The ceremony that concludes the Sabbath day, as well as the conclusion of the holidays of the year, is called havdala - "separation." The central idea that this ceremony signifies is the clear message of Judaism that, as far as spiritual matters are concerned, not everything is to be treated equally. One of the glaring weaknesses of current Western society and politics is its tendency towards moral equivalency. The victim and the perpetrator, the aggressor and the one who defends himself, the normal and the abnormal, are all somehow to be treated equally. There is no standard of right and wrong, good and bad, justified behavior and unwarranted actions present in much of our modern world. Everything is purely relative. This absence of differences flies in the face of Jewish traditional values that are careful to delineate levels of morality, goodness and holiness. It is this ability to separate and delineate, to judge carefully and recognize differences that lie at the basis of Judaic practice, ritual, Torah study and worldview. It is the havdala ceremony that most clearly illustrates this facet of Jewish thought and behavior.

The havdala ceremony contains a text that expresses this idea simply and completely. It remarks upon the differences between light and dark, between the holy and the profane, between the sanctity of the Sabbath day and the days of the workaday week. It also refers to the uniqueness of the Jewish people and acknowledges the concomitant uniqueness of the covenant that binds Israel to its G-d. It strengthens the idea of the Sabbath by separating it from the other days of the week and emphasizing its special status as the symbol of the Jewish concept of time and of G-d as the Creator of the universe. This understanding of the Sabbath day as the center point of Jewish time and as the source of the holiness of time itself is further reinforced by the inclusion in the havdala service of the ritual of smelling sweet spices in order to "restore our souls." The Jewish tradition is that on the Sabbath each of us receives an extra measure of spirituality - "an extra soul" - and sanctity. When the Sabbath departs, so does this "extra soul." To alleviate this sense of loss, which I can personally attest to as being real, and restore our spirits, the rabbis promoted the custom of introducing the fragrance of the sweet smelling spices into the havdala service.

As with many other Jewish rituals, the havdala service and blessings are conducted over a cup of wine. Wine is the drink of importance in Jewish tradition and therefore lends an aura of solemnity and importance to the accompanying ritual itself. Another custom that forms part of the havdala service is the blessing of thanks for fire. This blessing is recited over a candle with many wicks commonly marketed as a "havdala candle." This candle is currently available in a great variety of shapes and colors and has lately become the object of much creative artistry, especially in Israel. Jewish legend tells us that the invention of fire by man, the basic requirement for any sort of technical progress in civilization, occurred on the night after the first Sabbath. Thus the "havdala candle" also symbolizes man’s unending and innate drive to create, invent and attempt to make life physically more comfortable. As such, it serves as the proper introduction to the week of work and labor that follows the end of the Sabbath day. It is the harbinger of the "good week" to come.

The traditional Jewish greeting one person to another on Saturday nights is "Good Week". Thus, the Jewish greetings for the week’s events are two - "Good Sabbath" or Shabbat Shalom and "Good Week". In reality, that pretty much sums up the cycle of time in the week, if not even of Jewish life itself.

A British philanthropist, Moshe Shimon Cohen, is funding trips to Israel for thousands of "hareidim" (ultra-Orthodox Jews). Entire "yeshivot" and their rabbinical staff will be brought to Israel for two-month stays, with room and board entirely at Mr. Cohen’s expense. The one "payment" expected of participants in the project, called We Will Do and We Will Hear, is a prayer offered at the "Kotel" (the Western Wall) at least once a day.

Most of the yeshiva students will be staying at hotels in Jerusalem, the Eitz HaZayit and Neventhal, that have nearly shut their doors due to the current lack of tourism. There will be a smaller group staying in Tiberias, where their "payment" will be daily prayers at the Tomb of Rabbi Meir "Baal Haness". The first group of 250 yeshiva "bochurs" have already arrived in the country.

Our Sedra are chock-full of "mitzvot" - more than 50. Remember, however, that not only is every "mitzvah" a "mitzvah", each one is also an opportunity for spiritual growth. Each one is also a lesson to be learned in how G-d runs the world.

The Torah tells us that a murderer is liable for the death penalty. Yet, if the slaying is accidental, if "Elokim causes it to come to his hand," then the person guilty of manslaughter is not executed. Rather, he flees to a City of Refuge and must reside there.

This phrase, v’Elokim eena l’yado (and G-d causes it to come to his hand), is curious. Why not just say that the death was accidental? Why, is "Hashem" (G-d) suddenly being brought into the picture? "Chazal" (our sages) explain that therein lies G-d’s cosmic system of justice. Nothing ever happens "by accident." There is a rhyme and a reason to the flow of history - both individual and collective history. One who was killed "accidentally" deserved his fate. His killer, in turn, was selected as the instrument of justice, for he too had a debt to pay. In the final analysis, though we can rarely see the whole picture, justice and fairness prevail, and "Tzedek" (righteousness) reigns. The word eena in the above phrase, says Rashi, means, "prepared." All is prepared by the Master Planner in Heaven.

by Rabbi Berel Wein

If it is true that clothes make the man, it is apparently doubly true that clothes make the kohen (priest), especially the kohen gadol - the High Priest of Israel. The description of the garments to be worn by the kohanim and the kohen gadol during their hours of service in the Temple is specific, detailed and inspirational. Each of the garments has a specific purpose aside from the obvious one of clothing the kohen. The garments described were meant to be a source of honor and glory, not only to those who wore them but for the Temple and for the service of the G-d of Israel as well. Because of this purpose, the great commentators to the Torah searched for the symbolic, even mystical, meanings and lessons represented by the priestly garments. For, apparently, to understand the message of the garments of the priests would allow for a greater understanding and appreciation of the entire concept of service to G-d as defined by the Torah.
The Torah describes not only the garments of the priests and of the kohen gadol but also outlines the order of dress for the installation of the kohen gadol into his lofty public position. The Torah points out that, of necessity, the lower part of the body must first be covered. In the process of dressing, the final piece of clothing that the kohen gadol donned was the tzitz - the golden plate which bore the name of G-d in relief upon it and which the kohen gadol tied to his forehead. The lesson here is simple and obvious and certainly not limited to the kohen gadol or to the Temple service. The lesson is that one should not proclaim one´s own G-dliness, to flaunt the name of G-d, so to speak, brazenly on one´s forehead, unless one is certain that the lower part of one´s body – one’s everyday, mundane, human behavior is covered with the proper ethics and modesty that the Torah ordains. There are many who rush to place the tzitz on their forehead but there are few who realize that in order to be entitled to do so all of the other pieces of clothing of one´s life need be covered properly and in good moral order.

The Talmud teaches us that the tzitz had the power to bring about enormous forgiveness for the public sins of Israel. It could restore purity and holiness to the Temple and its public worship and sacrificial service. By proclaiming openly Israel´s loyalty and dedication to the service of the Lord, the tzitz clearly delineated the priorities in the both the public and private sectors of Jewish life. Worn properly by the right person - the true kohen gadol, who is the heir of Aharon not only genetically but morally and spiritually as well - the tzitz became a statement of the Jewish dedication to the service of G-d and man and the pursuit of holiness in human life. Again, a tzitz worn by a person who is otherwise improperly clothed is of little value. All of Jewish history proves the accuracy of this conclusion.

Finally, the idea of proper dress, dress that brings honor and glory to those who wear clothing and to the society that views that clothing, is central to Jewish life and values. Clothes that are provocative, that are vulgar and insulting to others, that are physically immodest and meant to attract anti-social response, are all frowned upon by Jewish tradition. There need not be specific uniforms in the Jewish street (though I must admit that Jews apparently love to wear specific uniforms to identify themselves and their attachment to a particular group), but modest, clean, attractive dress should be the rule for our society. In that sense, perhaps we can all agree that clothes do make the Jew.

What does it mean to be a Jew living according to Torah? Traditionally, it is said that a Torah-observant Jew is one who observes all the 613 mitzvot (commandments). click here

If you were to sit down and count all the commands in the Torah, you would find rather more than just 613, perhaps less; and different people might arrive at different totals depending on what they counted as a separate command.

Furthermore, not all of the "official" 613 mitzvot are stated as imperatives. A classical one in this category, over which there is some discussion among the commentators, but which is listed as an imperative in the "official" enumeration of the mitzvot is the one to establish a monarchical government in sovereign Eretz Yisrael. The Torah itself only lists this as a voluntary option. We read (Deuteronomy 17:14): "If, when you have entered the land that G-d, your G-d, has given you...and you decide: ‘I will set a king over me as do all the nations about me,’ then you shall set a king over yourself..."

Most important of all, no single person can observe all 613 mitzvot, and in our time not even the entire Jewish people together can do so. This is because some mitzvot apply only when the Temple is standing and the Temple service is conducted; some obligate only women and some obligate only men; some mitzvot apply only to kohanim (priests) and Levites, and some only to the Yisrael category; and some apply only to particular circumstances that do not occur to everyone.

