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What is a good Masechta of Mishnayoth for someone to learn if they just want to get a basic understanding and complete a Masechta in a relatively short time?

Examples where this would be practical might be someone who has a limited background in learning and wants to make a Siyum but isn't ready for Gemara, or someone under time constraints to learn for a Sheloshim.

msh210
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Seth J
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  • Ta'anis, Megilah – b a Dec 12 '12 at 03:18
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    Or Avos (more mishnayos but no universal concepts needed to memorize) – b a Dec 12 '12 at 03:32
  • Ahilot! (Just kidding...) Bikkurim and Yadayim are under-utilized IMO because they sound scary. Nega'im too is very straightforward, although a bit long. – Double AA Dec 12 '12 at 03:43
  • For a Siyum the easiest would be to take Mishna: Seder Moed since most of the concepts are familiar; Shabbat and Chagim. Most of it can be "read-and understood" without the need for looking into commentaries. My favorite for a Masechta is Chagiga - can be learnt in under a month at Daf-Yomi pace and has lots of interesting concepts and a few short complicated ones. Nowadays with Artscroll and similar "aids" one could pick any short Masechta. – Danny Schoemann Dec 12 '12 at 09:50
  • Brachos seems to be a favorite one for such a scenario – Yehoshua Dec 12 '12 at 11:05
  • These sound like answers if you flesh 'em out. @ba, if you don't post Avos as an answer, I will, b'li neder. It's a good one IMO. – msh210 Dec 12 '12 at 15:10
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    Traditionally, when studying Mishnayos, one does not make a siyum unless one finishes as complete Seder. Thus, while there are several mesechtos in Seder Mo'ed that are fairly easy, there are also several that are quite difficult (e.g. Eruvin). Are you just looking for an easy mesechta of mishnayos or do you specifically need to be able to make a siyum? If the latter, certain mesechtos of gemara will be easier than any seder of mishnayos. – LazerA Dec 12 '12 at 15:51
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    @LazerA See: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/17974/5 and: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/18509/5 and: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/17970/making-a-siyum-on-major-sections-of-learning-but-not-a-codified-unit#comment42348_17970 – Seth J Dec 12 '12 at 16:07
  • @SethJ Thank you for the interesting references. It would seem there is some support for making a siyum on a mesechta of mishnayos. However, it seems that most would only allow this is it was a significant accomplishment, which may be in conflict with what the questioner is asking for here, i.e. a relatively easy and fast mesechta. In any case, I would still like to get some clarity on exactly what the questioner is looking for before I make any recommendations. – LazerA Dec 12 '12 at 16:19
  • @SethJ Oops. Somehow I missed the fact that you are the questioner! – LazerA Dec 12 '12 at 16:22
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    @LazerA, that's ok. But please read my question again. I'm pretty clear that I'm looking for ideas that would fulfill the Stam goal of the person covering an entire Masechta, just giving a couple of possible explanations as to why this might be someone's goal. – Seth J Dec 12 '12 at 18:22
  • @msh210 SethJ Should we limit it to one tractate per answer? I say yes, but it should be explicitly specified in the question body. – Double AA Dec 12 '12 at 20:06
  • @ba Don't say I didn't warn you. – msh210 Dec 27 '12 at 14:27

6 Answers6

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Choosing a quick and easy mesechta of mishnayos is a highly subjective activity.

The first consideration, obviously, is length. However, there are plenty of relatively short mesechtos, so this is not a major problem.

The biggest issue, especially for someone with a limited background, is to avoid having too many new concepts at once, especially big complicated concepts (such as inyanei kodshim and taharos).

My personal recommendations would be either Megilah or Makkos.

Megilah is a well known "easy" mesechta.It is only four chapters long and most of the topics covered (e.g. Purim, krias haTorah) will already be basically familiar even to a relative beginner.

Makkos is, admittedly, a less obvious choice. While only three chapters long, the topics covered (false witnesses, exile for unintentional murder, and the penalty of lashes) deal with criminal law, and will not be immediately familiar to a beginning student. However, the key concepts of each chapter can be presented fairly quickly, and once grasped, the details of each chapter are fairly straightforward.

In my experience, having taught both of these mesechtos, brighter students generally found Makkos to be more interesting and stimulating than Megilla. However, as I said before, this is a highly subjective choice.

LazerA
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    Although the second mishnah of Makkos (about edim zomemim on a kesubah) is pretty difficult. – Ypnypn Jun 11 '14 at 23:44
  • IIRC, the real challenge isn't the mishna per se, but in working through all the different shitos in the rishonim. However, it is possible to get a basic pursuant without too much difficulty. – LazerA Jun 25 '14 at 00:30
  • The first chapter of Megillah has quite a few concepts gathered from all over the place. It is, after all, the defining case of "ein bein". – Ze'ev misses Monica Mar 30 '15 at 17:55
  • I might recommend against Horayos. Although it's only 13 daf, it is incredibly difficult. – DonielF Jan 15 '18 at 20:30
  • @Ypnypn oh gosh was that tough 😰 – alicht Mar 28 '19 at 07:33
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Tamid is, except for the very end, a story of how things used to be in the bes hamikdash. You can practically just read through it without commentary (though having a floor plan of the second bes hamikdash — usually published as an appendix to nearby maseches Midos — handy will help a good deal).

msh210
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    I've never been able to follow Tamid. I didn't know I could find a floor plan in Middoth. Thanks! – Seth J Dec 12 '12 at 16:05
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In a comment on the question, b a suggested:

Avos (more mishnayos but no universal concepts needed to memorize)

Its mishnayos are mostly moral lessons. They are deep, but can be read and understood superficially with some benefit.

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msh210
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More important than the Masechta itself is your understanding of the background to that Masechta. If you are unfamiliar with the underlying concepts of that Masechta, it will be hard. The Kehati Mishnayot will make any Masechta easier by presenting the necessary background information in an orderly and organized manner.

Menachem
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smallest tractates are orlah,chagiga, moed katan,kinim,uktzin each having 3 chapters.

might be hard first time, but each subsequent time will get easier.

ray
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    Taanit, Makkot, Horyot, Tamid, Middot, Megillah, Zavim, Tevul Yom, and Yadayim are all shorter than Orla. Rosh haShana and Temurah are the same length. – Double AA Oct 25 '13 at 14:42
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    Also, most of the ones you suggested are not good tractates for beginners. – Double AA Oct 25 '13 at 14:46
  • right but the question asked that only as an example. – ray Oct 26 '13 at 21:05
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    So to provide an example, picking 5 out of the 16 shortest tractates, you picked kinim, orla and uktzin??? – Double AA Oct 26 '13 at 23:15
  • like i wrote in my answer, in terms of number of chapters these are the shortest. – ray Oct 27 '13 at 05:50
  • Why would chapters be a relevant metric? number of mishnayot is correlated higher with length of time required to study it than is number of chapters. 2) You did not write that.
    • – Double AA Oct 27 '13 at 05:53
  • i didn't say it is the best measure, but it is nevertheless a good enough measure for these purposes
    • – ray Oct 28 '13 at 21:43