The Jewish Bible contains the story of the faith of the people we now call Jews. The story begins in the Torah and the history of the chosen people continues in the prophets. The Torah is a mix of story and commands. Over the years Jewish sages have sifted our 613 mitzvot (commandments) from the narrative in the Torah, the law or the books of Moses. There are three other pages in this presentation that list the traditional commandments with scriptural references on which the commandment is based. The text and the numbering of the commands was adapted from jewfaq.org. I have left in many of the Hebrewisms but tried to provide notes to clarify them as I only have a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew and my audience is largely Christian.

I have hesitated to delve into this topic because it is really quite large. After all 613 is a large number that has always made this seem overwhelming. I keep coming back to the notion of these commandments so I thought that I needed build reference section to connect other areas of this site back to these commandments.There are other lists but this one provided a good starting point for what I thought that I was doing. I have been a bit disappointed to find that while the text is fairly consistent across lists the numbering is not. That said this list is based on what is understood to be the most common list in use, that prepared by Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), who is commonly known as Maimonides, or the Rambam. Jewfaq.org says that while their list is based primarily on the list from his Mishneh Torah, other sources were consulted. I based this list on his list with other sites consulted. What this list does do is tie the tradition of the commandments to the scripture references that underlie the traditional reading. In some cases there seems to me to be some tension between the verse in the Torah and the commandment as received by tradition. My notes and questions are set off in square brackets.

The Mishna Torah (meaning repetition of the Torah) is the Rambam's commentary the Torah, it consists of 14 volumes and groups the laws by subject. Lists and groupings of this sort are useful for reference as one lives life and wishes to consult what the law says. This is largely where Rabbinic literature focuses. The Mishna Torah itself is called by many 'a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (halakha).' That being the case this could only be a rudimentary introduction to the topic of Jewish Law. In the Bible, the laws are introduced in the context of the story. Sometimes the context is important to understand the application of the commandment. Mostly the law seems to be something of a tangle because the Bible does not preset it in a convenient form as the lists of this sort are meant to do. If this presentation is meant to untangle it further, it does not really succeed as there are laws that could easily fit into more than one category. Also as the story progresses beyond the Torah some of the commands become difficult or even impossible to observe.

Abraham was called out of the world and given a covenant which in part makes him the"father of nations." Israel is called out of Egypt to be separate from the other nations. At Sinai Israel accepts the covenant that Jewish tradition says all other nations had rejected. This acceptance makes these commandments binding on the Jews but no other people (see Nohaide Laws). The law separates the Jews from other peoples by diet and action. The other important notion that is distinct for the time that the law was given is that Israel's king was not the maker of the law. The law was above the king and he too was subject to it. Having this Law produced a distinct nation.

It is important to notice that the Israelites' conception of the nation has nothing to do with biology, or what we call race. For Biblical nations, everything depends on a shared understanding of history, language, and religion that is passed from parent to children, but which outsiders can join as well. Thus the book of Exodus teaches that there were many Egyptians [Exodus 12.38] who attached themselves to the Hebrew slaves fleeing Egypt, and that they received the Ten Commandments (more accurately translated as the "Ten Precepts") at Sinai with the rest of Israel. Similarly, Moses invites the Midianite sheikh Jethro to join the Jewish people. And Ruth the Moabite becomes part of Israel when she is ready to tell Naomi "your people is my people and your God is my God [Ruth 1.16]," her son being the forefather of of king David himself. But the ability of Israel to bring these foreign-born individuals into its ranks depends on their willingness to accept Israel's understanding of God, laws and understanding of history. (Hazony 2018: p. 20)

The laws, commandments or precepts provide a sort of a constitution for a nation. A nation that is set apart in a number of ways. These ways are contained in this Law as reflected in these commands and the history recorded in the surrounding story.

The problem for today is that much of the Law presupposes living in the land of Israel under the leadership of God, whether administered through a king, judge or prophet. There are many laws that are for an agricultural society and they do not make much much sense to our modern society. Even the laws about agricultural production can be problematic. Agricultural practice is localized. As I write this I am on holiday in the fruit country in Washington State, much of which would not be productive if it were not for pumped irrigation water. Typically the newly planted orchard is not harvested for the first few years until the trees a mature enough to produce consistent fruit. Command 360 speaks to this, not in the practical way we think of today but in a theological way that speaks about devotion. To the North and East of here there are places where dry land wheat is grown. In the dryer places the land only yields a crop every other year. That is because there is not enough rain for annual crops nor would that land be productive on the 7-year cycle presented in the law. I do not know much about the climate and soils in the land of Israel but I do know that water is an issue which caused the Israelis to invent drip irrigation allowing them to supply citrus fruit to Europe with limited water supply. I do not know how any of this would mesh with the law.

