שבע מצוות דרבנן הן שבע מצוות עשה שנקבעו על ידי חז"ל. מניין זה הוזכר לראשונה בספר "כתר תורה" לרבי דוד ויטאל (1536).[1] מאז נזכר בספרים רבים, ואף נוסף למהדורות הנפוצות של ספר החינוך בסוף מניין המצוות. המשותף בין המצוות הנמנות עם השבע הוא בכך שהן מצוות עשה מחודשות, ואינן הרחבה של מצווה קיימת (לדוגמה: מצוות מרור בזמן הזה; יום טוב שני של גלויות).
אש"ר לרע"ך
א - אור (חנוכה) ש - שבת (נר) ר - רנה (הלל) ל - לקריאה (מגילה) ר - רחיצה (נטילת ידיים) ע - ערובין כ - כברכותיך
אש"ר לרע"ך
א - אור (חנוכה) ש - שבת (נר) ר - רנה (הלל) ל - לקריאה (מגילה) ר - רחיצה (נטילת ידיים) ע - ערובין כ - כברכותיך
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Berachos - Reciting Berachos
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Netilas Yadayim - washing your hands
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Eruvin - allowing one to carry within an Eruv and walk further on Shabbos through an Eruv Techumin
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Reciting Hallel on festivals
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Ner Shabbos - Shabbos candles
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Megilla - on Purim
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Chanuka - lighting the Menora.
Chasam Sofer - Parshas Yisro - Asher Lraiacha says that the seven Mitzvos are as follows.
א - Aveilus - Seven days of Aveilus
ש - Simcha - Seven days of Simchas Chasan and Kallah
ר - Rechitza - Netilas Yadayim
ל - Lechem - Not to eat Pas Akum or Bishul Akum
ר - Reshuyos - This is Eruvin which combines Reshuyos
ע - Amalaik - Reading the Megila, which goes on the eradication of haman and the people that were killed on the 13th of Adar, which were from Amalaik
כ - Kohanim - This alludes to the miracle of Chanuka which was established by the Kohanim.
א - Aveilus - Seven days of Aveilus
ש - Simcha - Seven days of Simchas Chasan and Kallah
ר - Rechitza - Netilas Yadayim
ל - Lechem - Not to eat Pas Akum or Bishul Akum
ר - Reshuyos - This is Eruvin which combines Reshuyos
ע - Amalaik - Reading the Megila, which goes on the eradication of haman and the people that were killed on the 13th of Adar, which were from Amalaik
כ - Kohanim - This alludes to the miracle of Chanuka which was established by the Kohanim.
Rabbi Yehoshua Horowitz writes in Shnei Luchot HaBrit in the name of the Kadmonim (early Rabbis), that the 620 letters of the Ten Commandments (613 plus 7) represent the 613 Biblical commands together with the 7 Rabbinical ones.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman, author of Tanya, explains that the 620 Biblical and Rabbinical commands that equal the numerical value of keter, crown, correspond to 620 pillars of light above, revealed through the Torah and the mitzvot.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman, author of Tanya, explains that the 620 Biblical and Rabbinical commands that equal the numerical value of keter, crown, correspond to 620 pillars of light above, revealed through the Torah and the mitzvot.
The 613 Mitzvoth!
מכות כג:א-ב
דרש רבי שמלאי שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה שלש מאות וששים וחמש לאוין כמנין ימות החמה ומאתים וארבעים ושמונה עשה כנגד איבריו של אדם
Rabbi Simlai expounded: “613 commandments were said to Moses, 365 negative commandments, like the days of the year, and 248 positive commandments, corresponding to a person’s limbs.”[5]
אמר רב המנונא מאי קרא (דברים לג, ד) תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה וחד סרי הוי אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי הגבורה שמענום.
Said Rav Hamnuna: “What is the verse? ‘Moses commanded us a Torah’ (Deut. 33:4) – torah in gemaṭria (numerical value of letters) is 611.[6] ‘I am [the Lord your God who brought you out of the Land of Egypt’ and ‘You shall have no other [gods before me]’ (Exod. 20:2-3) we heard from the Almighty.
