Seder ha-Mishmarah
The Seder ha-Mishmarah is a study cycle devised by Yosef Hayyim and used by some Mizrahi Jews for reading the whole of the Hebrew Bible and the Mishnah over a year. It depends on the cycle of the weekly Torah portions read in the synagogue.
Some communities have a custom of public reading, whereby on each Shabbat afternoon, the whole of the mishmarah for the following Shabbat is read aloud. In others, individuals use it as a basis for private study. The usual form of the cycle is set out in the table below.
| Weekly Torah portion | Nevi'im | Ketuvim | Mishnah |
| Bereshit, Gen. | Joshua | Psalms | Ḥagigah |
| Noaḥ, Gen. | Joshua | Psalms | Kinnim |
| Lekh Lekha, Gen. | Joshua | Psalms | Ma'aserot and Ma'aser Sheni |
| Vayera, Gen. | Judges | Psalms | Pe'ah |
| Ḥayye Sarah, Gen. | Judges | Psalms | Kiddushin |
| Toledot, Gen. | I Samuel | Psalms | Berakhot |
| Vayetze, Gen. | I Samuel | Psalms | Ketubot |
| Vayishlaḥ, Gen. | I Samuel | Psalms | Mo'ed Katan and Horayot |
| Vayeshev, Gen. | I Samuel, II Samuel | Psalms | Yevamot |
| Mikketz, Gen. | II Samuel | Psalms | Mikva'ot |
| Vayigash, Gen. | II Samuel | Psalms | Kelim |
| Vayḥi, Gen, | I Kings | Psalms | Bekhorot |
| Shemot, Ex. | I Kings | Psalms | Ta'anit and Megillah |
| Va'era, Ex. | I Kings | Job | Makkot |
| Bo, Ex. | I Kings to II Kings | Job | Nega'im |
| Beshallaḥ, Ex. | II Kings | Job | Eruvin |
| Yitro, Ex. | II Kings | Job | Pirke Avot and Avodah Zarah |
| Mishpatim, Ex. | II Kings | Job | Bava Kamma |
| Terumah, Ex. | Jeremiah | Job | Middot |
| Teṣawweh, Ex. | Jeremiah | Job | Tevul Yom |
| Ki Tissa, Ex. | Jeremiah | Esther | Sheqalim |
| Vayakhel, Ex. | Jeremiah | Song of Songs | Shabbat |
| Pekude, Ex. | Jeremiah | Proverbs | Tohorot and Yadayim |
| Vayiqra, Lev. | Jeremiah | Proverbs | Zevaḥim |
| Ṣaw, Lev. | Ezekiel | Proverbs | Menaḥot |
| Shemini, Lev. | Ezekiel | Proverbs | Ḥullin |
| Tazriaʿ, Lev. | Ezekiel | Proverbs | Niddah |
| Metzora, Lev. | Ezekiel | Proverbs | Zavim |
| Aḥare Mot, Lev. | Ezekiel | Proverbs | Keritot |
| Qedoshim, Lev. | Ezekiel | Daniel | Orlah |
| Emor, Lev. | Ezekiel | Daniel | Betzah and Yoma |
| Behar, Lev. | Ezekiel | Daniel | Shevi'it |
| Bəḥuqqoṯay, Lev. | Ezekiel | Daniel | Arakhin |
| Bemidbar, Num. | Isaiah | Ezra | Makhshirin |
| Naso, Num. | Isaiah | Ruth | Nazir and Sotah |
| Bəhaʿalot̲ək̲ā, Num. | Isaiah | Ezra | Tamid |
| Shelaḥ Lekha, Num. | Isaiah | Nehemiah | Ḥallah |
| Qoraḥ, Num. | Isaiah | Nehemiah | Terumot |
| Ḥukkat, Num. | Isaiah | I Chronicles | Parah |
| Balaq, Num. | Isaiah | I Chronicles | Oholot |
| Pinḥas, Num. | Isaiah | I Chronicles | Bava Batra |
| Mattot, Num. | Isaiah | I Chronicles | Nedarim |
| Masse, Num. | Isaiah | I Chronicles | Eduyot |
| Devarim, Deut. | Isaiah | Lamentations | Bava Metzia |
| Va'etḥhannan, Deut. | Isaiah | II Chronicles | Shevu'ot |
| Ekev, Deut. | Hosea | II Chronicles | Kil'ayim |
| Re'eh, Deut. | Hosea | II Chronicles | Pesaḥim, Rosh Hashanah and Sukkah |
| Shofetim, Deut. | Hosea | II Chronicles | Sanhedrin |
| Ki Tetze, Deut. | Joel and Amos | II Chronicles | Gittin |
| Ki Tavo, Deut. | Obadiah, Jonah and Micah | II Chronicles | Biqqurim |
| Nitzavim, Deut. | Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Haggai | II Chronicles | Me'ilah |
| Vayelekh, Deut. | Zechariah | Ecclesiastes | Demai |
| Haazinu, Deut. | Zechariah | Ecclesiastes | ʿUqṣim |
| Wəzot̲ habBərāk̲ā, Deut. | Malachi | Ecclesiastes | Temurah |
This cycle is unrelated to that for Chok l'Yisrael, which is a study cycle based on the works of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital and revised by Chaim Joseph David Azulai. This too is often published in book form and is widely popular among Near and Middle Eastern Jews. Differences between the two are:
- The Seder ha-Mishmarah does not include Targum or commentaries on the Torah portion; Chok l'Yisrael includes both;Chok l'Yisrael does not include the whole of Nevi'im, Ketuvim or the Mishnah, and does not present the excerpts in a continuous order through the year;Chok l'Yisrael also includes excerpts from the Talmud, the Zohar and works of Jewish law and morality;Chok l'Yisrael is designed for daily rather than weekly reading.
Other uses
In Mishnaic Hebrew mishmarah means a "watch", that is to say a division of the night. In Temple times, a mishmar also referred to a group of priests whose turn it was to officiate.In addition to the study cycle described above, the term mishmarah is used for a nocturnal prayer or study session preceding a celebration such as a wedding or a Brit milah or a festival such as Hoshana Rabba or following a death. This usage was derived either from the above meaning as a watch in the night or from the practice of watching over a corpse. However, by folk etymology the word is sometimes interpreted as a portmanteau of "Mishnah" and "Gemara", to refer to the texts studied.