Rashi, BM 33b top of the page, describing the composition of the Mishna in the days of Rebbi:
ועד ימיו לא היו מסכתות סדורות אלא כל תלמיד ששמע דבר מפי גדול הימנו גרסה ונתן סימנים הלכה פלונית ופלונית שמעתי משם פלוני וכשנתקבצו אמר כל אחד מה ששמע ונתנו לב לברר טעמי המחלוקת דברי מי ראוין לקיים וסידרו המסכתות דברי נזיקין לבדם ודברי יבמות לבדם ודברי קדשים לבדם
Kodshim and Nezikin are sedarim (granted, Rashi refers to them as masechtot), but Yevamos is a single masechta. Why would Rashi single out Yevamos instead of writing "divrei nashim," or something like that?
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Interesting question.
ReplyDeleteThe three Bavos used to be one maseches called Nezikin; as Reb Yosef said in BM 102a, כולה נזיקין חדא מסכת היא. "Kodshim" is "Shechitas Kodshim,' a much better name than Chulin. So each is the name of the first maseches in the seder.
ReplyDeleteSorry the answer is not as interesting as the question.
What happened to the delete option for mistakes which we like to call פליטת קולמוס but are just a symptom of erev pesach zombie brain. I meant Zevachim.
DeleteHow would moed fit with this (not a newer name, cf sukka 4b - unless it also had another name? Or would moed koton once have been first? (Also seems unlikely though, but I'm not that knowledgeable about the history of these things). Incidentally, does anyone know why moed is the only Seder with a name in the singular (not moadim, like nashim, kodashim etc)?
Delete>>>How would moed fit with this
DeleteRashi only tells us Nezikin, Kodshim, Yevamos, which begs the question of why he left our Moed.
>>>does anyone know why moed is the only Seder with a name in the singular (not moadim, like nashim, kodashim etc)
Interesting...