The Torah commands 613 mitzvot: 365 prohibitions - one for each day of the year, and 248 prohibitions - one for each limb and organ of the human body. Each limb and organ says: Use me to perform the holy act commanded by G-d; each day tells us: Do not commit that transgression during my tenure.

David compressed the essence of those 613 commands to eleven, as we read (Psalms 15:1-5): "A Psalm of David: G-d, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle; who shall sit on your holy mountain? He who conducts himself uprightly, does what is right, and speaks truth from his heart; who does not use his tongue for slander, does no evil to his fellow, nor tells against his neighbor; who despises vile people and honors those who fear G-d; who swears to his own hurt and does not retract; does not lend his money at interest, and does not take bribes against the innocent..."

Isaiah (33:15) compressed it to six, as written: "...He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, despises the gains of exploitation, recoils from taking bribes, shuts his ears to murderous talk, and avoids gaping at evil..."

Micah (6:8) compressed it to three: "You have been told what is good and what G-d wishes of you: Only to act justly, to cherish hessed (loving kindness), and conduct yourself humbly before your G-d."

Isaiah (56:1), again, compressed it to two: "...Be sure to render justice and to act righteously..."

Amos (5:4) and Habakkuk (2:4) compressed the 613 Mitzvot to one single command: Amos: "Seek G-d and live," and Habakkuk: "A tzaddik (righteous person) is one who lives according to his professed faith."

Then, of course, there is the Sage Hillel’s reply to the heathen who asked him to teach the whole Torah "on one foot" - i.e. by summing it up in a single principle. Hillel told the man (Shabbat 31a): "Do not do to others what you hate to have done to you. This is the sum of the Torah - the rest is elaboration."

Hillel added a vital admonition that is usually ignored by those who reject the Torah but like to quote Hillel. He concluded the statement to the heathen with the words: "Go and learn it."

1. Procreation - "Be fruitful and multiply" (1:1:28)

2. Circumcision (1:17:10)

3. Not to eat the thigh muscle (1:32:33)

4. To sanctify the new month (2:12:2)

5. To slay the Paschal Lamb (2:12:6)

6. To eat the Paschal Lamb on the night of Passover (2:12:8)

7. Not to eat the Paschal Lamb under-roasted or boiled (2:12:9)

8. Not to leave over any of the flesh of the Paschal Lamb to the next day (2:12:10)

9. To remove leavened bread from our dwellings on the 14th day of Nissan (2:12:15)

10. To eat unleavened bread (Matzah) on the 15th of Nissan (Passover night) (2:12:18)

11. Not to have leavened bread in our possession during Passover (2:12:19)

12. Not to eat anything which has leaven in it during Passover (2:12:20)

13. Not to let an apostate eat of the Passover offering (2:12:43)

14. Not to let a foreign resident or hired servant eat of the Passover offering (2:12:45)

15. Not to take any of the flesh of the Passover offering outside of the home (2:12:46)

16. Not to break any bone of the Passover offering (2:12:46)

17. Not to let any uncircumcised male eat of the Passover offering (2:12:48)

18. To sanctify the firstborn both man and beast in the land of Israel (2:13:2)

19. Not to eat leavened bread on Passover (2:13:3)

20. Not to let any leaven within our borders during Passover (2:13:7)

21. To recount the Exodus from Egypt on the first night of Passover (2:13:8)

22. To redeem a firstborn donkey (2:13:13)

23. To break the neck of an unredeemed first born donkey (2:13:13)

24. Not to go beyond the permitted boundaries on the Sabbath (2:16:29)

25. To believe in G-d (2:20:2)

26. To believe in no divinity other than the Eternal G-d (2:20:3)

27. Not to make a graven image (2:20:4)

28. Not to prostrate oneself in idol-worship (2:20:5)

29. Not to worship an idol in the way that it is worshipped (2:20:5)

30. Not to take the name of the L-rd in vain (swearing) (2:20:7)

31. To remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy (2:20:8)

32. Not to do any work on the Sabbath (2:20:10)

33. To honor one’s father and mother (2:20:12)

34. Not to kill (2:20:13)

35. Not to commit adultery (2:20:13)

36. Not to steal (not to kidnap a Jewish person) (2:20:13), (5:24:7), (2:21:16)

37. Not to bear false witness (2:20:13)

38. Not to covet another’s possessions (2:20:14)

39. Not to make a human form even for decorative purposes (2:20:20)

40. Not to build an altar of hewn stones (2:20:22)

41. Not to go up by steps to the altar (2:20:23)

42. To abide by the laws of the Hebrew servant (2:21:2)

43. To designate the Hebrew maidservant for betrothal (2:21:8)

44. To redeem a Hebrew maidservant (2:21:8)

45. The one who buys a Hebrew maidservant may not sell her (2:21:8)

46. Not to withold the rights due to one’s wife (2:21:9)

47. To put to death by strangulation, a man who commits an act for which strangulation is the prescribed penalty (2:21:12)

