Nashim (Hebrew:נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of theMishnah (also of theTosefta andTalmud) containingfamily law. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest.
Yevamot (יבמות "Brothers-in-Law") deals with the Jewish law ofyibbum (levirate marriage) (Deut. 25:5–10) and other topics such as the status of minors. It consists of 16 chapters.
Ketubot (כתובות, "Prenuptial agreements") deals with theketubah (Judaism'sprenuptial agreement), as well as topics such asvirginity, and the obligations of a couple towards each other. It consists of 13 chapters.
Nedarim (נדרים, "Vows") deals with various types of vows often known asnedarim and their legal consequences. It consists of 11 chapters.
Nazir (נזיר "One who abstains") deals with the details of theNazirite vow and being a Nazirite (Num 6). It consists of 9 chapters.
Sotah (סוטה "Wayward wife") deals with the ritual of thesotah, the woman suspected of adultery (Num 5) as well as other rituals involving a spoken formula (such as breaking the heifer's neck, the King's Septennial public Torah reading, the Blessings and Curses ofMount Gerizim andMount Ebal, etc...). It consists of nine chapters.
Gittin: (גיטין "Documents") deals with the concepts ofdivorces and other documents. It consists of 9 chapters.
Kiddushin: (קידושין "Betrothal") deals with the initial stage of marriage –betrothal, as well as the laws of Jewish lineages. It consists of 4 chapters.
The traditional reasoning for the order of tractates according toMaimonides is as follows:
Yevamot is first because unlike the others, it is largely concerned with a compulsory commandment (levirate marriage) as opposed to a voluntary one.
Ketubot follows as it signifies the beginning of married life.
Nedarim follows because once a man is married to a woman, he has the legal right (under certain conditions) to annul her vows.
Nazir, dealing with a special type of vow is a continuation on the subject of vows.
The penultimate sections deal with the end of a marriage withSotah which is concerned with infidelity andGittin which is about actual divorce (Rambam's order swaps these two).
Kiddushin is at the end because it follows the Scriptural order that once a woman is divorced, she can get betrothed to any man, this subsequent betrothal symbolised by the placement ofKiddushin.
Both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds have aGemara on each of the tractates in the order.
Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Nashim".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.