Babylonian Talmud, First Edition, Tractate Rosh ha-Shanah, Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1521; bound with Tractate Yoma, Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1520

ha-Rashbag Synagogue- ownership note, Yoma, f. 2r.

Tractate Yoma (the Day) deals with Yom Kippur and is sometimes referred to by its Hebrew name, Yom ha-Kippurim (Day of Atonement), or briefly, Kippurim (Atonement). In the Babylonian Talmud however, it was called Yoma or Seder Yoma (the Order of the Day), and it may be that its early name was Seder Yom ha-Kippurim (Order of the Day of Atonement). Of the eight chapters contained in the Mishnah, only the last one deals with the laws of the fast. The first seven chapters describe, in a dramatic yet simple style, the service of the high priest in the Temple on the Day of Atonement.

Rosh ha-Shanah is the traditional rabbinic designation for one of the major festivals of the Jewish calendar, that which falls in "the seventh month, on the first day of the month"(Lev. 23:24).  The tractate Rosh ha-Shanah, however, opens with the statement that there are four separate days, each of which is deemed a New Year for its own specific purpose. Thus the first of Nisan is the New Year for kings and for festivals, and the 15th of Shevat, the New Year for trees. However, the first day of Tishri, the "New Year for years," i.e., the beginning of the calendar year, became known as the New Year par excellence, and the bulk of the tractate's discussion is an elaboration of the laws concerning the holiday, its religious significance, and the details of the sounding of the shofar.