Creation, the beginning of mankind, and stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs.
The Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt, miraculous redemption, the giving of the Torah, and building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
Laws of sacrificial worship in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), ritual purity, and other topics like agriculture, ethics, and holidays.
Wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, census, rebellion, spies and war, interspersed with laws.
Moses’ final speeches, recalling events of the desert, reviewing old laws, introducing new ones, and calling for faithfulness to God.
The Israelites enter, conquer, and settle Israel under the leadership of Joshua.
Cycles of sin, foreign oppression, repentance, and redemption through leaders appointed by God.
The prophet Samuel, the advent of monarchy with the reign of Saul, and the rise of a young David.
King David’s triumphs and challenges as he establishes a united kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital.
Solomon’s kingship, construction of the Temple, a schism in the kingdom, and Elijah the Prophet.
Stories and miracles of the prophet Elisha, the decline of Israel’s kingdoms, and the Temple’s destruction.
Criticism of religious corruption, calls for change, and descriptions of a utopian future.
Warnings of Jerusalem’s destruction and demands for repentance, largely rejected by the people, some of whom torture and persecute him.
Dramatic symbolism conveying rebuke or hope, and visions of a future Temple.
Rebuke of Israel for abandoning God, comparing their relationship to that of unfaithful lovers.
A locust plague, a call to repent, and a promise of judgement for Israel’s oppressors.
Condemnation of oppression and arrogance in the nations and Israel, and a call for reform.
The shortest book in Tanakh, at just 21 verses, predicting the downfall of the kingdom of Edom.
A great fish swallows Jonah when he tries to escape his mission of prophecy, and Jonah repents.
Berating of Israel and its leadership for insincere ritual worship, and calls for justice and kindness.
A celebratory prophecy about the downfall of the Assyrian empire, an oppressor of Israel.
Charging God to explain the unjust success of the Babylonians, God’s response, and a prayer.
Warnings of the destruction God will wreak on the unfaithful and calls for justice and humility.
Urgent calls to build the Second Temple and descriptions of its future glory.
Symbolic visions of redemption, explained by angels, and descriptions of the end of days.
Criticism of disingenuous ritual worship and descriptions of God’s future blessings.
Poems of despair, hope, gratitude, and supplication to God, attributed to David and others.
Guidance for living a wise, moral, and righteous life, in the form of poems and short statements.
Satan convinces God to strike a righteous man with tragedy, spurring conversations about suffering.
Poetic conversations of two lovers, traditionally read as a metaphor for God and Israel.
A Moabite widow remains loyal to her mother-in-law and to Israel, embarking on a new beginning.
Laments of Jerusalem’s destruction, grappling with theological explanations.
An exploration of the meaning of life, reckoning with death, futility, and purpose.
Esther becomes queen of Persia and foils a plot to destroy the Jews, establishing the Purim holiday.
A Jewish advisor to Babylonian kings interprets dreams and miraculously escapes danger.
Rebuilding the Temple after decades of exile and religious revival led by Ezra the scribe.
Rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and the nation’s commitment to observe the commandments.
Recounts of events in the Torah and early Prophets, focusing on King David.
Recounts of events in the Prophets, from Solomon through the Temple’s destruction.
Blessings and prayers, focusing on Shema and the Amidah.
Crops left in the corner of a field for the poor to take, other agricultural gifts to the poor.
Produce from one who is suspected to have neglected tithing and the requirement to tithe it.
Prohibited mixtures of certain seeds, plants, animals, or materials of clothing.
The seventh year of the agricultural cycle, when working the land is prohibited and debts are forgiven.
Required donations of agricultural produce to priestly households and its sacred status.
Separating tithes for priests, Levites, the poor, and for consumption in Jerusalem.
A tithe eaten in Jerusalem or exchanged for money to be used for purchasing food there.
Dough separated when baking bread and given to priests.
Fruit growing on a tree in its first three years, when benefitting from the fruit is prohibited.
First fruits and grains ceremoniously brought to the Temple and given to a priest next to the altar.
Creative work prohibited on Shabbat and other laws that preserve the sanctity of the day.
