Mitzvat Aseh 8 - To Match Our Actions with Those of Hashem

The Commandment

Source: Devarim 28:9 - "And you go in His ways" and Devarim 11:22 - "to walk in all His ways".

This mitzvah is quite straightforward. The midrash says on the second Pasuk quoted above:

Just as the Holy One Blessed Be He is called merciful, so too, you should be merciful. Just as the Holy One Blessed Be He is called righteous, so too, you should be righteous. Just as the Holy One Blessed Be He is called kind, so too, you should be kind.

Furthermore, in Devarim 13:5 ("After Hashem, your God, you should walk") the essence here is to emulate the good actions and the important traits that Hashem embodies. By doing so, a great [spiritual] height will be attained by all.

The ending of the Rambam here seems to imply that even one person acting in this way will affect everyone in a positive manner. This may be a direct result of the Midrash quoted above, for you can only be, merciful, righteous, and kind, etc. when involving other people, not just yourself.

There is no commentary on this mitzvah.

Mitzvat Aseh 7 - To Swear in Hashem's Name

The Mitzvah

We are commanded to swear in Hashem's name when it is necessary to support or refute something of significance. By doing so, we come to increase Hashems greatness along with honor and majesty. The source for this Mitzvah is: "U'Vishmo Tishvae'ah, in His Name you shall swear" (Devarim 6:13).

Yet there seems to be a contradiction here since the Torah also says "don't swear". This, Rambam says, is referring to a swear or vow that does not need to be made. In fact, doing such a thing is a negative commandment, and, therefore, a sin. Nevertheless, when the situation demands a swear, a mitzvah is fulfilled.

As such, it is forbidden to swear on any object or entity that is not Hashem, for example the sun, or Moshe Rabbeinu, even though it may be very clear the person making the swear means to say or implies "the Master" of the sun or Moshe (i.e. Heshem). So too, one is unable to join separate objects in a swear with Hashem, for we learn (Talmud Bavli, Tractate Sukkah 45a) that anyone who joins in a swear with Hashem will be uprooted from this world.

Lastly, this Mitzvah comes to explain what we learn in Tractate Temurah 3a: How do we know that one who swears fulfills (will fulfill) the mitzvah? For the Torah says: "U'Vishmo Tishvae'ah, in His Name you shall swear".

The Commentary

Ramban makes three points which I was able to understand:

1. The Mitzvah to swear in His Name stems from the same basic idea we've seen before. That is, to do what we can to serve and love Hashem. If a swear will keep us honest to perform accordingly, one may be made.
2. This Mitzvah, like the one before it (Dveikut, clinging) is repeated once more in the Torah. This raises a problem because in point #1, Ramban downgraded Mitzvah #7 to a Reshut, one step below obligatory, and no Mitzvot Reshuyot (non-obligatory Mitzvot) are repeated. Therefore, Ramban says, the second iteration of this Mitzvah falls under the category of prohibitions against Avodah Zarah (Idol/Foreign Deity worship). Rambam himself supports this idea when requiring that one may not include other objects along with the swear.
3. The Midrash Rabi Tanchuma pretty much precludes this Mitzvah from ever being performed. The midrash says that the only way we would be able to make a swear in Hashem's name is if one met all of the criteria outlined in the context of the pasuk it is mentioned in, namely to fear Him and serve him (and later on, to cling to Him). But as we learned before, "Hashem is a consuming fire", preventing us from meeting all of the conditions. Now, even if we follow what we learned about clinging to Talmidei Chachamim instead, and make those items the criteria, it is still impossible for us to determine who is and is not a Talmid Chacham in Hashem's eyes. Ramban continues even further excluding the possibility of of fulfilling this mitzvah saying that the Mitzvah may have been repeated to warn us not to do it, even when all of the conditions are met.

It is for these reasons that Ramban does not include this Mitzvah in his count.

Mitzvat Aseh 6 - To cling to Talmidei Chachmim (Wise Men in Torah)

The Mitzvah

The 6th positive mitzvah commands us to "stick to", or follow, those who are wise in Torah knowledge. To accomplish this, we must frequent their Yeshivot (study halls of Torah), and do everything possible to be part of their chevra (group of friends). We must also do our best to eat, drink and work along with them, so that we come to model our behavior after them. By doing so, we will come to understand the true ideas, thoughts and notions of the Torah from their words. This is what Hashem meant when Moshe said in Parshat Eikev: "to Him you shall cleave" (Devarim 10:20). Further in that same parsha (Torah portion, Devarim 11:22), Moshe once again reiterates "to cleave to Him", which Rambam says, is another reference to spending time with Talmdei Chachamim. (Also see Mishneh Torah Hilchot De'ot 6:2).