48. Not to strike one’s father or mother (2:21:15)

49. To execute the laws of fines (2:21:18), (3:24:19)

50. To put to death by decapitation a man who commits an act for which decapitation is the prescribed penalty (2:21:20)

51. To judge damages by domestic animals (2:21:28)

52. Not to eat the flesh of any animal which is senteneced to death by stoning (2:21:28)

53. To judge damages by a pit (2:21:33)

54. To impose proper payment by a thief (2:21:37)

55. To judge damages caused by domestic animals grazing or trampling (2:22:4)

56. To judge damage by fire (2:22:5)

57. To judge cases involving an unpaid watchman (2:22:6)

58. To judge the case of a plaintiff and a defendant (2:22:8)

59. To judge cases involving a paid watchman or one who leases (2:22:9)

60. To judge cases involving one who borrows an object for use (2:22:13)

61. To judge the case of a seducer (2:22:15)

62. Not to let a witch live (2:22:17)

63. Not to offend the stranger (2:22:20)

64. Not to oppress the stranger in matters of monetary value (2:22:20)

65. Not to afflict the orphan and the widow (2:22:21)

66. To lend money to the poor (2:22:24)

67. Not to be demanding of a poor man unable to pay his debt (2:22:24)

68. Not to have any business with a loan made at interest (2:22:24)

69. Not to curse a judge (2:22:27)

70. Not to curse G-d (blasphemy) (2:22:27), (3:24:16)

71. Not to curse a ruler of your people (2:22:27)

72. Not to separate from produce in improper order (2:22:28)

73. Not to eat the flesh of an animal torn by beasts (2:22:30)

74. Not to hear a litigant in court when his opponent is absent (2:23:1)

75. A sinner should not give testimony (2:23:1)

76. Not to follow a majority of one in a capital case (2:23:2)

77. One judge should not blindly follow the view of a greater judge or of the majority (2:23:2)

78. To follow the majority in legal decisions (2:23:2)

79. Not to take pity on a poor man in judgement ( 2:23:3)

80. To help unload another persons burden (2:23:5)

81. Not to pervert justice for a sinner (2:23:6)

82. Not to decide a capital case on probability (2:23:7)

83. A judge is not to take a bribe (2:23:8), (5:27:25)

84. To leave ownerless all that the land will grow in the seventh year (shmittah) (2:23:11)

85. To rest on the Sabbath day (2:23:12)

86. Not to swear by an idol (2:23:13)

87. Not to lead Israelites astray into idolatry (2:23:13)

88. To celebrate the pilgramage festivals (2:23:14)

89. Not to slay the Paschal lamb while there is leaven in our possession (2:23:18)

90. Not to let the fat of the Paschal sacrifice remain overnight (2:23:18)

91. To bring the first-fruits to the Holy Temple (2:23:19)

92. Not to cook meat in milk (2:23:19)

93. Not to make a treaty with the seven nations to be extirpated, or with any idol-worshipper

94. Not to have idol-worshippers settle in our land (2:23:33)

95. To build the Holy Temple (2:25:8)

96. Not to remove the poles of the ark from it (2:25:15)

97. To arrange the show-bread on the table (2:25:30)

98. To kindle the menorah in the sanctuary (2:27:21)

99. For the Kohanim (priests) to wear special clothing (2:28:4)

100. That the breastplate not come loose from the ephod (2:28:28)

101. Not to rend the meil of the Kohanim (priests) (2:28:32)

102. For the Kohanim (priests) to eat the flesh of the sin-offering and of the guilt-offering (2:29:33)

103. To burn incense (2:30:7)

104. Not to offer up anything strange on the altar of gold (2:30:9)

105. To give one-half shekel every year (2:30:13)

106. To wash the hands and feet every time the Kohen enters the Temple to do his service (2:30:19), (2:30:20)

107. To make the anointing oil (2:30:25)

108. Not to anoint a common man with the anointing oil (2:30:32)

109. Not to make anointing oil according to the description in the Torah (2:30:32)

110. Not to make incense according to the description in the Torah (2:30:37)

111. Not to eat or drink of anything that has been offered up to an idol (2:34:12), (2:34:15)

112. To let the land lie fallow in the seventh year (shmittah) (2:34:21), (3:25:5)

113. Not to eat meat and milk that were cooked together (2:34:26)

114. Not to carry out judgements on the Sabbath day (2:35:3)

115. To sacrifice the burnt-offering according to its laws (3:1:3)

116. To perform the meal-offering as it is mentioned in the Torah (3:2:1)

117. Not to offer up leaven or honey (3:2:11)

118. Not to offer up a sacrifice without salt (3:2:13)

119. To salt all offerings (3:2:13)

120. For the high court (Sanhedrin) to bring an offering if it erred in a ruling (3:4:13)

121. For an inadvertent transgressor to bring a sin-offering for certain sins (3:4:27)

122. To bear witness in court (3:5:1)

123. To bring a guilt-offering of greater or lesser value for certain sins (3:5:6)

124. Not to separate the head of a bird brought as a sin-offering (3:5:8)

125. Not to put olive-oil in an unintentional sinner’s meal-offering (3:5:11)

126. Not to put frankincense in an unintentional simmer’s meal offering (3:5:11)

127. To add 1/5 of the value in paying for sanctified food that was eaten (3:5:16)

128. To offer a suspended guilt-offering for doubtful guilt (3:5:17), (3:5:18)

129. To offer a certain guilt-offering for definite guilt (3:5:23), (3:5:24), (3:5:25)

130. To return property taken in robbery (3:5:23)

131. To remove the ash from the altar (3:6:3)

132. To kindle the fire on the altar (3:6:6)

133. Not to extinguish fire on the altar (3:6:6)

134. To eat the remainders of meal-offerings (3:6:9)

135. Not to make the remainders of meal-offerings become leavened (3:6:10)

136. The kohen gadol should bring a meal-offering twice a day (3:6:13)

137. The meal-offering of a kohen should not be eaten (3:6:16)

138. The precept of the sacrifice of the hattath (3:6:18)

139. Not to eat of any hattath whose blood is sprinkled within (3:6:23)

140. The precept of the sacrifice of the ‘asham (3:7:1)

141. The precept of the sacrifice of sh’lamim (3:7:1)

142. Not to let the flesh of a todah be left over (3:7:15)

143. The precept of burning leftover remnants of sacred offerings (3:7:17)

144. The prohibition against piggul, "vile meat" (3:7:18)

145. That the flesh of defiled holy offerings is not to be eaten (3:7:19)

146. The precept of burning hallowed flesh that became defiled (3:7:19)

147. Not to eat helev, forbidden animal fat (3:7:23)

148. That we should not eat the blood of any beast or fowl (3:7:26)

149. The kohanim may not enter the holy temple with hair grown long (3:10:6)

150. The kohanim are not to enter the holy temple in torn clothing (3:10:6)

151. The kohanim are not to leave the Temple during their sacred service (3:10:7)

152. After drinking wine a kohen should not enter the Sanctuary, and no one is to give a ruling (3:10:9)

153. To examine the signs of animals which determine if they are kosher (3:11:2)

154. The prohibition against eating any non-kosher animal (3:11:4)

155. The precept of examining the signs of fish to see if they are kosher (3:11:9)

156. The prohibition against eating non-kosher species of fish (3:11:11)

157. The prohibition against eating non-kosher species of fowl (3:11:13)

158. The precept of examining the signs of locusts, if they are kosher (3:11:21)

159. The ritual uncleanness of eight low crawling creatures (3:11:29)

160. The precept of the ritual uncleanness of food (3:11:34)

161. The precept of the ritual uncleanness of animal carcasses (3:11:39)

162. The prohibition against eating creatures that swarm on the earth (3:11:41)

163. The prohibition against eating minute insects engendered in grains and fruits (3:11:42)

164. The prohibition against eating creatures that swarm in the water (3:11:43)

165. The prohibition against eating swarming creatures engendered in decay (3:11:44)

166. The precept about the ritual uncleanness of a woman after childbearing (3:12:2) (3:12:5)

167. A ritually unclean person is not to eat meat of holy sacrifices (3:12:4)

168. The precept of a woman’s offering after giving birth (3:12:6)

169. The precept regarding the ritual uncleanness of a m’tzora (3:13:2)

170. The prohibition against shaving the area of a nethek (3:13:33)

171. That one with a tzara’ath condition, et al. should rend his clothes (3:13:45)

172. The precept of tzara’ath in cloth (3:13:47)

173. The precept that ritual cleansing from tzara’ath affliction should be through certain ingredients (3:14:2)

174. The shaving of a healed m’tzora on the seventh day (3:14:9)

175. The precept of ritual immersion for cleansing the defiled (3:14:9)

176. The precept of the offering of a m’tzora, when he is healed (3:14:10)

177. The ritual uncleanness of a house contaminated with tzara’ath infection (3:14:35)

178.On the ritual uncleanness of a man with a gonorrheal discharge (3:15:2)

179. On the offering by a man with a gonorrheal discharge, when he is healed (3:15:13)

180. On the ritual uncleanness of seminal fluid (3:15:16)

181. The precept of the ritual uncleanness of a menstruant (3:15:19)

182. On the ritual uncleanness of a woman with an irregular discharge (3:15:25)

183. On the offering by a woman with an irregular discharge, when she recovers (3:15:28)

184. That the kohanim should enter the inner Sanctuary only for the Temple service (3:16:2)

185. The precept of the Temple service on the Day of Atonement (3:16:3)

186. Not to ritually slay holy offerings outside the Sanctuary forecourt (3:17:3)

187. The precept of covering the blood in the ritual slaying of an animal (3:17:13)

188. The prohibition of pleasure with any woman ranked as ‘ervah (3:18:6)

189. The prohibition on uncovering the nakedness of one’s father (3:18:7)

190. The prohibition on uncovering one’s mother’s nakedness (3:18:7)

191. The prohibition on conjugal intimacy with one’s father’s wife even if she is not his mother (3:18:8)

192. Not to uncover a sister’s nakedness, if she is one’s sister in any way (3:18:9)

193. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with the daughter of a son (3:18:10)

194. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with a daughter’s daughter (3:18:10)

195. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with a daughter (3:18:10)

196. The prohibition of conjugal relations with a sister on the father’s side who is the father’s wife’s daughter (3:18:11)

197. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with a father’s sister (3:18:12)

198. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with a mother’s sister (3:18:13)

199.The prohibition of carnal relations with a father’s brother (3:18:14)

200. The prohibition of conjugal relations with the wife of a father’s brother (3:18:14)

201. The prohibition of conjugal relations with the wife of a son (3:18:15)

202. The prohibition of conjugal relations with a brother’s wife (3:18:16)

203. The prohibition of conjugal relations with both a woman and her daughter (3:18:17)

204. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with both a woman and her son’s daughter (3:18:17)

205. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with both a woman and her daughter’s daughter (3:18:17)

