Zeraim

Zeraim is a major section on the Mishnah, the mishnah being the core text of Judaism's oral law. The Mishnah is the core around which the Talmud is composed. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, Zeraim is the shortest.

The order Zeraim (Hebrew for "seeds") contains the following eleven treatises:

Berakot ("Blessings"), divided into nine chapters; deals with the rules for the daily prayer, and other prayers and blessings.

Pe'ah ("Corner"); eight chapters; deals with the regulations concerning the corners of the field (Lev. xix. 9, 10; xxiii. 22; Deut. xxiv. 19-22), and with the rights of the poor in general.

Demai ("Doubtful"); seven chapters; deals chiefly with various cases in which it is not certain whether the offering of the fruit has been given to the priests.

Kilayim ("Of Two Sorts"; "Heterogeneous"); nine chapters; deals chiefly with rules regarding forbidden mixtures (Lev. xix. 19; Deut. xxii. 9-11).

Shevi'it ("Sabbatical Year"); ten chapters; deals with the regulations concerning the seventh year (Ex. xxiii. 11; Lev. xxv. 1-8; Deut. xv. 1 et seq.).

Terumot ("Offerings"); eleven chapters; deals with the laws regarding the offering to be given to the Kohen, the Jewish priest (Num. xviii. 8 et seq.; Deut. xviii. 4).

Ma'aserot or Ma'aser Rishon ("Tithes" or "First Tithes"); five chapters; deals with the prescription regarding the tithe to be given to the Levites (Num. xviii. 21-24).

Ma'aser Sheni ("Second Tithe"); five chapters; deals with the rules concerning the tithe or its equivalent which was to be eaten at Jerusalem (Deut. xiv. 22-26).

Hallah ("Cake"); four chapters; deals with the laws regarding the heave-offering of dough to be given to the priests (Num. xv. 18-21).

Orlah ("Foreskin of the Trees"); three chapters; deals chiefly with the regulations of Lev. xix. 23-25.

Bikkurim ("First-Fruits"); three chapters; deals with the laws in Ex. xxiii. 19; Deut. xxvi. 1.

In many editions of the Mishnah, even early ones like those of Naples 1492, and of Riva 1559, as well as in most of the editions of the Babylonian Talmud, a fourth chapter to the eleventh treatise, which does not belong to the Mishnah, has been added (comp. the gloss in the Wilna edition of the Talmud, p. 87b). The sequence of the treatises of this first order in both the Talmudim corresponds with that of Maimonides.