page_title: Mishneh Torah
section_title: The books and sections
hierarchical_section_title: Mishneh Torah / The books and sections
context_page_description: The Mishneh Torah, subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka, is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE, while Maimonides was living in Egypt, and is regarded as Maimonides' magnum opus. Accordingly, later sources simply refer to the work as "Maimon", "Maimonides", or "RaMBaM", although Maimonides composed other works.
  Mishneh Torah consists of fourteen books, subdivided into sections, chapters, and paragraphs. It is the only Medieval-era work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws that are only applicable when the Holy Temple is in existence, and remains an important work in Judaism.
  Its title is an appellation originally used for the Biblical book of Deuteronomy, and its subtitle, "Book of the Strong Hand", derives from its subdivision into fourteen books: the numerical value fourteen, when represented as the Hebrew letters Yod Dalet, forms the word yad.
  Maimonides intended to provide a complete statement of the Oral Law, so that a person who mastered first the Written Torah and then the Mishneh Torah would be in no need of any other book.
context_section_description: 1. HaMadda (Knowledge)
  1. Yesodei ha-Torah (lit. ‘Foundations of the Torah’): belief in God, and other Jewish principles of faith
  2. De'ot: general proper behavior
  3. Talmud Torah: Torah study
  4. Avodah Zarah: the prohibition against idolatry and foreign worship
  5. Teshuvah: the law and philosophy of repentance
  2. Ahavah (Love [of God])
  1. Kri'at Shema: recitation of the Shema
  2. Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim: prayer and the priestly blessing
  3. Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Sefer Torah
  4. Tzitzit
  5. Berachot: blessings
  6. Milah: circumcision
  7. Seder Tefilot: order of prayers
  3. Zemanim (Times)
  1. Shabbat: Sabbath
  2. Eruvin: a Rabbinic device that facilitates Sabbath observance
  3. Shevitat `Asor: laws of Yom Kippur, except for the Temple service (see Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, below)
  4. Yom Tov: prohibitions on major Jewish holidays that are different from the prohibitions of Sabbath
  5. Hametz u-Matza: chametz and matzah (i. e., Passover)
  6. Shofar ve-Lulav ve-Sukkah: Shofar (i. e., Rosh Hashanah) and palm frond and Sukkah (i. e., Sukkot)
  7. Shekalim: money collected for the Temple in Jerusalem when it stood
  8. Kiddush HaChodesh: sanctification of the month
  9. Taaniyot: fasts
  10. Hanukah u-Megillah: Hanukkah and the Scroll of Esther (i. e., Purim)
  4. Nashim (Women):
  1. Ishut: laws of marriage, including kiddushin and the ketubah
  2. Geirushin: laws of divorce
  3. Yibum va-Chalitzah: laws of levirate marriage
  4. Na'arah Betulah: the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman
  5. Sotah: laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity
  5. Kedushah (Holiness)
  1. Issurei Biah: forbidden sexual relations, including niddah, incest, and adultery. Since intermarriage with non-Jews is forbidden, the laws of conversion to Judaism are also included.
  2. Ma'akhalot Assurot: laws of forbidden foods (see kashrut)
  3. Shechitah: laws of ritual slaughter
  6. Hafla'ah (Separation):
  1. Shevuot: laws of oaths (to refrain from doing an action)
  2. Nedarim: laws of vows (to do an action)
  3. Nezirot: laws of Nazirites
  4. Erachin: laws of donations to the temple
  7. Zera'im (Seeds)
  1. Kilayim: laws of forbidden mixtures
  2. Aniyim: laws of obligatory gifts to the poor
  3. Terumot: laws of obligatory gifts to the priests
  4. Maaser: laws of tithes
  5. Sheini: laws of secondary tithes
  6. Bikurim: laws of first fruit offerings
  7. Shemittah: laws of the sabbatical year
  8. Avodah (Divine Service):
  1. Bet HaBechirah: laws of God's chosen house
  2. K'lei HaMikdash: laws of the temple utensils and those who serve within
  3. Bi'at HaMikdash: laws of entry to the sanctuary
  4. Issurei HaMizbe'ach: laws of entities prohibited to be offered on the altar
  5. Ma'aseh HaKorbanot: laws of the sacrificial procedures
  6. Temidim uMusafim: laws of continual and additional offerings
  7. Pesule HaMukdashim: laws of consecrated entities that have been disqualified
  8. Avodat Yom HaKippurim: laws of the Yom Kippur service
  9. Me'ilah: laws of the misappropriation of consecrated property
  9. Korbanot (Offerings)
  1. Korban Pesach: the Passover offering
  2. Chagigah: the festival offering
  3. Bechorot: laws regarding first-born children
  4. Shegagot: Offerings for Unintentional Transgressions
  5. Mechussarey Kapparah: Offerings for Those with Incomplete Atonement
  6. Temurah: Substitution
  10. Taharah (Ritual Purity)
  1. Tumat Met: defilement by coming into contact with death
  2. Para Aduma: the red heifer
  3. Tumat Zara’at: defilement by tzara'at
  4. Metamei Mischkaw u-Moschaw tangential defilement
  5. She'ar Avot haTumot other sources of defilment
  6. Tumat Ochalin: defilement of foods
  7. Kelim: vessels
  8. Mikvaot: laws regarding the mikvah
  11. Sefer Nezikim, also known as Sefer Nezikin (torts)
  1. Nizqei Mamon: property damage
  2. Geneivah: theft
  3. Gezeilah v'Avidah: robbery and lost property
  4. Hovel uMaziq: one who injures another
  5. Rotzeah uShmirat Nefesh: murderers and life preservation
  12. Sefer Kinyan (Acquisition)
  1. Mechirah sale
  2. Zechiyah uMatanah: ownerless property and gifts
  3. Sh’chenim: neighbors
  4. Shluhin v’Shutafin: agents and partners
  5. ‘Avadim: slaves
  13. Sefer Mishpatim (Civil Law
caption: A Ketubah in Hebrew, a Jewish marriage-contract outlining the duties of the husband.
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