In Editing Mishnah from Earlier Sources, we learned that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi preserved hundreds of earlier groups of mishnayot – “kvatzim” - organized according to various forms, styles and contents by including them in Mishnah. These earlier groups of mishnayot stand out as digressions from the usual topical flow of Mishnah text, and should be identified and isolated to be understood properly.

In addition to these earlier groups of mishnayot, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi had at his disposal much larger groups of mishnayot, such as full chapters or even series of chapters, that were already edited. These larger segments could be topical or formal “kvatzim” that cover the equivalent of several chapters, such as the last few chapters of tractate Chullin, which deal with completely different topics but all begin with the same title, that a given mitzvah is applicable in Israel and in the Diaspora. Other groups may be topical units that cover a number of chapters. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi could form a full tractate by simply linking these groups together. The result would be a tractate with very clearly defined pieces. Let’s look at one example:

The tractate Berachot, the first tractate of Mishnah, divides clearly into three sections. The first unit, chapters 1- 3, deals with the recitation of Shema. The second unit, chapters 4-5, deals with the ultimate prayer, the Shemonah Esreh. Commencing with chapter 6, through the end of the tractate in chapter 9, the topic is blessings of various sorts, such as blessings before and after food. Each of the three units subdivide further in the normal way, into kvatzim and the regular material on the topics as compiled by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. These three large units are linked together to form tractate Berachot, but each stands on its own in every respect. If the three units had appeared as separate tractates, there would have been no necessity to join them together. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi seems to have decided to link these mini-tractates together because of their overall shared interest of prayers and blessing, an appropriate introduction to his Mishnah.

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