206. The prohibition of conjugal relations with two sisters while both are alive (3:18:18)

207. The prohibition of conjugal intimacy with a menstruous woman (3:18:19)

208. Not to give any of our children to the idol Molech (3:18:21)

209. The prohibition of carnal relations with any males (3:18:22)

210. The prohibition of carnal relations with animals (3:18:23)

211. The prohibition of carnal intimacy by a woman with an animal (3:18:23)

212. The mitzvah of reverence for father and mother (3:19:3)

213. Not to turn astray after idol-worship in thought or word (3:19:4)

214. To make no idol, for oneself or for anyone else (3:19:4)

215. The prohibition of eating left-over meat or sacrifices (3:19:6)

216. The mitzvah of leaving an edge of one’s field unreaped, for the poor (3:19:10)

217. Not to reap the very last end of one’s field (3:19:9)

218. The precept of leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the poor (3:19:10)

219. Not to gather stalks of grain that fell away during the harvest (3:19:9)

220. The precept of leaving a part of a vineyard unreaped, for the poor (3:19:10)

221. The prohibition of reaping absolutely all the fruit of a vineyard (3:19:10)

222. The precept of leaving fallen grapes in a vineyard, for the poor (3:19:10)

223. The prohibition of gathering the fallen grapes in a vineyard (3:19:10)

224. The prohibition on the theft of anything of value (3:19:11)

225. Not to deny it when something of value that belongs to another is in our possession (3:19:11)

226. Not to swear over a false denial about something of value (3:19:11)

227. The prohibition against swearing falsely (3:19:12)

228. Not to withhold another person’s property wrongly (3:19:13)

229. The prohibition against committing robbery (3:19:13)

230. That payment of a hired man is not to be delayed (3:19:13)

231. The prohibition on cursing any Jew, man or woman (3:19:14)

232. Not to make a trusting person stumble through misleading advice (3:19:14)

233. Not to pervert justice in a civil judgment (3:19:15)

234. Not to honor an eminent person at a trial (3:19:15)

235. The precept that a judge should render judgment with righteousness (3:19:15)

236. The prohibition on gossiping slanderously (3:19:16)

237. Not to stand idly by when someone’s blood is shed (3:19:16)

238. The prohibition against hating one’s brethren (3:19:17)

239. The religious duty to rebuke a fellow-Jew for improper behavior (3:19:17)

240. The prohibition against shaming a Jew (3:19:17)

241. The prohibition against taking revenge (3:19:18)

242. The prohibition against bearing a grudge (3:19:18)

243. The precept of affection for a fellow-Jew (3:19:18)

244. The prohibiton on mating two animals of different species (3:19:19)

245. Not to sow different kinds of seed together, etc. in the land of Israel (3:19:19)

246. Not to eat the first three years’ produce of a tree (3:19:23)

247. The precept of the fruit of a tree’s fourth year (3:19:23)

248. Not to eat or drink in the manner of a glutton or drunkard (3:19:26)

249. The prohibition against practising augury (3:19:26)

250. The prohibition against the practice of conjuring (3:19:26)

251. The prohibition against rounding off the temples of the head (3:19:27)

252. The prohibition against marring the edges of the beard (3:19:27)

253. The prohibition against inscribing any tattoo in one’s flesh (3:19:28)

254. The precept of reverent awe for the Sanctuary (3:19:30)

255. The prohibition against acting as an ‘ov--a medium (3:19:31)

256. Not to function as a yid’oni, a kind of wizard (3:19:31)

257. The mitzvah of honoring wise scholars (3:19:32)

258. The prohibition against cheating with any kind of measure (3:19:35)

259. The precept that scales, weights and measures should be made correct (3:19:36)

260. The prohibition against cursing one’s father or mother (3:20:9)

261. The precept that whoever incurs death by burning is to be burned (3:20:14)

262. The prohibition against following customer and ways of the Amorites (3:20:23)

263. An ordinary kohen should make himself ritually unclean only at the death of certain relatives (3:21:1)

264. That a kohen should defile himself, and a Jew should mourn, for a deceased close relative (3:21:3)

265. That a kohen defiled for a day who undergoes ritual immersion should not serve at the Sanctuary till sunset (3:21:6)

266. That a kohen is prohibited from marrying a wanton (3:21:7)

267. That a kohen is prohibited from marrying a profaned woman (3:21:7)

268. That a kohen is prohibited from marrying a divorced woman (3:21:7)

269. The precept of the sanctification of Aaron’s descendants (3:21:8)

270. That a kohen gadol is prohibited from entering the tent of a dead man (3:21:11)

271. That a kohen gadol should not make himself ritually unclean over any dead man (3:21:11)

272. The precept that the kohen gadol should take a virgin for a wife (3:21:13)

273. That a kohen gadol is prohibited from marrying a widow (3:21:14)

274. That conjugal intimacy with a widow is forbidden a kohen gadol (3:21:15)

275. That a kohen with a blemishing defect should not serve at the Sanctuary (3:21:17)

276. That a kohen with a temporary blemish is forbidden to serve at the Sanctuary (3:21:21)

277.That a kohen with a blemishing defect is not to enter the holy Temple (3:21:23)

278. That a ritually unclean kohen is forbidden to serve at the holy Temple (3:22:2)

279. That a ritually unclean kohen is forbidden to eat t’rumah (3:22:4)

280. That any and every non-kohen is forbidden to eat t’rumah (3:22:10)

281. That neither a permanent nor a temporary Hebrew slave of a kohen is to eat t’rumah (3:22:10)

282. That an uncircumcised person is forbidden to eat t’rumah (3:22:11)

283. That a profaned woman is forbidden to eat hallowed food (3:22:12)

284. Not to eat tevel--produce from which g’rumah and the tithes were not separated (3:22:15)

285. The prohibition of consecrating blemished animals for offerings (3:22:20)

286. That an animal offering is to be whole, without blemish or disfigurement (3:22:21)

287. That we should not make a blemishing defect in consecrated animals (3:22:21)

288. Not to sprinkle the blood of defective animals on the altar (3:22:22)

289. The prohibition on ritually slaying defective animals for holy offerings (3:22:22)

290. That we should not burn the portions for the altar from defective animals (3:22:22)

291. Not to emasculate any creature out of all the animal species (3:22:24)

292. Not to offer up a defective offering received from a heathen (3:22:25)

293. The precept that an animal offering should be at least eight days old (3:22:27)

294. The prohibition against ritually slaying both an animal and its young in one day (3:22:28)

295. To do nothing by which the Divine name will be profaned or desecrated among men (3:22:32)

296. The mitzvah of sanctifying the Almighty’s name (3:22:32)

297. The precept of resting from work on the first day of Passover (3:23:7)

298. The prohibition of doing work on the first day of Passover (3:23:7)

299. The precept of the musaf offering all the seven days of Passover (3:23:8)

300. The precept of resting from work on the seventh day of Passover (3:23:8)

301. The prohibition against doing work on the seventh day of Passover (3:23:8)

302. On the offering of the ‘omer of barley on the second day of Passover (3:23:10)

303. To eat nothing of the new crop of cereal grains before the end of the 16th of Nissan (3:23:14)

304. To eat no parched grain from the new crop till the end of the 16th of Nissan (3:23:14)

305. To eat no fresh grain from the new crop until the end of the 16th of Nissan (3:23:14)

306. The precept of counting the ‘omer (3:23:15)

307. The precept of the meal-offering of new wheat on Shavu’oth (3:23:16)

308. The precept of resting from work on Shavu’oth (3:23:21)

309. The prohibition against doing work on the Shavu’oth festival (3:23:15)

310. The precept of resting from work on Rosh Hashanah (3:23:24)

311. The prohibition of doing work on Rosh Hashanah (3:23:24)

312. The precept of the musaf offering on Rosh Hashanah (3:23:24)

313.The precept of fasting on the tenth of Tishri (3:23:27)

