Thursday, February 16, 2017

620 Minus 7

Ba’al haTurim notes that the Decalogue is composed of 620 letters, corresponding to the 613 mitzvot plus the seven mitzvot of the Sons of Noaḥ.
The question has been raised: the mitzvot of the Sons of Noaḥ are included within the 613 mitzvot, so apparently, isn’t Ba’al haTurim guilty of double counting? Yet, as Israel’s obligation to fulfill mitzvot is grounded in sanctity, with which the Nation was endowed at Mount Sinai, while the gentiles’ obligation to fulfill the mitzvot of the Sons of Noaḥ is not grounded in sanctity, there is a substantive difference between the 613 and the seven mitzvot.


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