Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

The Rambam’s Sixth Principle: A mitzvah’s positive and negative commands are counted separately

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Just as coins have two sides, some things are both a positive mitzvah if one does A and a negative mitzvah if one does B. There are numerous examples: Refraining from labor on Shabbos is a positive mitzvah; performing labor violates a negative mitzvah. Letting the ground rest during Shemittah (the Sabbatical year) is a […]

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The Rambam’s Fifth Principle: The reason for a mitzvah is not itself a mitzvah

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Sometimes the Torah gives us the reason for a mitzvah. It may sound like a separate mitzvah, but it’s not. For example, the Torah speaks of a man who divorces his wife, who subsequently remarries. The Torah tells us that, if her second marriage dissolves, he may no longer take her back. Deuteronomy 24:4 says, […]

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The Rambam’s Fourth Principle: Commandments that refer to the mitzvos as a whole are not mitzvos

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Mom and Dad are going out for the evening and they give their son instructions throughout the day. At 10:00 AM, they tell Junior, “No parties.” At noon, they say, “Don’t open the door for strangers.” At 4:00 PM, they say, “Lights out at midnight.” When they leave, they say, “Do everything we told you.” […]

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The Rambam’s Third Principle: Only mitzvos intended for posterity are included

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The statement of the Talmud (Makkos 23b) that God gave Moshe 613 mitzvos at Sinai expounds upon Deut. 33:4, “Moshe commanded us the Torah…” According to the Rambam, the “Torah” referred to in that verse only includes those commandments intended for posterity. The reason is because the verse continues, “an inheritance for the congregation of […]

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The Rambam’s Second Principle: Not everything derived through hermeneutics is necessarily included

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“Hermeneutics” refers to the art of biblical interpretation. The 13 Rules of Rabbi Yishmael for expounding the Torah, recited every morning as part of the preliminary service, are often called the “hermeneutical laws.” Other Talmudic sages had lists with more such laws or fewer (Hillel had seven rules; Rabbi Eliezer b. R. Yossi HaGalili had […]

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How do we know there are 613 mitzvos?

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The Talmud in Makkos (23b-24a) tells us: Rav Simlai expounded: 613 mitzvos were transmitted via Moshe – 365 negative commandments corresponding to the number of days in a solar year and 248 positive commandments, corresponding to the number of limbs and organs in the human body. Rav Hamnuna asked: What is a Biblical support for […]

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What are included in the 613 mitzvos?

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While the number of mitzvos is generally accepted, what’s on the list can vary depending on the authority consulted. How is that? Well, first of all, not everything is clear whether or not it’s a command. Let’s look at two examples: Exodus 14:13 tells us, “Moses told the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand strong […]

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Where do we find out about the 613 mitzvos?

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The primary sources for this project are: · Sefer HaMitzvos of the Rambam (12th century). This work follows the order of his Mishneh Torah (Yad Chazakah) and lists positive and negative commandments separately. · Sefer HaChinuch, an anonymous work popularly attributed to one of two scholars named Rav Aharon HaLevi of Barcelona (13th century). This […]

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The Rambam’s First Principle: Rabbinic enactments are not included among the 613 mitzvos

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This principle may seem self-evident, but many of those who attempted to compile lists of the 613 mitzvos before the Rambam apparently erred in this matter. The Rambam cites the Talmud in Makkos (23b) that God communicated 613 mitzvos to Moshe at Sinai. It should go without saying that such later enactments as reading the […]

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More Taryag Fun

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As we mentioned above, the gematria (numerical value) of the word Torah is 611. As per Deut. 33:4, Moshe communicated Torah – that is, 611 mitzvos – to the Jewish people. G-d spoke the first two of the “Ten Commandments” Himself, for a total of 613. Here are some more Taryag fun facts: · Ruth […]

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