613 Commandments

The 613 commandments (Hebrew: תרי"ג מצוות‎: taryag mitzvot, "613 Mitzvot"; Biblical Hebrew: Miṣwoth) is the number of mitzvot listed in the Torah, first codified by Rabbi Simlai in Talmud Makkot 23b.

These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called connections or commandments (mitzvot) and referred to collectively as the "Law of Moses" (Torat Mosheh, תורת משה), "Mosaic Law," "Sinaitic Law," or simply "the Law". The word mitzvot is plural; singular is mitzvah.

Although there have been many attempts to codify and enumerate the commandments contained in the Torah, the traditional view is based on Maimonides' enumeration. The 613 commandments comprise of "positive commandments", to perform an act (mitzvot aseh), and "negative commandments", to abstain from certain acts (mitzvot lo taaseh). The negative commandments number 365, which coincides with the number of days in the solar year, and the positive commandments number 248, a number ascribed to the number of bones and main organs in the human body (Babylonian Talmud, Makkot 23b-24a). Though the number 613 is mentioned in the Talmud, its real significance increased in later medieval rabbinic literature, including many works listing or arranged by the mitzvot. Three types of negative commandments fall under the yehareg ve'al ya'avor, meaning "One should let oneself be killed rather than violate it". These are murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual relations.

The 613 mitzvot have been divided into three general categories. A category of mitzvoth are called Mishpatim. These include commandments that are deemed to be self-evident, such as not to murder or not to steal. Another category of mitzvot are called Edot ("testtimonies"). They stand as testimonies in religious branches of Judaism. For example, the Shabbath is said to testify to the story that Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day and declared it holy. A third category of mitzvot are called Chukim. These commandments have no known rationale, and are perceived as pure manifestations of the Divine will.

Many of the mitzvot cannot be observed now, following the destruction of the Second Temple, although they still retain religious significance. According to one standard reckoning, there are 77 positive and 194 negative commandments that can be observed today, of which there are 26 commands that apply only within the Land of Israel. Furthermore, there are some time-related commandments from which women are exempt (examples include shofar, sukkah, lulav, tzitzit and tefillin). Some depend on the special status of a person in Judaism (such as kohanim), while others apply only to men and others only to women.