This commandment leads to other practical things we are obligated to do in our lives, namely to marry the daughters of Talmidei Chachamim and to marry our daughters to Talmidei Chachamim. Furthermore, we should feed them and give them work (sustenance).

Why is the commandment to cling to Hashem fulfilled by working with Talmidei Chachamim and not by ways more directly connected to serving Hashem?

The answer comes from a gemara in Tractate Ketubot (111b) which asks: Is it possible to cling to the divine presence? For the pasuk says: Hashem your God is a consuming fire! Rather, if you do as written above (follow the Talmidei Chachamim) it is considered as if you have clung to the divine presence itself.

There is no commentary on this commandment.

Mitzvat Aseh 5 - To Serve Hashem

(Editor's note: I will be beginning with the 5th mitzvah (commandment), which is where I was up to when I decided to start the project)

The Mitzvah

The fifth mitzvah aseh (positive commandment) that the Rambam outlines is our obligation to serve Hashem. Rambam decides to include this mitzvah in his general count, even though he also considers it to be one of the principal commandments, and therefore generally would not be included in the general count. Although Ramban (Nachmonides) will disagree, Rambam says that the reason for its second inclusion is that this mitzvah also carries along with it the obligation of prayer. Additionally, it may come to include the commandment to learn Torah as a form of service to Hashem. The rest of Maimonides' comments on this mitzvah contain the primary (Torah) source for the commandment and supporting texts from the Midrash and Nevi'im (prophets).

The Commentary

Ramban, the main commentary on the Sefer HaMitzvot, immediately takes issue with Rambam's insistence that prayer is biblically mandated. The Talmud (Tractate Berachot 21a and Sukkah 38a) makes it quite clear that prayer (meaning Shmoneh Esrei, the eighteen blessing cornerstone of all Jewish prayer) is only rabbincally required to be performed.

To this end, Ramban tries to figure out Rambam from the other extreme. Perhaps Maimonides is trying to say that any type of prayer is a mitzvah, not necessarily the Shmoneh Esrei. But even with this assumption, it is difficult to understand the Rambam since this approach would effectively make all our prayers Torah obligated, and we would therefore run into the same issue we had in the previous paragraph, only in a more extreme way. Even more complicating would be figuring out when this general requirement of prayer would be performed: daily, weekly, once in a lifetime (see Tractate Shabbat 11a)?

Therefore, says the Ramban, it is quite clear there is no obligation of Tefillah, prayer, from the Torah.

On this note, Ramban states that the mitzvah of avodah (service) is that when we do our acts of prayer and service they must be done with all of our heart, i.e. with Kavanah, or concentration. This commandment is telling us to not do a mitzvah without the proper intention and attention, and certainly not to do it if there is a doubt whether you are required to perform that specific mitzvah. This notion is similar to how we are commanded to love Hashem with all of our heart, soul and resources.

The Ramban now moves on to discuss the midrash that Rambam brought in his listing of Mitzvah Five. Ramban asks if this midrash is brought as a support for Rambam's approach to the mitzvah, or is it an actual detailing of what the mitzvah involves? For Ramban, it becomes quite clear that Maimonides brings the midrash to support his outline of the mitzvah, since there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to support both the commandment of prayer in the time of need and Torah learning, as well as the commandment to do Hashem's mitzvot, and therefore a midrash is not needed to detail the individual aspects of the commandment to serve Hashem. With these issues now out of the way, what is the essence of Rambam's mitzvah? Temple service, which is the only place we are able to fully serve Hashem in the proper, Torah, way.

About this project

Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvot is Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon's listing of the 613 commandments contained within the Torah. The first half of his book details the guidelines he used in determining which commandments make the 613.

The number 613 itself is a little interesting in that it is derived from a Ma'amar Chazal (a saying of our Rabbis) based on a pasuk (verse) in Devarim Perek 33:4. Here, the pasuk tells us "Moshe commanded us the Torah". In Tractate Makot 23b, after Rabi Simlai states that there are 613 commandments in the Torah, Rav Hamnuna supports this by taking the numerical equivalent of the word "Torah" (611) and saying that the remaining two were heard from Hashem directly.

Learning this exposition of the commandments is something that intrigues me and interests me. This is by no means a translation, nor is it approved by any Halachic, or Jewish means, rather an adventure in Harbatzat Torah (increasing Torah learning). Nevertheless, I'll try my hardest to remain true to the text, and I welcome your comments and corrections. Please let me know what you think, and I look forward to sharing this journey with you.