314. The precept of the musaf offering on the Day of Atonement (3:23:27)

315. The prohibition against doing work on the tenth of Tishri (3:23:27)

316. The prohibition against eating or drinking on the Day of Atonement (3:23:29)

317. The precept of resting from work on the Day of Atonement (3:23:32)

318. The precept of resting from work on the first day of Sukkoth (3:23:35)

319. The prohibition against doing work on the first day of Sukkoth (3:23:34)

320. The precept of the musaf offering on each day of Sukkoth (3:23:36)

321. The precept of resting from work on the eighth day of Sukkoth (3:23:36)

322. The precept of the musaf offering on the eighth day of Sukkoth (3:23:36)

323. The prohibition against doing work on the eighth day of Sukkoth (3:23:36)

324. The precept of taking up the lulav on the first day of Sukkoth (3:23:40)

325. The mitzvah of dwelling in a sukkah (3:23:42)

326. The prohibition against working the earth during the sabbatical year (3:25:4)

327. The prohibition of doing work on trees during the sabbatical year (3:25:4)

328. The prohibition against harvesting what grows wild in the sabbatical year (3:25:5)

329. Not to gather the fruit of trees in the sabbatical year as it is generally gathered (3:25:5)

330. The precept of counting seven septennates--cycles of seven years (3:25:8)

331. The precept of sounding the shofar on the Day of Atonement in a jubilee year (3:25:9)

332. The precept of sanctifying the jubilee year (3:25:10)

333. The prohibition against farming the land in a jubilee year (3:25:11)

334. That we should not harvest wild-growing produce in a jubilee year (3:25:11)

335. Not to gather the fruit of trees in the ordinary way during a jubilee year (3:25:11)

336. The precept of effecting justice between buyer and seller (3:25:14)

337. The prohibition against wronging anyone in buying and selling (3:25:14)

338. The prohibition against oppressing a Jew with words (3:25:17)

339. The prohibition against selling a field permanently in the land of Israel (3:25:23)

340. The precept of returning land to its original owner at the jubilee (3:25:24)

341. The precept of redeeming heritage land in a walled city within a year (3:25:29)

342. Not to alter the open land around the Levites’ cities, or their fields (3:25:34)

343. The prohibition against lending at interest (3:25:37)

344. That we should not have a Hebrew manservant do contemptible work like a heathen slave (3:25:39)

345. The prohibition of selling a Hebrew manservant at the slaves’ selling-block (3:25:42)

346. Not to work a Hebrew manservant at hard labor (3:25:43)

347. The precept of keeping a heathen slave permanently (3:25:44)

348. Not to let a heathen put a Hebrew manservant to harsh work (3:25:53)

349. The prohibition against prostrating ourselves on a figured stone (3:26:1)

350. The precept of one who vows a person’s valuation, that he should give his prescribed price (3:27:2)

351. The prohibition against exchanging animals consecrated for holy offerings (3:27:10)

352. That if one exchanges an animal consecrated for an offering, both animals are consecrated (3:27:10)

353. The precept that one who vows an animal’s valuation should give as the kohen values it (3:27:11)

354. That if one vows the evaluation of a house he should give the kohen’s valuation plus a fifth (3:27:14)

355. That if one vows a field’s valuation, he should give the value set by scripture (3:27:16)

356. The prohibition against changing consecrated animals from one kind of offering to another (3:27:26)

357. The precept that if one vows a herem on property of his, it goes to the kohanim (3:27:28)

358. That land put under a herem by its owner is not to be sold but to be given to the kohanim (3:27:28)

359. The precept that land under a vow of herem is not to be redeemed (3:27:28)

360. The precept of the tithe of permissible domestic animals to be given every year (3:27:32)

361. That the tithe of animals is not to be sold but only eaten in Jerusalem (3:27:33)

362. The precept of sending the ritually unclean outside the camp of the shechinah (4:5:2)

363. That a ritually defiled person should not enter anywhere in the Sanctuary (4:5:3)

364. The precept of confession over sins (4:5:6)

365. The precept of sotah, a straying woman suspected of infidelity (4:5:12)

366. To put no oil in the meal-offering of a sotah (4:5:15)

367. To put no frankincense in the meal-offering of a sotah (4:5:15)

368. That a nazir is forbidden to drink wine or any strong wine drink (4:6:3)

369. That a nazir is prohibited from eating fresh grapes (4:6:3)

370. That a nazir is prohibited from eating dried grapes (4:6:3)

371. That a nazir is prohibited from eating grape seeds (4:6:4)

372. That a nazir is forbidden to eat grape skins (4:6:4)

373. That a nazir is prohibited from shaving his hair all his days as a nazir (4:6:5)

374. The precept of letting a nazir’s hair grow long (4:6:5)

375. That a nazir should not enter a dead man’s tent (4:6:6)

376. That a nazir should not become defiled by a dead person or any other uncleanness (4:6:7)

377. The precept of shaving a nazir’s hair and bringing his offerings (4:6:13)

378. The precept of the blessing of the kohanim every day (4:6:23)

379. The precept of carrying the holy Ark on the shoulders (4:7:9)

380. The precept of the "Second Passover" offering on the 14th of Iyar (4:9:11)

381. That the "Second Passover" offering is to be eaten with matzah and bitter herbs (4:9:11)

382. To leave over nothing of the second Passover offering until the next day (4:9:12)

383. The prohibition against breaking any of the bones of the second Passover offering (4:9:12)

384. The precept of sounding trumpets at the Sanctuary and in battle (4:10:9)

385. The precept of hallah, a portion of dough set aside for the kohen (4:15:20)

386. The precept of tzitzith, tassels on a four-cornered garment (4:15:38)

387. Not to go straying after one’s heart and eyes (4:15:39)

388. The precept of guarding the Sanctuary (4:18:4)

389. That the kohanim should not do the Levites’ sacred tasks, nor vice-versa (4:18:3)

390. That one who is not a kohen should not work at the Sanctuary (4:18:4)

391. Not to put an end to the guarding of the Sanctuary (4:18:5)

392. The precept of redeeming a firstborn human child (4:18:15)

393. Not to redeem the firstling of a kosher domestic animal (4:18:17)

394. The precept of the Levite’s service at the Sanctuary (4:18:23)

395. The precept of the first tithe, for the Levites (4:18:24)

396. The obligation of the Levites to give a tithe of the tithe (4:18:26)

397. The precept of the red heifer (4:19:2)

398. The precept of the ritual uncleanness of the dead (4:19:4)

399. The precept of the lustral water, that it defiles a ritually clean man and purifies only one defiled by the dead (4:19:19)

400. The precept of the laws of inheritance (4:27:8)

401. The precept of the regular ’olah offering, sacrificed every day (4:28:2)

402. The precept of the musaf offering of the Sabbath (4:28:9)

403. The precept of the musaf offering every new-month-day (4:28:11)

404. The precept of the musaf offering on the Shavu’oth festival (4:28:26)

405. The precept of the shofar on Rosh Hashana (4:29:1)

406. The precept of the law of nullifying vows (4:30:3)

407. That we should not break our word in vows that we make (4:30:3)

408. To give the Levites cities to dwell in,

and to give refuge to the unintentional manslayer (4:35:2)

