I have been learning Mishna with the current cycle of Mishna Yomi for the past three years. As the midway point through the cycle seems to be nearing, I have been thinking about what would be the exact midway point through the Mishna. There are discussions online about the midway point through the Torah, and even the Talmud. (In this post from 2012, Hirhurim finds the midpoint of the Talmud to be Kiddushin 29-30, which unironically discusses the midpoint of the Torah.) But I have not found anything online which discusses the midpoint of the Mishna.

In order to determine the midpoint of the Mishna, we must know how many Mishnayot there are, and this is not as simple as it sounds. Different numbers appear online, but the two most common figures are 4,192 and 4,224. Part of what makes it difficult to calculate the exact number is that not everything that quacks like a Mishna and swims like a Mishna is necessarily a Mishna. For example, the 4th chapter of Bikkurim, and the 6th chapter of Avot, while each included in most sets of Mishna, are actually Beraita material that was appended to those tractates for reasons that are not pertinent at the moment. We are also ignoring the Masechtot Ketanot (Minor Tractates) in this analysis. (Side point: What’s with ArtScroll ignoring the Masechtot Ketanot in both of their Mishna sets and their Talmud set? What is ArtScroll’s beef with the Masechtot Ketanot? They love to make money. If they printed it, people would have to buy it. What’s the deal? End rant.)

In any event, I am going to use the lower, more conservative number of 4,192, because this number is given in the Mishna Sedura set, and counting Mishnayot is kind of their whole bag. Interestingly, this figure aligns with this chart, although this chart does include the 4th chapter of Bikkurim and the 6th chapter of Avot. I am not sure how the higher figure of 4,224 came about.

Working with the number of 4,192, the halfway point would come at Mishna #2,096. Referring again to the chart linked to in the last paragraph, by the end of Seder Zera’im, 655 Mishanyot have been learned; by the end of Moed, 1,336 (655+681); by the end of Nashim, 1,914 (1,336+578); and by the end of Nezikin, 2,599 (1,914+685), which is past the halfway point.

Let’s back up and go more slowly through Seder Nezikin. By the end of Masechet Bava Kamma, 1,993 Mishnayot have been learned (1,914+79); by the end of Masechet Bava Metzia, 2,094 (1,993+101). Remember that the magic number was 2,096. That puts the halfway point of Mishnayot at the second Mishna in Bava Batra. You can see the Mishna here; there is nothing outwardly noteworthy about it. And even if we are off by a few in one direction or the other, there is not much around this Mishna that could be construed as hinting at its being the halfway mark. Nevertheless, for those learning Mishna Yomi, or learning Mishna in any format, it may be encouraging to know that if you finish Bava Metzia, you have reached the mathematical halfway point. Onward and upward! Chazak V’Ematz!