Editing Inclusio (section)

==In Rabbinic Literature==
The rabbis of the [[Talmud]] were aware of occurrences of inclusio in the Bible, as shown by [[Rabbi Yohanan|Rabbi Yohanan's]] comment in the [[Babylonian Talmud]], Berakhot 10a that "Any psalm dear to David he opened with "''Ashrei''" ("happy is he) and closed with "''Ashrei''". Redactors of rabbinic document frequently made use of inclusio to mark off the endpoints of literary units of different sizes and possibly to suggest conceptual connections between seemingly disparate statements. At the end of the [[Mishnah]], [[Kelim|tractate Kelim]], [[Rabbi Yose]] explicitly notes the phenomenon: "Happy are you, Kelim, in that you opened with [statements regarding] impurity and departed with [statements regarding] purity." [[Berakhot (tractate)|Tractate Berakhot]], which opens with a discussion of the laws of reciting the [[Shema Yisrael]] ("Hear O Israel") passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, concludes with a homiletic interpretation of the second verse from this passage (v. 5), showing how the ritual recitation of the tractate's opening may serve as a source of spiritual instruction at the tractate's end. The Mishna in [[Nazir (Talmud)|tractate Nazir]] is framed by allusions to two famous biblical Nazirites - [[Samson]] (Nazir 1:2) and [[Samuel]] (Nazir 9:5), representing respectively negative and positive exemplars of this institution.

Many chapters of Mishnah are also framed by inclusio. In the opening mishnah of [[Taanit (Talmud)|Taanit]], [[Rabbi Joshua]] notes that rain on the festival of Sukkot is "not a sign of blessing", and the closing mishnah of the chapter notes that rainfall after the month of Nisan is "a sign of curse". This characterization of rainfall as God's way of communicating His blessings and curses is a central theme of the chapter. Sometimes the inclusio is based on a wordplay. [[Ohalot]] Chapter 7 opens with a discussion of corpse impurity in a "''nefesh atuma''" ("solid monument") and closes with the statement that a baby whose head has emerged from the womb may not be killed to save the mother because "''ayn dochin nefesh mipnei nefesh''" ("one soul may not be set aside in favor of another"). The use of the word ''nefesh'' at the beginning and the end of the chapter in opposite meanings, symbolizing respectively death and life, emphasize the interconnection between the mysteries of birth and of death.

Examples of inclusio may be found in later rabbinic literature as well. [[Tosefta]] [[Makkot]] Chapter 3 opens and closes with statements regarding the designation of three [[cities of refuge]]. Homilies regarding Isaiah 32:20 appear at the beginning and end of tracate [[Bava Kamma]] Chapter 1. The opening homily of Leviticus Rabba 29 asserts that the fate of Adam on the day of his creation is a sign for his children annually on the same date, and the closing homily of this section asserts that when Israel observes the commandments of this day God will regard them as having been created anew. Rabbinic redactors, following in the footsteps of their biblical predecessors, continued to employ inclusio as a literary marker and tool.