409. Not to execute a guilty person who deserves death, before he stands trial (4:35:12)

410. The duty of the court to make an unintentional killer go to a city of refuge and his duty to go there (4:35:25)

411. That a witness who testifies in a trial for a capital crime should not speak in judgment (4:35:30)

412. To take no ransom to save a killer from his death sentence (4:35:31)

413. To take no ransom from someone sentenced to banishment, to free him from it (4:35:32)

414. Not to appoint any judge who is unlearned in the Torah, even if he is generally learned (5:1:17)

415. That a judge presiding at a trial should not fear any evil man (5:1:17)

416. Not to desire what belongs to our fellow-Jews (5:5:18)

417. The precept of the oneness of the Eternal Lord (5:6:4)

418. The precept of love for the Eternal Lord (5:6:5)

419. The precept of Torah study (5:6:7)

420. The mitzvah of reciting the Sh’ma every morning and evening (5:6:4)

421. The precept of the T’fillin of the hand (5:6:8)

422. The precept of the T’fillin of the head (5:6:8)

423. The precept of the m’zuzah on the doorpost (5:6:9)

424. Not to test a true prophet to an undue degree (5:7:16)

425. The precept of killing out the seven nations (5:7:2)

426. To show no mercy to idol-worshippers (5:7:2)

427. To form no marital bonds with idol-worshippers (5:7:3)

428. Not to derive benefit from any ornamentation of an idol (5:7:25)

429. Not to take any object from idolatry into our possession, to derive benefit from it (7:7:26)

430. The precept of blessing the Almighty for the food we receive (5:8:10)

431. The precept of love for converts to Judaism (5:10:19)

432. The precept of reverent awe for the Eternal Lord (5:10:20)

433. The precept of prayer to the Almighty (5:10:20)

434. The mitzvah of associating with Torah scholars and adhering to them.

435. That whoever needs to take an oath should swear by the name of the Eternal Lord (5:10:20)

436. The precept to destroy an idol and all that serves it (5:12:2)

437. Not to erase holy writings or written names of the Holy One, nor destroy the Temples of holy worship (5:12:4)

438. To bring all obligatory or voluntary offerings at the first pilgrimage festival that comes along (5:12:5)

439. The prohibition against sacrificing holy offerings outside the Sanctuary (5:12:13)

440. The precept to sacrifice all offerings at the Sanctuary, and not anywhere outside it (5:12:14)

441. To redeem animals consecrated for offerings which become blemished (5:12:15)

442. The prohibition against eating the second tithe of grain outside Jerusalem (5:12:17)

443. The prohibition against consuming the second tithe of wine outside Jerusalem (5:12:17)

444. The prohibition against consuming the second tithe of oil outside Jerusalem (5:12:17)

445. The prohibition against eating an unblemished firstborn animal outside Jerusalem (5:12:17)

446. Not to eat of a hattath or an ‘asham outside the Holy Temple (5:12:17)

447. Not to eat the flesh of an ‘olah, a burnt-offering (5:12:17)

448. Not to eat of offerings of lesser holiness before their blood is sprinkled on the alter (5:12:17)

449. That the kohanim should not eat bikkurim before they are set down in the ‘azarah, the Sanctuary grounds (5:12:17)

450. Not to neglect the Levites by failing to give them their gifts, etc. (5:12:19)

451. The precept of shehittah, ritual slaying (5:12:21)

452. Not to eat a limb or part taken from a living animal (5:12:23)

453. To attend to bringing an animal offering from another land to the Sanctuary (5:12:26)

454. The prohibition against adding to the precepts of the Torah (5:13:1)

455. Not to diminish the precepts of the Torah in any way (5:13:1)

456. To pay no heed to anyone prophesying in the name of an idol or idolatry (5:13:4)

457. To have no affection for an enticer to idolatry (5:13:9)

458. Not to relinquish hatred for an enticer to idolatry (5:13:9)

459. Not to rescue from death an enticer to idol-worship (5:13:9)

460. That someone enticed to idolatry should not speak in favor of the enticer (5:13:9)

461. That a person enticed to idol-worship should not refrain from speaking out against the enticer (5:13:9)

462. Not to entice an Israelite toward idol-worship (5:13:12)

463. The precept of examining witnesses thoroughly (5:13:15)

464. The precept of burning a city gone astray into idolatry (5:13:17)

465. Not to rebuild to its former condition a city gone astray into idolatry (5:13:17)

466. To derive no benefit from the wealth of a city gone astray into idolatry (5:13:18)

467. The prohibition against gashing oneself as idol-worshippers do (5:14:1)

468. Not to cause baldness, tearing the hair in grief over the dead (5:14:1)

469. Not to eat holy animal offerings that became disqualified (5:14:3)]

470. The religious duty of examining the marks of a fowl, if it may be eaten (5:14:11)

471. To eat no unclean, non-kosher locusts, nor any winged insects (5:14:19)

472. Not to eat the flesh of any kosher animal that died of itself (5:14:21)

473. The precept of the second tithe (5:14:22)

474. The precept of the tithe for the poor, in place of the second tithe in the third year (5:14:28)

475. Not to demand payment for a loan over which the seventh year, sh’mittah, has passed (5:15:2)

476. The precept of exacting a loan rigorously from a heathen (5:15:3)

477. The precept of relinquishing money owed in the seventh year (5:15:3)

478. Not to refrain from sustaining a poor man and giving him what he needs (5:15:7)

479. The mitzvah of charity (5:15:8)

480. That we should not avoid lending money to the poor because of sh’mittah (5:15:9)

481. Not to send away a Hebrew manservant empty-handed when he goes free (5:15:13)

482. The precept of giving a bonus to a Hebrew manservant at his discharge (5:15:14)

483. To do no work with animals consecrated for offerings (5:15:19)

484. Not to shear animals consecrated for offerings (5:15:19)

485. Not to eat hametz after noon on the day before Passover (5:16:3)

486. Not to leave over till the third day any flesh of the festival offering at Passover (5:16:4)

487. Not to offer up the Passover offering on an individual’s provisional altar (5:16:5)

488. The precept of being happy on the pilgrimage festivals (5:16:14)

489. The precept to appear on the pilgrimage festivals at the Sanctuary (5:16:16)

490. Not to go up to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage festival without an animal offering (5:16:16)

491. The precept of appointing judges and officers in every single community in Jewry (5:16:18)

492. The prohibition against planting trees in the Sanctuary (5:16:21)

493. The prohibition against erecting an idolatrous pillar (5:16:22)

494. Not to present as an offering an animal with a temporary blemish (5:17:1)

495. The religious duty to heed every great sanhedrin, in every period (5:17:10)

496. Not to disobey the word of the great beth din--the sanhedrin (5:17:11)

497. The precept of appointing a king over us (5:17:15)

498. Not to appoint anyone king over the people of Israel but an Israelite (5:17:15)

499. That the king should not acquire an unduly great number of horses (5:17:16)

500. Not to ever dwell in the land of Egypt (5:17:16)

501. That the king should not take himself an unduly large number of wives (5:17:17)

502. That the king should not amass gold and silver inordinately, but only what he needs (5:17:17)

503. The king’s obligation to write one Torah scroll more than other Israelites (5:17:18)

504. That the tribe of Levi should have no inheritance of land in Israel (5:18:1)

505. That the tribe of Levi should take no share of booty in the conquest of the land (5:18:1)

506. The precept of giving the foreleg, cheeks and maw of an offering to the kohen (5:18:3)

507. The religious duty of separating the great t’rumah--the kohen’s portion from produce (5:18:4)

508. The precept of the first of the fleece, that it should be given to the kohen (5:18:4)

509. The precept that the kohanim should serve at the Sanctuary in watches, and all together at the festivals (5:18:6)

510. The prohibition against the practice of divination (5:18:10)

511. Not to practice sorcery (5:18:10)

512. The prohibition against employing charms (5:18:10)

513. Not to consult an ‘ov, a kind of medium (5:18:10)

514. The prohibition against consulting a yid’oni, a kind of wizard

515. The prohibition against making any enquiry of the dead (5:18:10)

516. The precept to heed every prophet, in every generation, provided he changes nothing in the precepts of the Torah (5:18:15)

517. The prohibition against prophesying falsely (5:18:20)

518. The prohibition against prophesying in the name of an idol (5:18:20)

519. Not to refrain from putting a false prophet to death, and not to be afraid of him (5:18:22)

520. The precept to prepare six cities of refuge (5:19:3)

521. To have no mercy in corporeal judgment on a person who has inflicted injury (5:19:13)

522. The prohibition against over-reaching a boundary (5:19:14)

523. Not to pass judgment on the word of one witness (5:19:15)

524. The precept to do to scheming witnesses as they intended to have done to their victim (5:19:19)

525. Not to quail in fear before an enemy in battle (5:20:8)

526. The precept to anoint a kohen for war (5:20:8)

527. The precept to act in a war of choice according to the rules of scripture (5:20:10)

528. To let no one in the seven nations of Canaan stay alive (5:20:16)

529. Not to destroy fruit-trees in setting siege--and so is any needless destruction included in the ban (5:20:19)

530. The precept of beheading the heifer in a riverbed (5:21:1)

531. Not to plow or sow in the coursing riverbed where the heifer was beheaded (5:21:4)

532. The precept of the law of a "beautiful woman"--captured in war (5:21:11)

533. The prohibition against selling a "beautiful woman" captured in war (5:21:14)

534. Not to make a "beautiful woman" work as a slave after conjugal intimacy with her (5:21:14)

535. The precept of the law of hanging someone after his execution, when required (5:21:22)

536. That someone hung should not be left overnight on the gallows, etc. (5:21:23)

537. The precept of burial for someone executed by court order, and so for every deceased person (5:21:23)

538. The religious duty of returning a lost object to its owner (5:22:1)

539.Not to turn a blind eye to a lost object (5:22:3)

540. Not to leave the beast of one’s fellow-man lying under its burden (5:23:4)

541. The precept of lifting up a load for an Israelite (5:23:4)

542. That a woman is not to wear a man’s finery (5:22:5)

543. That a man is not to wear a woman’s finery (5:22:5)

544. Not to take the mother-bird with the young in a nest (5:22:6)

545. The precept of sending the mother-bird away from the nest (5:22:7)

546. The religious duty of building a parapet (5:22:8)

547. Not to leave a stumbling-block (keep a dangerous object) about (5:22:8)

548. Not to sow mixed kinds of seeds in a vineyard in Israel (5:22:9)

549. Not to eat the produce of mixed seeds in a vineyard in Israel (5:22:9)

550. Not to do work with two kinds of animals together (5:22:10)

551. Not to wear cloth of wool and linen (5:22:11)

552. The precept of marriage to a woman (5:22:13)

553. The precept that the wife of one who spreads an evil report--that she was immoral--is to remain with him permanently (5:22:19)

554. That a man who spreads an evil report--that she was immoral--is never to divorce his wife (5:22:19)

555. The duty of the court to have anyone who merits stoning, stoned to death (5:22:24)

556. Not to punish anyone compelled to commit a transgression (5:22:26)

557. The duty of a rapist to take his victim for a wife (5:22:29)

558. That a rapist is not ever to divorce his victim (5:22:29)

559. That an emasculated man is not to take any Israelite woman in marriage (5:23:2)

560. That a bastard from an adulterous or incestuous union should not marry any Jewish woman (5:23:3)

561. That no Ammonite or Moabite may marry an Israelite woman (5:23:4)

562. Not to ever offer peace to Ammon or Moab (5:23:7)

563. Not to exclude the progeny of Esau from intermarrying with Israelites, after they convert, past two generations (5:23:8)

