Crafting the 613 Commandments : Maimonides on the Enumeration, Classification, and Formulation of the Scriptural Commandments

Friedberg, Albert D.

Crafting the 613 Commandments : Maimonides on the Enumeration, Classification, and Formulation of the Scriptural Commandments - Academic Studies Press 20140201

Open Access

Rabbinic tradition has it that 613 commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but it does not specify those included in the enumeration. Maimonides methodically and artfully crafts a list of 613 commandments in a work that serves as a prolegemenon to the Mishneh Torah, his monumental code of law. This book explores the surprising way Maimonides put this tradition to use and his possible rationale for using such a tradition. It also explores many of the philosophical and ethical ideas animating the composition of such a list. In the book's second half, Friedberg examines the manner by which Maimonides formulated positive commandments in the Mishneh Torah, leading him to suggest new dimensions in Maimonides' legal theory.


Creative Commons


English

j.ctt21h4wf8 9781618118486

10.2307/j.ctt21h4wf8 doi


Judaism: sacred texts

Theology & Religion Rabbinic texts Maimonides Jewish philosophy Mishneh Torah Jewish law