The scripture references locate the laws in the narrative, I have provided links to the Biblical text, generally Christian translations. The verse numbering in Jewish and Christian translations do not always line up so where they do not I have provided links but adjusted the numbering accordingly. I preserved many Jewish references and links by using the Hebrew book names. There are also places where the numbering lines up but the reading does not and there again I have the Jewish translation linked with Hebrew book names along with the English for the Christian translation.

In this list the mitzvot fall into three categories: there are positive commands--do this, there are negative commands--don't do this and there are commands that apply only in the context of the land of Israel. These categories are noted in the lists. Tradition is that many of the positive commands are given because there is strong temptation not to do them. The influence of tradition is apparent when comparing the command as presented in the list with the verse that is linked. The original page had references to the Chafetz Chayim's (Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (1838 – 1933)) Concise Book of Mitzvot: The Commands that can be Observed Today. At 338 pages this would be more approachable than the Rambam, but I have not approached it either.

There is another classification system that is not presented here at this point, that is, the distinction between edot, chukim and mishpatim. Edot are commands that are to do with holidays and such, the holidays point to the activity of G-d in the life of the Jewish Nation. Chukim are divine decrees that have no good logical justification as far as people know. Mishpatim make a good bit of sense and that makes them fully understandable to man, these would be things like "do not steal." Chukim and edot are really what have sustained Judaism through the ages. Edot because the holidays remind the people about the actions of G-d in their history. Chukim are observed because they are the commands of the G-d who delivers, they are basically observed by faith or perhaps devotion.

In addition to the Mitzvot of the Torah the Rabbis have added others.

The Seven Rabbinic Mitzvahs:

1. Saying Hallel - Recite Psalms 113-118 on holy days.
2. Blessings - The rabbis scripted various blessings (berachot) of praise and gratitude to G‑d to be recited on all sorts of occasions.
3. Ritual Washing Hands Before Eating - Before eating bread one must wash one's hands in a prescribed manner. The reason for this is that sacred foods and Temple offerings may not be eaten in ritual impurity.
4. Eruv on Shabbat - A procedure to carry on some otherwise prohibited duties on Shabbat. This is another whole study that is controversial in some communities.
5. Shabbat Candles - Candles are lit before Shabbat and holidays when lighting a candle would be prohibited. The Rabbis introduced this practice to ensure that Shabbat and festivals should be peaceful and calm, without people tripping or stumbling in the dark.
6. Purim (Megillah) - Purim is one of the two Jewish feasts in current Jewish practice that are not prescribed in the Torah. Purim commemorates the Jews being delivered by Esther and so her story is read at that feast. This happened during the Babylonian Captivity well after the time of Moses so there could be not direct command for it in the Torah. (Megillah means scrolls it can refer to any of the five sacred books that have liturgical use.)
7. Chanukah - Chanukah commemorates the re dedication of the temple under the Maccabees after it had been desecrated by the Greeks. This occurred during the second temple period, again well after Moses.

These adapt observance to modern times. Just as the recognition of the Holocaust (27 Nissan) and Tish b'Av (9th of Av) which commemorates the destruction of the temples add to the liturgical calendar presented in the Bible. (see modern Jewish Feasts).

Here is an outline of the list presented. The major categories are mine and are mainly the result of limits in the editing software I am using. The others came from jewfaq.org.

1. G-d and Community
   1. G-d
   2. Torah
   3. Signs and Symbols
   4. Prayer and Blessings
   5. Love and Brotherhood
   6. The Poor and Unfortunate
   7. Treatment of Gentiles
   8. Marriage, Divorce and Family
   9. Forbidden Sexual Relations
   10. Times and Seasons
2. Way of Life
   1. Dietary Laws
   2. Business Practices
   3. Employees, Servants and Slaves
   4. Vows, Oaths and Swearing
   5. The Sabbatical and Jubilee Years
   6. The Court and Judicial Procedure
   7. Injuries and Damages
   8. Criminal Laws
   9. Punishment and Restitution
   10. Prophecy
   11. Idolatry, Idolaters and Idolatrous Practices
   12. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry
   13. Clothing
   14. The Firstborn
3. Many Laws That are Difficult Today
   
   1. Kohanim (Priests) and Levites
   2. T'rumah (offering), Tithes and Taxes
   3. The Temple, the Sanctuary and Sacred Objects
   4. Sacrifices and Offerings
   5. Ritual Purity and Impurity
   6. Lepers and Leprosy
   7. The King
   8. Nazarites
   9. Wars

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Rich, Tracey R. A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) https://www.jewfaq.org/613_commandments 7/1/24

Posner, Yecheskel. What Are the 7 Rabbinic Mitzvahs? https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3495212/jewish/What-Are-the-7-Rabbinic-Mitzvahs.htm 7/4/24

Mitzvah. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzvah 7/4/24

Weisz, R. Eliezer Simcha. Beyond Reason: How Chukkim Safeguard Judaism in a Changing World. https://www.torahmusings.com/2024/07/beyond-reason-how-chukkim-safeguard-judaism-in-a-changing-world/ 9/24/24

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