Enclosures that legally expand the areas in which one can carry and travel on Shabbat.
Passover: ridding of chametz, the Paschal lamb offering, matzah, maror, and the Seder.
Annual half-shekel donations to the Temple, administration and inventory of the Temple.
Yom Kippur: the High Priest’s preparation, the Temple service, the fast, and repentance.
The structure of and obligation to dwell in the sukkah, the four species, and celebrating the holiday in the Temple.
Holiday laws governing which objects can be used, how food is prepared, and what labor is permitted.
The declaration process for a new month in the Temple period, blowing the shofar, and Rosh Hashanah liturgy.
Praying for rain, fasting in times of drought, and annual fast days marking Jerusalem’s destruction.
Reading the scroll of Esther on Purim, synagogue rituals, and treatment of sacred objects.
Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot).
Sacrifices offered on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Festivals and laws of ritual purity.
The mandated marriage of a widow to the brother of her childless husband and the alternative rite discharging that obligation.
The marital contract (Ketubah) and obligations between husband and wife.
Vows taken voluntarily, particularly those that forbid specific actions or objects.
The Nazarite, or one who vows abstinence from wine, haircuts, and ritual impurity generated from contact with corpses.
A woman suspected of adultery, the ritual determining her culpability, and other rituals involving recitation.
Laws relating to divorce, focusing on the get (bill of divorce) and its delivery.
Betrothal, marriage, acquisitions, and lineage.
Liability and compensation for damages inflicted on people or property.
Disputed property, returning lost objects, guarding, renting, borrowing, and responsibilities of workers and employers.
Relationships between neighbors, land ownership, sales, and inheritance.
The judicial system, forming the court, accepting testimony, and executing capital punishment.
Court-administered lashing, false witnesses, and cities of refuge for inadvertent murderers.
Oaths and the process of atoning for entering the Temple or eating from a sacrifice while impure.
The only tractate without a unified subject, organized as collections of laws on various topics.
Disassociating from idolatry, regulations on business interactions between Jews and idolaters.
Short statements of advice, ethics, and wisdom.
Atoning for erroneous rulings of the court and inadvertent sins of leaders.
Animal and bird sacrifices in the Temple.
Flour offerings, usually mixed with oil, wine libations, and bread loaf offerings in the Temple.
Slaughter of animals and birds for non-consecrated purposes, other aspects of kashrut.
Transfer of first-born kosher animals to a priest, redemption of first-born donkeys and people.
Vowing to donate a person’s prescribed value delineated in the Torah to the Temple, donations of land to the Temple.
The sanctity of animals dedicated for sacrifice and the prohibition of exchanging them for others.
Karet, divinely-issued severance from the Jewish people, and sacrifices for unintentional sin.
Prohibited benefit from Temple property, the sacrifice and restitution offered as atonement.
The daily Temple service, including the burnt-offerings brought every morning and afternoon.
Measurements and descriptions of the Second Temple and the Temple Mount.
Bird-offerings that are mixed up and the complex math involved in determining their status.
Vessels — tools, utensils, appliances, furniture, and clothing — and their statuses in purity laws.
The spread of a corpse’s impurity through contact, carrying, or dwelling under the same roof.
Tzaraat, a discoloration condition on skin, houses, or clothing, purification for the infected.
Burning of a red heifer and mixing of its ashes with spring water to be used for purification.
How food, drinks, objects and people become impure and spread impurity.
Ritual baths and the process of immersing in them to become pure.
The ritual impurity of a woman in her menstrual cycle or experiencing particular discharges.
Water, oil, milk, wine, honey, dew, or blood touching food and rendering it susceptible to impurity.
Abnormal bodily discharges and the impurity they generate.
The status of a person in the time between their immersion in a mikvah and sunset of that day.
Rabbinic decree to wash hands before eating due to assumed impurity of the hands.
Stems and other attachments to food, their susceptibility to impurity.
Blessings and prayers, focusing on Shema and the Amidah.
Creative work prohibited on Shabbat and other laws that preserve the sanctity of the day.
Enclosures that legally expand the areas in which one can carry and travel on Shabbat.
