Book
Uktzin עוקצין
a tractate of the order of Tohorot
The last tractate of the Mishnah is occupied with trifles: a stalk, a stone, a peel, a shell. If they are joined to the fruit, impurity passes from them to it and back, and they are added to its measure; if not, not. Behind this stands the question of the whole order: where does a thing end.
And on that trifle the whole Mishnah ends with words everyone knows: the Holy One found no vessel able to hold blessing for Israel but peace. So the six orders, which began with a question about the hour of the Shema, close with the blessing of peace.
Order: Tohorot. There is no Gemara in either Talmud—the tractate remained mishnah.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Mishnah Oktzin 1:1 — the stalk and the fruit
- Mishnah Oktzin 3:12 — «the Holy One found no vessel holding blessing but peace»
Basis: Talmud and midrash.