Yeshivah bochurim when wanting to say a short "dvar torah"at a meal will sometimes quote the words mentioned in today's daf "stam nezirus shloshim yom". People often think this is the shortest mishna. Well it might be the shortest mishna in the gemara, but its not a full mishna. Its the first four words of a mishna in meseches Nazir perek aleph, mishna gimel. quoted in part on daf hey of gemara nazir, and continuing on daf zayin. There are two very short mishnayos, 7 words in the standard nusach, sukkah perek dalet mishna zayin, and pirkey avos perek hey mishnah chaf gimel. Are there any sources that discuss this topic at all?
Menachem Weiman, St. Louis, USA
Shalom Menachem,
It's great to hear from you! You are making a fascinating observation.
Indeed, Pirkei Avos 5:23 contains the concise and powerful teaching: "Ben Hei Hei said: According to the pain is the reward," comprising just seven words in the original.
We do not find anyone commentaries that delve into the topic of what is the shortest Mishnah.
Warm regards,
Yishai Rasowsky