Mishnah Ḥagigah

m. Ḥagigah 1:8–2:1

70–220

1:8. [The laws for] release from vows hover in the air and have nothing [in scripture] to support them. The rules about the Sabbath, festival offerings, and sacrilege are like mountains hanging on a hair, for there is very little scripture but [there are] very many laws. The civil laws, [laws about] the Temple service, purity and impurity, and sexual immorality, these have something [in scripture] for them to lean on, and they are the substance of the Torah.

2:1. The laws of sexual transgression may not be expounded in the company of three [persons], nor may the account of creation [(Genesis 1–2) be expounded] before two [persons], nor may the account of the chariot [(Ezekiel 1) be expounded] before one person, unless he is a sage and understands on his own. Whoever reflects on four matters—it would be better for him had he not come into the world: What is above? What is below? What is ahead and what is behind? And whoever has no regard for the honor of his Creator, it would be better for him had he not come into the world.

Translated by Christine Hayes.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

Engage with this Source

In discussing the rules for the festival offering in m. Ḥagigah, the rabbis reflect on their own halakhic enterprise. They note that some areas of law have abundant rabbinic regulations but little scriptural support—“like mountains hanging on a hair.” This image captures rabbinic creativity and authority: even a tiny biblical phrase could sustain vast systems of practice. Other areas, like laws of sexual relations, rest firmly on scripture. The passage highlights the rabbis’ awareness that interpretation itself was a sacred act, granting human reasoning a power akin to revelation.

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