A number of extra-canonical works generally appended to the printed
Talmud but not considered part of it. It would appear that originally there were seven such "minor tractates." However, the Romm version of the Talmud (the Vilna edition) has a total of 15. Some deal with ethical subjects, such as
Avot De-Rabbi Natan and
Perek ha-Shalom, while others deal with the laws related to specific topics. The latter include works on writing a Torah scroll, the laws pertaining to Mourning, Marriage, converts,
Samaritans, slaves, tefillin, tsitsit, and the
mezuzah. The earliest mention of the minor tractates is in a 13th-century work by
naḥmanides, who speaks of "seven minor tractates."
Most of the 15 works are written in an archaic Hebrew in the style of the tosefot. The exceptions are Avot de-Rabbi Natan, which is a gloss on the Mishnaic tractate avot, and Kallah Rabbati, which serves as the equivalent of the gemara on the Mishnaic tractate kallah. As to why these tractates were not included, there is a dispute among scholars whether they were written after the closing of the Talmud and thus simply came too late or in the earlier tannaitic times and thus superseded in content by the appearance of the mishnah. The latter theory would fit in with the fact that numerous tannaim besides R. judah ha-nasi produced their own written collections of halakhot, all of them replaced by the Mishnah. All 15 tractates were translated into English under the editorship of Rev. Dr. A. Cohen (Soncino Press, 1965).
