The Mishna is divided into six orders or books (1:r11D), 63 treatises (nirmn), massictoth, and :• 525 chapters (n+p-,,p), perakim. The order of these is not exactly the same in the two Talmucls, The first Seder MD) is called nInt Tin, Sao,.
Zeraim, the order of seeds. It treats of sowing, the productions of the earth, herbs, trees, the uses of fruits, of seeds, etc. etc. ; and contains the treatises Berachoth, Peah, Demai, Cilaiim, Shebiith, Zeru moth, Maassroth, Maasser sheni, Challah, Orlah, Biccurim—i.e. 1i treatises. Only the first has a gemara in the Babylonian Talmud ; whereas all have gemaras in that of Jerusalem. The order in both is the same.
The second Seder, called -win, moea'—i.e. the order of festivals—is occupied with a statement of the times when festivals should begin and termi nate, with the different rites and ceremonies to be observed at such seasons. It contains twelve massictoth or treatises—viz. Shabbath, erubim, pesachirn, shekalim, yoma, succah, betsah, rosh hashannah, taanith, megillah, moed katon, cha gigah. Such is the arrangement in the Jerusalem Talmud. But the Babylonian TaInnid has them thus : shabhath, erubim, pesachim, betzah, chagi gah, moed katon, rosh hashannah, yomah, succah, taanith, shekalim, megillah. In the Babylonian Talmud shekalim alone wants a gemara ; but all the massictoth have one in the Jerusalem Talmud.
The third Seder is called nashim (n,t2:,;), and dis cusses the distinctive rights of men and women, marriage, divorce ; the customs, inclinations, sick nesses of women, etc. etc. It contains seven Inas sictoth—viz. yebamoth, cetuboth, kiddushin, gittin, nedarim, nazir, sotah. All have gemaras in both Talmuds, and the order is the same.
The fourth Seder is termed nezikin (rpl;), con sisting of ten treatises. It is occupied with the losses and injuries which one person may bring upon another, damages done by cattle, restitution, the punishment to be inflicted for such offences or losses, etc. The massictoth are, baba kama, babia mezia, baba bathra, sanhedrim, maccoth, shebuoth. edayoth, horayoth, abodah sarah, pirke aboth. Such is the arrangement of the Jerusaletn Talmud. But the Babylonian has the treatises thus : bal a kama, baba mezia, baba bathra, abodah sarah. sanhedrim maccoth, shebuoth, horayoth, edayoth, pirke aboth. All have gemaras in both Talmuds. except edayoth, pirke aboth, and the third chapter of maccoth.
TAM, Jacon. This distinguished talmudist, tosaphist, grammarian, and commentator, was the grandson of the immortal Rashi, and younger brother of the celebrated Rashbam. He was born at Re
mers about I too, and obtained the appellation Tam (on) in after life because of his great piety, and in allusion to Gen. xxv. 27, where his namesake Jacob is denominated Tam =pious (DTI vrt zpv+). As tt is beyond the scope of the biograPhical notices in this Cyclopzedia to discuss the extraordinary Talmudic learning of R. Tam and to detail his con tributions to the elucidation of the traditional law, we shall simply mention his labours in the depart ments of Biblical exegesis and lexicography. He wrote (1.) A lengthy poem on the Hebrew accents, consisting of forty-five stanzas, five of which were first published by Luzzatto in the Hebrew Essays and Reviews, entitled Kerenz Chemed, vol. vii. p. 38, Prague 1843, and the whole forty-five of which appeared in the following work ; (2.) Grammatical and lexical animadversions, entitled nynnrin non, designed to reconcile the differences of Danash Ibn Librat and Menachen Ibn Saruk on points of gram mar and exegesis, first published by Filipowski, London 1855. He also wrote Rules for Scribes, alternately entitled Min non pn, and 0,1DID ppn, being a guide for transcribing MSS. of the Bible, and a grammatical commen tary on the Bible (T:n +onno), which has not as yet come to light, but which is quoted by exposi tors, lexiccgraphers, and grammarians. R. Tam died about A.D. 1171 (comp. Geiger, Parschan a'atha, p. 24 ff., Leipzia 1855 ; Furst, Bibliatheca 4o6, etc. ; eraetz, Geschichte der irden, vol. vi. p. 211 ff., Leipzig rS6r).—C. D. G.
TAMAR (-inn, twice 1/311, Judg. iv. 5 ; Jer.
K. 5) has been universally acknowledged to de note the palm-tree,' sometimes called the clate tree.' The date-tree is remarkable for its erect and cylindrical stem, crowned with a cluster of long and feather-like leaves, and is as much es teemed for its fruit, the date,' as for its juice, vvhcther fermented or not, known as palm-wine,' and for the numerous uses to which every part of the plant is applied. The Arabic name of the (late is tamr ; thus the tamarind is called the Indian date, tainr hindee. The family of palms is characteristic of tropical countries, and but few of them extend into northern latitudes. In the old world, the species P. dactylifera, genus Phernix, is that found furthest north. It spreads along the course of the Euphrates and Tigris across to Palmyra and the Syrian coast of the Mediter ranean.