דרש רבי שמלאי שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה שלש מאות וששים וחמש לאוין כמנין ימות החמה ומאתים וארבעים ושמונה עשה כנגד איבריו של אדם
Rabbi Simlai expounded: “613 commandments were said to Moses, 365 negative commandments, like the days of the year, and 248 positive commandments, corresponding to a person’s limbs.”[5]
אמר רב המנונא מאי קרא (דברים לג, ד) תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה וחד סרי הוי אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי הגבורה שמענום.
Said Rav Hamnuna: “What is the verse? ‘Moses commanded us a Torah’ (Deut. 33:4) – torah in gemaṭria (numerical value of letters) is 611.[6] ‘I am [the Lord your God who brought you out of the Land of Egypt’ and ‘You shall have no other [gods before me]’ (Exod. 20:2-3) we heard from the Almighty.
שִׁיבֵּר אֶת הַלּוּחוֹת, מַאי דְּרַשׁ? אָמַר: וּמָה פֶּסַח, שֶׁהוּא אֶחָד מִשֵּׁשׁ מֵאוֹת וּשְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה מִצְוֹת, אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה ״כׇּל בֶּן נֵכָר לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ״. הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל מְשׁוּמָּדִים — עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
What did he interpret that led him to do so? Moses said: If in the case of the Paschal lamb, which is only one of 613 mitzvot, the Torah states: “No alien shall eat of it” (Exodus 12:43), excluding not only gentiles but apostate Jews as well, then here, in the case of the Golden Calf, where the tablets represent the entire Torah and where the Jewish people are apostates, as they are worshipping the calf, all the more so must they be excluded from receiving them.
Although the Written Torah does not state the exact number of the mitzvot, there is a clear tradition in the Oral Torah that the total is 613. The Talmud
(Makkot 23b) states that God taught Moses 613 mitzvot, 365 negative ones ("don't do X") corresponding to the days of the (solar) year, and 248 positive ones corresponding
to the limbs of the human being. The overall message is that the mitzvot serve the purpose of perfecting mankind, in both the dimensions of space and time.
It should be mentioned that although our tradition states clearly the totals, never does it tell us the precise list. This has engendered much discussion
among the medieval scholars what precisely constitutes the list and the principles for counting mitzvot. For example, should we count the administration of
each of the four types of death penalties as separate commandments or as a single one? The discrepancies are for the most part minor, but the precise
rules for classification require much analysis. Some of the scholars to have compiled their own lists are Maimonides, Nachmanides, and R. Moshe of Coucy (known as SeMaG after his main work).
Another well-known hint to the 613 mitzvot dates from the story of Jacob. When Jacob was returning to the Holy Land from Laban's house in Aram, he sends
Esau a conciliatory message. It began, "I have dwelled (GARTI) with Laban..." (Genesis 32:5). The Midrash ingeniously points out that the Hebrew word
"garti" contains the same letters as "taryag" – the representation of the number 613 in Hebrew letters. Thus, Jacob's implied message was, "With Laban did I dwell,
and the 613 mitzvot I observed." One implication of this is that the Patriarchs observed the Torah long before it was given at Sinai.
(Makkot 23b) states that God taught Moses 613 mitzvot, 365 negative ones ("don't do X") corresponding to the days of the (solar) year, and 248 positive ones corresponding
to the limbs of the human being. The overall message is that the mitzvot serve the purpose of perfecting mankind, in both the dimensions of space and time.
It should be mentioned that although our tradition states clearly the totals, never does it tell us the precise list. This has engendered much discussion
among the medieval scholars what precisely constitutes the list and the principles for counting mitzvot. For example, should we count the administration of
each of the four types of death penalties as separate commandments or as a single one? The discrepancies are for the most part minor, but the precise
rules for classification require much analysis. Some of the scholars to have compiled their own lists are Maimonides, Nachmanides, and R. Moshe of Coucy (known as SeMaG after his main work).
Another well-known hint to the 613 mitzvot dates from the story of Jacob. When Jacob was returning to the Holy Land from Laban's house in Aram, he sends
Esau a conciliatory message. It began, "I have dwelled (GARTI) with Laban..." (Genesis 32:5). The Midrash ingeniously points out that the Hebrew word
"garti" contains the same letters as "taryag" – the representation of the number 613 in Hebrew letters. Thus, Jacob's implied message was, "With Laban did I dwell,
and the 613 mitzvot I observed." One implication of this is that the Patriarchs observed the Torah long before it was given at Sinai.