564. Similarly, to exclude an Egyptian only up to the third generation, not including the third (5:23:8)

565. That a ritually unclean person should not enter the camp of the Levites (5:23:11)

566. The precept to prepare a place of easement in a camp (5:23:13)

567. The precept to prepare a boring-stick--a space, for easement--in a camp (5:23:14)

568. Not to return a slave who fled from his master abroad, into the land of Israel (5:23:16)

569. Not to oppress this slave who flees from his master abroad into the land of Israel (5:23:17)

570. That there should be no "harlot" in Jewry, no woman conjugally intimate out of wedlock (5:23:18)

571. Not to bring the wage of a harlot or the exchange-price of a dog as a holy offering (5:23:19)

572. Not to borrow at interest from an Israelite (5:23:20)

573. The precept of lending to a heathen at interest if he needs a loan, but not so to an Israelite (5:23:21)

574. Not to be tardy with vowed and voluntary offerings (5:23:22)

575. The religious duty of fulfilling whatever goes out from one’s lips (5:23:24)

576. Our duty to allow a hired worker to eat certain things while under hire (5:23:25)

577. That a hired man should not raise a sickle to his fellow-man’s standing grain (5:23;25)

578. That a hired hand is forbidden to eat from his employer’s crops during work (5:23:26)

579. The precept that one who wants to divorce his wife should do so with a proper document (5:24:1)

580. That a divorced man should not take back his ex-wife after she has remarried (5:24:4)

581. That a bridegroom is not to be taken from home for long during the entire first year of marriage (5:24:5)

582. The precept that a bridegroom should rejoice with his wife in their first year (5:24:5)

583. Not to take in pledge any objects used in preparing life-sustaining food.

584. Not to pluck out signs of tzara’ath affliction (5:24:8)

585. Not to take an object in pledge from a debtor by force (5:24:10)

586. Not to withhold a pawned object from its owner when he needs it (5:24:12)

587. The religious duty of returning a pledged object to its owner when he needs it (5:24:13)

588. The precept of giving a hired man his due pay on his day--when he has earned it (5:24:15)

589. That a near relation of a person in a court trial should not give testimony (5:24:16)

590. Not to pervert justice in regard to a proselyte or an orphan (5:24:17)

591. Not to take anything in pledge from a widow (5:24:17)

592. The precept of leaving forgotten sheaves (5:24:19)

593. Not to take a forgotten sheaf of grain or forgotten fruit of trees (5:24:19)

594. The precept of whiplashes for the wicked (5:25:2)

595. Not to add to the whiplashes due someone who merits flogging; so likewise not to strike any Jew (5:25:3)

596. Not to muzzle a domestic animal during its work (5:25:4)

597. That a yevamah should not marry anyone but the yavam (5:25:5)

598. The precept of Levirate marriage (5:25:5)

599. The precept of halitzah, to release a childless widow (5:25:9)

600. The religious duty to save a person pursued by a killer (5:25:12)

601. To have no mercy on a pursuer with intent to kill (5:25:12)

602. That we should not keep deficient scales or weights with us even if we will not use them in trading (5:25:13)

603. The religious duty to remember what Amalek did to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt (5:25:17)

604. The precept to eradicate the progeny of Amalek (5:25:18)

605. That we should not forget the deed of Amalek which he wrought upon our forefathers when they came out of Egypt (5:25:19)

606. The precept of the recital over first-fruits (5:26:5)

607. The precept of the avowal over the tithes (5:26:13)

608. Not to eat of the second tithe while in grief over the death of close kin (5:26:14)

609. The prohibition against eating second tithe when ritually unclean (5:26:14)

610. Not to spend the exchange-money of second tithe on anything but food and drink (5:26:14)

611. The precept to emulate the good and right ways of the Eternal Lord (5:28:9)

612. The precept to assemble the entire people to hear the Torah read, after the seventh year (5:31:12)

613. The religious duty for every Jew to write a Torah scroll for himself (5:31:19)

I am just wondering. All day and all night I am wondering when this is going to end.

Every day I make the promise to myself to do everything that I can. I am trying to be strong, strong, strong. I struggle every second to turn my despair into fervor - for my learning, for my davening (prayer) - for everything in my life to be l´shem shamayim (for the sake of Heaven). I am getting off the couch of America and moving to Israel. "Kol dodi dofek…" ("The sound of my Beloved is at the door" – from the Song of Songs). I hear it! Loud and clear… and I am running to the door. Yet I feel as if I am running alone. In fact, at times I feel as if I open the door only to face myself pointing out that whatever I am doing is just not good enough. Is this evidence of weakness, a lack of faith? So be it. This loneliness is a pain that is like no other, a loneliness that is trying to drown me. I have not succeeded in bringing anyone else to the door and therefore I have done nothing at all. So I try harder and reach out to others in the best way that I can. I speak to hundreds of people and pour my heart out to them. I tell them about my life, describing intimate moments of pain and joy that have brought me to where I am now. I expose my soul to total strangers and for a moment I feel as if I have perhaps done something by doing so.

Is it not clear that there has been a letter sent "to every province to destroy, to kill, to annihilate all the Jews - both young and old, little children and women - and to take the spoil of them for plunder" (from Megilat Esther)? What was the response of Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) to Haman’s plans for the month of Adar? "There was a great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing." Why should this Adar be any different? Esther risked her life, approached Achashverosh and asked "How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" That question should ring loudly in our ears every second. We must ask ourselves if we would do the same as Esther did. Are we not bothered when a person is killed, maimed, beaten, shot, stabbed? How long does it take for us to go back to our self imposed distractions after hearing of another loss of life? There is no greater absurdity then to pray for redemption while continuing to ignore what is happening every day and to submerge ourselves in our own lusts. Nothing will ever happen unless we realize that.

It starts from within and continues on to our homes, to our friends and to our environment. It must not stop, nor rest until we have touched as many people as we can. Even as Haman recounted the glory of the riches bestowed upon him by the king, he proclaimed "This avails me nothing as long as I see Mordechai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate." Once again, we are facing that same proclamation and we must respond accordingly. We cannot give in to despair, we cannot allow ourselves to become numb. There must be crying, there must be mourning, we must "gather together, stand up for ourselves" (from the Megilah) in any way we can. Everything we do helps.

I am witness to people doing amazing things every day, as I’m sure we all are. Yet it is simply not enough. As Rabbi Milston, the Rosh Yeshiva says, we must "dig and dig the wells of Avraham Avinu, Abraham our Father, who dug wells in Israel. The Plishtim (Philistines) filled them in, so Yitzchak came and dug them again. They filled them in again and so Yitzchak dug again, but yet again his objectives were quashed. However, Yitzchak did not relent, he kept on digging until he reached Rehovot, until they stopped challenging his legitimate right to live in peace on his own land."

If we truly take it upon ourselves to work harder, to dig – never to rest, not for one moment - then this Adar as well will turn "from sorrow to joy, from mourning to holiday." Then, when we finally open the door, together, we will find G-d showing us an end to this horror.

Our sages teach: "When the month of Adar arrives, our joy increases."

The holiday of Purim expresses a profound spiritual revelation. It is the day that most succinctly expresses the Holy One’s unbounded love for His people Israel. Even Yom Kippur, the great day of atonement and reconciliation, reflects only a shadow of the spiritual radiance that shines forth on Purim, as reflected in its Hebrew name Yom haKippurim, "a day like Purim." Yet Purim can be seen as a day of enigma and paradox. The Scroll of Esther, which tells of the Jewish people’s miraculous deliverance from the wicked Haman, does not mention the name of G-d even once. Yet this anomaly offers us more than just an insight into the nature of the Purim miracle, it challenges us to comprehend a deeper understanding of our relationship with G-d.

This week, all of Israel will be celebrating Purim. Each year, as the holiday draws closer, our children grow restless in anticipation and excitement, preparing their costumes and making plans for holiday fun. These days, pre-Purim joy is not such an easy commodity to muster and is muted for most Israelis – to say the least – while more than a few homes are literally draped in mourning. This year children are more restless than ever, but now it is with grief over their friends and relatives who have fallen and with anxiety over whether or not to leave the house.

How did the Jews in ancient Persia feel? After all, the lots that determined they should all be killed in Adar, had been cast almost a year earlier, during the previous month of Nisan (Esther 3:7). Thus the Jews had a full eleven months to mull their fate and to receive the taunts and goads of their neighbors, their partners in co-existence, who most certainly took every opportunity to remind them, in every chance curbside meeting, "Know that in another few months… in another few weeks… we are going to slaughter you all." A central factor in Haman’s plot was to foment incitement against the Jewish people. He reasoned that once he won over the local populace, he would have no trouble enlisting their help in annihilating them. One element his diatribe focused on was the Jews’ practices in the Holy Temple (Esther Rabba 7:13). Haman declared: "…And after King David, his son Solomon rose up and built the Holy Temple for them, and I have no idea what was going on inside. When the Jews prepare to go out and do battle, first they go in there and do their witchcraft. Then they go forth from the Temple, murdering people and destroying the world."

So, Haman suggested, it is worthwhile to kill them now, in advance, before they succeed in rebuilding their Temple. The Jews, for the sake of peace and like good "partners for peace," tried to cooperate. So they attended the lavish banquet hosted by King Achashverosh. Yet, at the banquet, Achashverosh made a mockery of everything holy to the Jews by brazenly donning the priestly garments and eating from the sacred Temple vessels. The Jews were honored to have been invited to the party; thus they sat by and did not protest this desecration of G-d’s honor. In truth, it was only on account of their participation in this meal that the decree was made against them. Indeed, the struggle to rebuild the Holy Temple lies at the center of the Purim story.