Passover: ridding of chametz, the Paschal lamb offering, matzah, maror, and the Seder.
The four Jewish New Years, the process of sanctifying a new month, and laws of blowing the shofar.
Yom Kippur: the High Priest’s preparation, the Temple service, the fast, and repentance.
The structure of and obligation to dwell in the sukkah, the four species, and celebrating the holiday in the Temple.
Holiday laws governing which objects can be used, how food is prepared, and what labor is permitted.
Praying for rain, fasting in times of drought, and annual fast days marking Jerusalem’s destruction.
Reading the scroll of Esther on Purim, expansions on the Esther story, synagogue rituals, and treatment of sacred objects.
Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot), mourning and ex-communication.
Sacrifices offered on pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the Festivals, ritual purity, and esoteric discussions of creation.
The mandated marriage of a widow to the brother of her childless husband and the alternative rite discharging that obligation.
The marital contract (Ketubah) and obligations between husband and wife.
Vows taken voluntarily, particularly those that forbid specific actions or objects.
The Nazirite, or one who vows abstinence from wine, haircuts, and ritual impurity generated from contact with corpses.
A woman suspected of adultery, the ritual determining her culpability, and other rituals involving recitation.
Laws relating to divorce, focusing on the get (bill of divorce) and its delivery.
Betrothal, marriage, acquisitions, and lineage.
Liability and compensation for damages inflicted on people or property.
Disputed property, returning lost objects, guarding, renting, borrowing, and responsibilities of workers and employers.
Relationships between neighbors, land ownership, sales, and inheritance.
The judicial system, forming the court, accepting testimony, and executing capital punishment.
Court-administered lashing, false witnesses, and cities of refuge for inadvertent murderers.
Oaths and the process of atoning for entering the Temple or eating from a sacrifice while impure.
Disassociating from idolatry, regulations on business interactions between Jews and idolaters.
Atoning for erroneous rulings of the court and inadvertent sins of leaders.
Animal and bird sacrifices in the Temple.
Flour offerings, usually mixed with oil, wine libations, and bread loaf offerings in the Temple.
Slaughter of animals and birds for non-consecrated purposes, other aspects of kashrut.
Transfer of first-born kosher animals to a priest, redemption of first-born donkeys and people.
Vowing to donate a person’s prescribed value delineated in the Torah to the Temple, donations of land to the Temple.
The sanctity of animals dedicated for sacrifice and the prohibition of exchanging them for others.
Karet, divinely-issued severance from the Jewish people, and sacrifices for unintentional sin.
Prohibited benefit from Temple property, the sacrifice and restitution offered as atonement.
The daily Temple service, including the burnt-offerings brought every morning and afternoon.
The ritual impurity of a woman in her menstrual cycle or experiencing particular discharges.
Companion volume to Pirkei Avot with maxims of wisdom alongside explanations and stories.
Version preserved in manuscript until published in 1887 by Solomon Schechter.
Slaves and indentured servants; their sale, acquisition, working conditions, and liberation process.
Ethics and morals, proper etiquette and conduct in daily life.
Characteristics of a scholar, teachings about the messianic age, and a chapter extolling peace.
Converts to Judaism, the conversion process, and non-Jewish residents of Israel who observe the seven laws of Noah.
Marriage, intercourse, and proper sexual behavior.
Aramaic elaboration on parts of tractates Kallah, Derekh Eretz Rabbah, and Derekh Eretz Zuta.
The religious status of Samaritans, permitted and prohibited interactions with them.
Writing the mezuzah, a scroll of parchment containing the Shema, and hanging it on the doorpost.
Writing and treatment of a Torah scroll; almost identical to the beginning of Tractate Soferim.
Laws and customs relating to death: the moment of death, burial, mourning, and cemetery conduct.
Writing Torah scrolls and other holy books, the public reading of biblical texts.
Preparing and wearing Tefillin, leather boxes containing biblical passages written on parchment.
Fringes tied to garments with four corners.
The Alter Rebbe’s comprehensive code of Jewish law, with English translation, Hebrew original, footnotes, and source references.