Commentary of the Mishnah

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Mishnah is a codex of the Oral Law, a summary of the traditions and creativity of the Tanna’im, the Sages who lived from the Second Temple era until the time of Rabbi Judah the Prince (Rebbi), the redactor of the Mishnah, around 200 CE. Mishnah is the platform upon which both the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds were constructed. It can be said that Mishnah is the basis for the entire system of laws and customs of the Jewish people. Even after the completion of the Talmud, some 1,500 years ago, the Mishnah – that contains all the parts of the Oral Law – continued to serve as a basic text of study in all walks of Jewish society. To this day, the Mishnah is an inseparable part of Jewish lore. It is found in practically every domestic library and is being studied everywhere: in schools, synagogues, and private homes. Important commentaries on the Mishnah have been written throughout the generations. However, there is still a call for a new, eye-opening edition based on the same principles as Steinsaltz’s Talmud commentary: an edition that will enable every Jew to open the Mishnah and study it simply and with clarity while making it possible to widen one’s horizons in interpreting it.

Mishnah is the basis for the entire system of laws…

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a teacher, philosopher, social critic and prolific author who has been hailed by Time magazine as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar.” His lifelong work in Jewish education earned him the Israel Prize, his country’s highest honor. Born in Jerusalem in 1937 to secular parents, Rabbi Steinsaltz studied physics and chemistry at the Hebrew University. He established several experimental schools and, at the age of 24, became Israel’s youngest school principal. In 1965, he began his monumental Hebrew translation and commentary on the Talmud. To date, he has completed his monumental project and the last book was published in November, 2010. The Rabbi’s classic work of Kabbalah, The Thirteen Petalled Rose, was first published in 1980 and now appears in eight languages. In all, Rabbi Steinsaltz has authored some 60 books and hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from zoology to theology to social commentary. Rabbi Steinsaltz lives in Jerusalem. He and his wife have three children and 15 grandchildren.