The number 613 always struck me as a bit clunky and random. It didn’t have the beauty of a round number or even an even number, and it never came up during a math class as a quirky number with special qualities. It seemed to be a strange number to anoint as the Jewish symbol of excellence and spirituality. So how did the Jewish people end up with 613 special pathways of spiritual connection?[1] The Talmud (Makkos 24a) states, “Rabbi Simlai expounded that 613 mitzvahs were told to Moses at Sinai 365 (negative commandments) likes the days of the sun and 248 (positive commandments) against the number of man’s limbs.”[2] One may be tempted to say that the number is random; that is how many mitzvah’s G-d deemed necessary to put in the Torah. But the Rabbis came along and connected the number to the days of the sun and parts of the body. The questions then become obvious. Why are these two aspects of the world singled out and how do they manifest within the context of the mitzvahs?
Man and the sun represent two disparate aspects of the universe, nature and that which transcends nature. These in turn mirror both aspects of effective rulership. The first job of a ruler is to maintain the natural order of a nation, or in other words, establish enforceable laws that will keep the laws of the jungle at bay and establish unity. The other job of a ruler is to provide the resources necessary to grow the nation into its creative potential. The two groups of mitzvahs that G-d gave us are the means to fulfil these roles effectively as represented by the man and the sun, subsequently enabling man to rule the world properly.
Let’s start with the sun, which correlates to the 365 negative commandments. The function of a negative commandment is to ensure that we maintain an order to the world. That means no killing, no stealing, and no adultery etc.. The sun functions in the same way. It orders the orbits of our immediate solar system and it maintains a steady path across the sky without waxing and waning like its counterpart the moon.
Then there is the human body which correlates with the 248 positive commandments. These Mitzvahs are there to help us transcend the natural order of the world towards a cohesive completion. Man is called אדם, from the language of אדמה, which means dirt. The whole idea of dirt is that it gives energy to a seed and helps it develop its potential as a plant. Man’s job in this world is to excel at this second aspect of rulership and provide a positive development beyond that of the natural order running its course. Man stands at the crossroads of what he can become, and the goal is to fulfil his G-dly potential. Therefore, it is no surprise that in the Torah, the numerical value for b’tzelem Elokim is 248 as found in the verse in Genesis 1:27 ‘So G-d created man in His Image…’. It is through the 248 mitzvahs man can fulfil his potential tzelem Elokim and complete the world properly.
The mystery of 613 is now clear. The mitzvahs are intended to help human beings establish a basic order in the world by channelling our free will in the proper direction, and then gives human beings the tools to transcend the boundaries of nature and complete the world spiritually.
