Its language is Western Aramaic, and its final editor is said to be Rabbi Ashe, who died A.D. 427.  This is often erroneously called the Jerusalem Talmud.  In its present form it is only about one-fourth as large as the Babylonian Talmud.  The latter discusses nearly every section of the Mishnah, whereas the Palestine Talmud passes by a large proportion of the Mishnah without note or comment.  That is, however, because much of this latter Talmud has been lost, for, in the time of Maimonides (died at Cairo A.D. 1204) the Gemara of the Jerusalem Talmud discussed nearly every part of the Mishnah.  The Mishnah is usually said to have been completed by Rabbi Jehudah Hannasi, or the Prince (Hannasi), called simply “Rabbi” by way of preeminence, who died in A.D. 210 in his sixtieth year.  But there are parts of the Mishnah which are older, and parts also at least a century later than the death of that great scholar.  There is no absolute proof that the Mishnah was committed to writing until some time after the completion of the Palestinian (about A.D. 400) or even of the Babylonian (about A.D. 500) Talmud, for, in neither Gemara is there any reference to a written Mishnah, nor is a written form of the Mishnah implied anywhere.  The preservation of this wonderful code of Jewish laws was due to memory alone, men being appointed in the various synagogues to learn the Mishnaic sections and to recite them whenever it was necessary.  Extracts will be given below from the Mishnah and also from the Gemara, the letters M and G preceding paragraphs indicating which of the two is summarised.

DIVISION I.—­CALLED SEEDS

[This part deals first of all with prayer, and then most of all with the various tithes and donations which are due to the priests, Levites, and the poor, from the products of the land.]

SECTION I. TREATISE ON BLESSINGS (Berakot).  The time for reading or reciting the Shemang.[32]

M.  At what time in the evening may shemang be read?  From the time when the priests, having cleansed themselves, enter the sanctuary to partake of the offering (2) (i.e., when the stars come out) until the end of the first watch (about 10 p.m.).  So says Rabbi Eliezar, but otherwise men extend the time until midnight.  Rabbi Gameliel makes the time reach even to the dawn of the following day.  It happened once that his sons returned home at midnight without having read the shemang.  On asking their father if it was too late he replied that the obligation to perform the duties of each day is valid until the first light of morning shows itself.

The morning Shemang.

M.  From what time may the morning shemang be read?  From the moment when there is light enough to distinguish between purple-blue and white.  Rabbi Eliezar says “between purple-blue and leek-green” (which are harder to distinguish) (3).  Up to when may the morning shemang be read?  Until the sun has risen.  Rabbi Jose says “until the end of the third hour after sunrise, for it is the custom of kings’ sons to rise in the third hour of the day.  Yet a good act, such as shemang is, never loses its virtue whenever it is performed.”