When Haman’s decree was announced, the Jewish people were profoundly affected. A change took place. They fully realized their error and cried out to G-d with sincere repentance. If until then they had forgotten the Holy Temple, its desire was reawakened within them. Our sages teach that G-d only allowed Haman to ascend to greatness in order to better publicize his downfall, to make an example for all to see of the end that awaits Israel’s enemies. The righteous Mordechai and Esther did not consider the possibility that Haman might be a partner in "the peace of the brave." They knew that with those who plot to destroy the Jewish people, there could be no possibility of going back to talk peace. Instead, our people became focused and united, and repented, committing themselves totally to "accept that which they had previously started (Esther 9:23)." G-d then intervened in the twinkling of an eye, and "the evil which Haman planned against the Jews was returned upon his own head (ibid. v. 25)."

Our ancestors who experienced that first Purim were surely perplexed. Where was G-d to be found? Were they then to fall victims to Haman’s evil? Had they been abandoned? Never. Just as His name is not to be found in the Scroll of Esther, so too, they did not at first perceive His presence in their predicament. Like our children who celebrate the miracle of G-d’s hidden deliverance by wearing masks, He purposely concealed Himself behind the veils of their convoluted experiences, forcing them to search Him out and to search within themselves. As our sages teach (Hulin 139:B), "Where is Esther alluded to in the Torah? In the verse, ‘I will surely hide My face from them on that day’ (Deut. 31:18; in Hebrew, the expression ‘I will surely hide’ is ‘haster asteer’ – a play on words related to the word Esther)."

Purim is about putting masks on and taking them off; concealment and sudden illumination. The Holy One, blessed be He, conceals His presence within the fabric of our lives and gives us ample hints as to how we may find Him, if we would but look. On Purim, G-d’s hidden plan was revealed. True Purim joy – the manifestation of the highest level of G-d’s love for His people, Israel – comes about when we can begin to detect this plan. However hidden it may seem, it is the only true reality. It is the constant and unshakable process through which He beckons to us to return and take responsibility for our own destiny. It continues to unfold, day by day, leading to the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the ultimate Redemption.

Happy Purim!

Interestingly enough, the Torah makes no reference to schools or formal systems of educating the populace. The Torah does emphasize, in numerous places, the duty of parents to educate their children in Torah values, Jewish tradition and life skills. The Mishna and the Talmud reinforce these Torah ideas with more explicit guidelines as to the range of schooling and the skills and values to be taught, including professional and job training and the ability to swim. Yet the broader educational system is not really addressed and the tradition seemingly assumes a system of home schooling or private tutoring. There is, however, mention in the Talmud that in the time of the First Temple as well as the period of the Second Temple there was a general elementary school system in place in Israel that extended "from Dan to Beersheba." The Talmud even recommended that the class size in these institutions should never exceed twenty-five students per teacher. Whether home schooling and private tutoring were reserved for the wealthy and the intellectually elite exclusively is not specified in the Talmud, though it can probably be safely inferred that this was the case. In any event, it seems that the best students progressed to higher schools of Torah - yeshivot - after a period of time and the others left formal studying to take their place in the marketplace of everyday life.

After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jewish Diaspora centered in Babylonia. There, the system of yeshivot was expanded and, at times, students numbered in the thousands. The system of elementary education remained, as it was earlier, with much home schooling and local schools for children in elementary grades. The better teachers were hired by the wealthy to tutor their children and this affected the level of competence and education in the local community schools. In the Middle Ages, both in France and Spain, the Jewish communities relied on home schooling, private tutoring and loosely organized schools to provide Torah education for their young. In Spain, Jews also engaged tutors to teach philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences and literature to their children. Many of the teachers who taught these subjects were non-Jews and this became a divisive issue in Spanish Jewish life, as well as among the Spanish non-Jews. Both groups were afraid of the influence the "other" may have on them. After the Christian domination of Spain took hold, the Church moved to prevent Jews from hiring Christian tutors - or even maids - to serve in their homes.

In Eastern Europe, from the seventeenth century onward, the system of schooling was concentrated in the institution of the cheder (literally, "room"). The cheder was for boys only, who entered into the school "room" at three years of age and stayed until they were ten or eleven. The education received in the cheder was uneven, depending on the skill and patience of the melamed - the teacher. Much of the rebellion against traditional Jewry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries found its roots in the deplorable physical and educational features of the cheder. The wealthy and the elite continued to provide home schooling and private tutoring for their children. Those boys who showed intellectual promise advanced to learn with the rabbi of the town. Those who shone there were passed on to study with even greater scholars and well-known rabbis. The yeshiva system of today, serving adolescent and young adult men, did not begin in Eastern Europe until the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the Chasidic communities, education after the cheder was confined to shtieblach - small private houses of study and prayer that operated independently of each other with no fixed schedule or curriculum. Thousands of students frequented these shtieblach, which were really centers of private, independent study.

Shabbat Shalom.

Purim, one of Judaism’s more colorful and popular holidays, is celebrated in 2002 between sunset on Monday, 25 February, and sunset on Tuesday, 26 February, in most of Israel - excluding Jerusalem and a few other cities where Purim will be celebrated from sunset on Tuesday, 26 February, until sunset on Wednesday, 27 February (see below). Purim is not a public holiday in Israel, but many offices, shops, and public institutions will operate on a reduced basis. Schools will be closed, but public transportation will operate as usual, and newspapers will be published.

Purim commemorates the events described in the Book of Esther. In Esther 3:8, the anti-Semitic Haman, Grand Vizier of the Persian Empire, tells Persian King Ahasuerus that, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among all the peoples... in your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every people; neither do they keep the king’s laws. Therefore, it does the king no profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed..." Thus, Haman said that the Jews are a clannish and alien people who do not obey the laws of the land. At Haman’s contrivance, a decree is then issued for all Jews in the Persian Empire to be massacred. Yet, as the Book of Esther subsequently relates, Haman’s plot was foiled and, "The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor...a feast and a good day." (8:16-17)

Throughout the centuries, Purim, which celebrates the miraculous salvation of the Jews and the thwarting of Haman’s genocidal plot, has traditionally symbolized the victory of the Jewish people over tyranny. As such, Purim is a happy, carnival-like holiday.

Monday, 24 February, is a fast day known as the Fast of Esther, commemorating the fact that Queen Esther - the heroine of the Book of Esther - and the entire Persian Jewish community fasted (4:16) in advance of Queen Esther’s appeal for King Ahasuerus not to implement Haman’s plot. The fast will extend from before sunrise in the morning until sunset. Special prayers and scriptural readings are inserted into the synagogue service.

After sunset Monday, 25 February, festive prayers will take place in synagogues, where the Book of Esther will also be read aloud. It is customary for people, especially children, to come to synagogue dressed in costume. During the reading of the Book of Esther, whenever Haman’s name is mentioned, congregants traditionally make as much noise as possible in order to drown out his name - a reflection of G-d’s promise (Exodus 17:14) to, "blot out," the Amalekite nation, of which Haman was a descendant; special Purim noisemakers, typically very simple, but often elaborate and costly, may be used for this purpose. During morning prayers on the following day, the Book of Esther will be read again. A special Purim prayer is inserted into the daily prayers and the blessing after meals.

On Purim, Jews are enjoined by the Book of Esther (9:22) to send gifts of food to each other, make special contributions to the poor, and have a festive holiday meal in the late morning or afternoon. To this end, the day is also marked by collections for various charities, and by people visiting neighbors and friends to deliver baskets of food, prominent among which are small, three-cornered, fruit-filled pastries known as Oznei Haman in Hebrew (Haman’s ears) or Hamantaschen in Yiddish (Haman’s pockets). At the festive meal, some maintain the custom of becoming so inebriated that they cannot distinguish between, "Blessed is Mordehai," (Esther’s uncle and the hero of the Book of Esther) and, "Cursed is Haman."

In Jerusalem, Purim is ordinarily celebrated one day later than it is in the rest of the world; accordingly, all Purim-related observances are postponed by one day. This practice originates from the fact that an extra day was prescribed for the Jews of Shushan (the modern Susa, one of the Persian Empire’s four capitals) to defend themselves against their enemies. This second day is known as Shushan Purim. As mentioned in the Book of Esther itself (9:16-19), Jews living in walled cities (later defined by rabbinical authorities to mean walled cities at the time that Joshua entered the Land of Israel) celebrate Purim one day later than Jews living in unwalled cities. There are several such cities in Israel where Shushan Purim is celebrated. In some cities whose status is in doubt, the Book of Esther will actually be read on both days.

In many places in Israel, Purim is marked by special parades; the most famous of these takes place in Tel Aviv. Many kindergartens, schools, synagogues, and towns will also host special Purim parties and carnivals.