Editing Mishnah (section)

==Authorship==
{{Main article|Tannaim}}
The rabbis who contributed to the Mishnah are known as the ''Tannaim'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Outhwaite |first=Ben |title=Mishnah |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-00470-00001/1 |publisher=Cambridge Digital Library |access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>The plural term (singular '''tanna''') for the [[Rabbi]]nic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah; from the Aramaic root ''tanna'' (תנא) equivalent for the Hebrew root ''shanah'' (שנה), as in ''Mishnah''.</ref> of whom approximately 120 are known. The period during which the Mishnah was assembled spanned about 130 years, or five generations, in the first and second centuries CE. [[Judah ha-Nasi]] is credited with the final redaction and publication of the Mishnah,<ref>[[Abraham ben David]] calculated the date 189 CE. ''Seder Ha-Kabbalah Leharavad'', Jerusalem 1971, p.16 (Hebrew)</ref> although there have been a few additions since his time:<ref>According to the Epistle (''{{lang|he-Latn|Iggeret}}'') of [[Sherira Gaon]].</ref> those passages that cite him or his grandson ([[Judah II]]), and the end of [[Sotah (Talmud)|tractate Sotah]] (which refers to the period after Judah's death). In addition to redacting the Mishnah, Judah and his court also ruled on which opinions should be followed, although the rulings do not always appear in the text.

Most of the Mishnah is related without [[Attribution (copyright)|attribution]] (''{{lang|he-Latn|stam}}''). This usually indicates that many sages taught so, or that Judah the Prince ruled so. The halakhic ruling usually follows that view. Sometimes, however, it appears to be the opinion of a single sage, and the view of the sages collectively ({{langx|he|חכמים}}, ''hachamim'') is given separately.

As Judah the Prince went through the tractates, the Mishnah was set forth, but throughout his life some parts were updated as new information came to light. Because of the proliferation of earlier versions, it was deemed too hard to retract anything already released, and therefore a second version of certain laws were released. The [[Talmud]] refers to these differing versions as ''{{lang|he-Latn|Mishnah Rishonah}}'' ("First Mishnah") and ''{{lang|he-Latn|Mishnah Acharonah}}'' ("Last Mishnah"). [[David Zvi Hoffmann]] suggests that ''Mishnah Rishonah'' actually refers to texts from earlier Sages upon which Rebbi based his Mishnah.

The Talmud records a tradition that unattributed statements of the law represent the views of [[Rabbi Meir]] (Sanhedrin 86a), which supports the theory (recorded by [[Sherira Gaon]] in his famous ''Iggeret'') that he was the author of an earlier collection. For this reason, the few passages that actually say "this is the view of Rabbi Meir" represent cases where the author intended to present Rabbi Meir's view as a "minority opinion" not representing the accepted law.

There are also references to the "Mishnah of [[Rabbi Akiva]]", suggesting a still earlier collection;<ref>This theory was held by David Zvi Hoffman, and is repeated in the introduction to [[Herbert Danby]]'s Mishnah translation.</ref> on the other hand, these references may simply mean his teachings in general. Another possibility is that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir established the divisions and order of subjects in the Mishnah, making them the authors of a school curriculum rather than of a book.

Authorities are divided on whether Rabbi Judah the Prince recorded the Mishnah in writing or established it as an oral text for memorisation. The most important early account of its composition, the ''Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' (Epistle of Rabbi Sherira Gaon) is ambiguous on the point, although the Spanish recension leans to the theory that the Mishnah was written. However, the Talmud records that, in every study session, there was a person called the ''tanna'' appointed to recite the Mishnah passage under discussion. This may indicate that, even if the Mishnah was reduced to writing, it was not available on general distribution.