Moed


Moed is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people. Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:
  1. Shabbat: or Shabbath deals with the 39 prohibitions of "work" on the Shabbat. 24 chapters.
  2. Eruvin: deals with the Eruv or Sabbath-bound - a category of constructions/delineations that alter the domains of the Sabbath for carrying and travel. 10 chapters.
  3. Pesahim: deals with the prescriptions regarding the Passover and the paschal sacrifice. 10 chapters.
  4. Shekalim: deals with the collection of the half-Shekel as well as the expenses and expenditure of the Temple. 8 chapters
  5. Yoma: ; called also "Kippurim" or "Yom ha-Kippurim" ; deals with the prescriptions Yom Kippur, especially the ceremony by the Kohen Gadol. 8 chapters.
  6. Sukkah: ; deals with the festival of Sukkot and the Sukkah itself. Also deals with the Four Species which are waved on Sukkot. 5 chapters.
  7. Beitza: ; deals chiefly with the rules to be observed on Yom Tov. 5 chapters.
  8. Rosh Hashanah: deals chiefly with the regulation of the calendar by the new moon, and with the services of the festival of Rosh Hashanah. 4 chapters.
  9. Ta'anit: deals chiefly with the special fast-days in times of drought or other untoward occurrences. 4 chapters
  10. Megillah: contains chiefly regulations and prescriptions regarding the reading of the scroll of Esther at Purim, and the reading of other passages from the Torah and Neviim in the synagogue. 4 chapters.
  11. Mo'ed Katan: deals with Chol HaMoed, the intermediate festival days of Pesach and Sukkot. 3 chapters.
  12. Hagigah: deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals and the pilgrimage offering that men were supposed to bring in Jerusalem. 3 chapters.
The Jerusalem Talmud has a Gemara on each of the tractates, while in the Babylonian, only that on Shekalim is missing. However, in most printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Gemara to Shekalim is included.
In the Babylonian Talmud the treatises of the order Mo'ed are arranged as follows: Shabbat, 'Erubin, Pesachim, Rosh ha-Shanah, Yoma, Sukkah, Beitzah, Hagigah, Mo'ed Katan, Ta'anit, Megillah; while the sequence in the Jerusalem Talmud is Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesachim, Yoma, Sheqalim, Sukkah, Rosh ha-Shanah, Beitzah, Ta'anit, Megillah, Hagigah, Mo'ed' Katan.
On the Festivals, some have the custom to learn the Tractate in this Order which details the laws of that respective festival..