The Rabbis came to assume that the Law comprised
613 commandments. According to
Rabbi Simlai, as quoted in the Talmud, this enumeration of 613 commandments
was representative of
- 365 negative commandments like the number of days
in the solar year, and 248 positive commandments like the number of bones
in the human body - Talmud, tractate Makkoth
23b
For a time, gematria was a significant feature in
religious thought, and so it became said that 611, the gematria value for
torah, was the number of commandments given via Moses, with the
remaining two being identified as the first commandments of the Ethical
Decalogue, given by the mouth of God Himself.
According to R. Ismael only the principal commandments of
these 613 were given on Mount Sinai, the remainder having been given in the
Tent of Meeting. According to R. Akiba they were all given on Mount Sinai,
repeated in the Tent of Meeting, and declared a third time by Moses before
his death. According to the Midrash, all divine commandments were given on
Mount Sinai, and no prophet could add any new one (Midrash Sifra to
Leviticus 27:34; Talmud, Yoma 80a).
In rabbinic literature there are a number of works,
mainly by the Rishonim, that were composed to determine which commandments
belong in this enumeration:
- Maimonides: Sefer Hamitzvot ("Book of
Commandments") with a critical commentary of Nachmanides;
- Sefer ha-Chinnuch ("Book
of Education"), attributed to Rabbi Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona (the Ra'ah);
- Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Gadol
("Large book of Commandments") by Rabbi Moses of Coucy;
- Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Katan
("Small book of Commandments") by Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil;
- Sefer Yere'im ("Book of
the [God-]fearing") by Rabbi Eliezer of Metz (not a clear enumeration);
- Sefer ha-Mitzvoth by
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the "Chafetz Chaim") - this work only deals
with the commandments that are valid in the present time.
Rabbinical mitzvot
The biblical mitzvot are referred to in the Talmud as
Mitzvot de oraita, translated as commandments of the law. In
contradistinction to this are rabbinical commandments, referred to as
Mitzvot de rabbanan. Among the more important of these latter mitzvot
are:
- The benediction, or thanksgiving for each enjoyment
- Washing of the hands before eating
- Lighting of the Sabbath lamp
- The 'Erub, on preparation for Sabbath transfer
- The Hallel liturgy on holy days
- The Hanukkah lights
- The reading of the Esther scroll on Purim.
These seven rabbinical commandments are treated like
Biblical commandments in so far as, prior to the fulfilment of each, a
benediction is recited:
- Blessed be the Lord who has commanded us ...
The divine command is considered implied in the general
law (Deuteronomy 17:11, and 32:7; Shab. 23a). Many of the ideas concerning
the implication of Biblical mitzvot are only derived via rabbinical
interpretation; for example, the reading of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-7),
the binding of the tefillin and the fixing of the mezuzah (Deuteronomy
8-9), and the saying of grace after meals (Deuteronomy 8:10).
Academic Treatment
Biblically, six differing law codes were given by HaShem,
to Moses, at Mount Sinai:
- The
Ten Commandments.
- The Covenant Code follows, and provides more detailed
laws.
- The Ritual Decalogue, roughly summarising the Covenant
Code, is presented after a brief narrative describing the design for the
Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle.
- The Priestly Code, containing extensive laws
concerning rituals and more general situations is given from above the
mercy seat in the Tabernacle, once the Ark and Tabernacle have been
completed. This code is extended further when events occur not quite
covered by the law, causing Moses to ask Yahweh for greater
clarification.
- The Holiness Code is contained within the Priestly
Code, close to the end, but is a distinct subsection placing particular
emphasis on things which are holy, and which should be done to honour the
holy. It also contains the warnings from Yahweh about what will occur if
the laws are not followed, as well as promises for the event that the
laws are followed.
- The Deuteronomic Code is remembered by Moses, in his
last speeches before death, both covering the ground of prior codes, but
also further laws not recorded earlier, which Moses has, by this point,
remembered.
In biblical criticism, these codes are studied
separately, particularly concerning the features unique, or first
appearing, in each, by atheists, and apologists alike. Nevertheless, many
of the mitzvah enumerated as being from one or other of
these codes are also present in others, sometimes phrased in a different
manner, or with additional clauses. Also, themes, such as idolatry, sexual
behaviour, ritual cleanliness, and offerings of sacrifice, are shared
between all six codes, and thus, in more religiously motivated theological
studies, it is often the case that the mitzvot are organised instead by
theme, rather than the location in which they are found within the bible.
The Mitzvot and Jewish law
-
In rabbinic thought, God's will is the source of, and
authority for, every moral and religious duty. In this way, the Mitzvot
thus constitute the Divinely instituted rules of conduct.
Consequently, while Judaism regards the violation of the mitzvot to be a
sin, Jewish ideas concerning sin differ from those of other
religions. In rabbinic thought, the commandments are usually divided into
two major groups:
- Mandatory laws, mitzvot aseh מצות עשה
- Laws of a prohibitory character, mitzvot lo taaseh
מצות לא תעשה.
The system describing the practical application of the
commandments is known as Halakha, loosely Jewish Law. The
Halakha is the development of the Mitzvot as contained in the written
law, via discussion and debate in the Oral law, as recorded in the
rabbinic literature of the classical era, especially the Mishnah and the
Talmud. Any mitzvah which can only be fulfilled by transgressing another
law is considered unlawful.
The Halakha dictates everything the traditionalist Jew
does from the moment he or she wakes up to the moment they go to sleep. It
is particularly extensive, and so includes codes of behavior applicable to
virtually every imaginable circumstance, as well as many hypothetical ones.
More generally, in Judaism, it is viewed that proselytes, on being
initiated into Judaism, must be familiarized with commandments both of
great and of small importance (Yeb. 47b).
Many of these laws concern only special classes of
people, such as kings or the priesthood, Levites, or Nazarites, or are
conditioned by local or temporary circumstances of the Jewish nation, as,
for instance, the agricultural, sacrificial, and Levitical laws.
The majority view of classical rabbis was that the
commandments will still be applicable and in force during the messianic
era. However, a significant minority of rabbis held that most of the
commandments will be nullified by, or in, the messianic era. Examples of
such rabbinic views include:
- That the grain-offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be
pleasing to God as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. (Malachi
3:4)
- That today we should observe the commandments.
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarah 3a, 4b).
- That today we should observe the commandments, because
we will not observe them in the world to come (Rashi).
- That in the future all sacrifices, with the exception
of the Thanksgiving-sacrifice, will be discontinued. (Midrash Vayikra
Rabbah 9:7)
- That all sacrifices will be annulled in the future. (Tanchuma
Emor 19, Vayikra Rabbah 9:7)
- That God will permit what is now forbidden (Midrash
Shochar Tov, Mizmor 146:5).
- That most mitzvot will no longer be in force.
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Niddah 61b and Tractate Shabbat 151b).
There is no authoritative answer accepted within Judaism
as to which mitzvot, if any, would be annulled in the messianic era.
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