sanhedrin. 3 chapters.

Originally, the first three volumes were counted as one single, very lengthy volume. Since it was the chief repository of "civil" law, it was simply called Massekhet Nezikin ("Tractate Damages").

The traditional reasoning for the order of the volumes of Nezikin is as follows: The Order begins with civil law (the first 3 tractates) because it is considered the cornerstone of righteousness within a Jewish state. Sanhedrin naturally follows, as it deals with criminal law. Next comes Makkot, as it is a continuation of Sanhedrin's subject matter in terms of criminal procedure. Then, Shevuot, which continues the general topic dealt with in Makkot of the false testimony. After outlining the main points of civil and criminal law, Eduyot follows to fit it all into a halakhic framework. After dealing with "damages" within a society, the next stage is Avodah Zarah placed after to highlight what is seen as behavior that inflicts damage on the universe. Avot is probably placed next to counteract the negativity of the laws of Avodah Zarah and to relate maxims of the Sages, an essential aspect of whose teaching was to counteract idolatry. Finally, Horayot brings the discussion from lofty heights to a humble note, highlighting the concept that even the Sages and battei din can err.

There is both a Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud to each of the tractates except for Eduyot and Avot. This is probably because these two tractates aren't concerned with individual laws and therefore don't lend themselves to a Gemara style analysis.

References

1. "Talmud". Sefaria. Sefaria. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

• Mishnah
• Jewish courts and civil law