Although it is an accepted tradition that there are 613 Mitzvos in the Torah, the Torah itself does not enumerate them. Thus, fascinatingly, there are actually different opinions as to what exactly is counted and what is not counted. There were Halachic authorities prior to the Rambam who counted the Mitzvos which the Rambam understood to be mistaken.

So, before he embarked on the colossal task of “Mishneh Torah,” his magnum opus, spanning 14 volumes, detailing all the intricacies of the Mitzvos, he first needed to identify what indeed are the actual 613 Mitzvos.

The Rambam begins his Sefer Hamitzvos with an introduction of what motivated him to write this book. He then explains the guiding principles (“Shoroshim” (lit. roots), or sometimes referred to as “Klolim”) which he used to conclude what in fact is counted as a Biblical commandment, and what should not be included in the list of 613 commandments. There are 14 principles which he identified as key to this determination.

In the “Moreh Shiur” (the daily lesson plan¹ i.e., a guide on which Mitzvos should be learned on a particular day) – for the first day of the cycle, there is a section of the Rambam’s introduction that is selected to be studied on the first day of the cycle. This is the PDF download, titled “Introduction.”

On the second, third and fourth day of the cycle, the “Moreh Shiur” reads “Shoroshim,” implying that one is to study the principles over those 3 days. However, these principles are in-depth and extensive. The Rebbe suggested that on these first 3 days of the cycle, one should begin studying the principles, to the best of one’s abilities, and the remainder which one has not managed to learn on these days, should be divided to learn [and completed] over the following days, when the daily Mitzvah is shorter. (This is in addition to the study of the daily mitzvos which are scheduled for those days.)

For the last forty study-cycles, English-speaking learners have had to suffice with a brief synopsis of both the Introduction and Principles.

Now, for the very first time, Chayenu is making available the full, undiluted “Shoroshim” which will give you the full learning experience of Sefer Hamitzvos, uncompromised.

Sefer HaMitzvos Introduction

Sefer HaMitzvos Shoroshim

The PDF download is an excerpt from the recently published Sefer HaMitzos by Moznaim Publication. We are thankful for their permission to share it for you. To purchase the beautiful, new 2-volume set (Vol. 1 – Introduction, Shoroshim and Positive Commandments, vol. 2 – Negative Commandments.) visit: moznaim.com