I'm always going on and on about how important it is to observe our Heavenly Father's Laws, so I figured that I had better post them. These laws were given to Moses, directly from G*d on Mount Sinai.
There are 365 negative commandments, or prohibitions, and 248 positive commandments. According to Jewish Sages, the human body is divided into 248 organs and 365 sinews. Jewish sages teach that the 248 limbs correspond to the 248 positive precepts, and the 365 sinews correspond to the 365 prohibitions. Each commandment pairs up with a specific limb or sinew, and just as we take care of our physical limbs and sinews, we also need to take care of our spiritual “limbs and sinews.” 365 also corresponds to the number of days in a solar year, and this is by design as a reminder that the 365 days of the year should bring vigilance in fulfilling G*d’s 365 prohibitions. It is also said the number of seeds in a Pomegranate is 613.
The Hebrew word for "Created" is בראתי, which has a numeric value of 613 as well, so we can perceive that we were created to fulfil his 613 commandments. I would argue that Yeshua gave us at least one more commandment, to take part in The Table of The LORD (also known as The Holy Communion):
"After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." - 1 Corinthians 11:25
To a Christian, who has not been raised in this Jewish tradition, this seems very overwhelming, so I think that we must start small and build our way up; at least that's been working for me. We should not be intimidated by The Law, as it's not a punishment but rather a blessing. These laws allow us to purify our soul and elevate our spirt, to ascend to The Most High.
I know, this seems very confusing, so to avoid confusion about this, Yeshua tells us the following:
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." - Matthew 22:37-40
Paul elaborates on this further:
"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." - Galatians 5:14
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." - Romans 3:31
"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." - Romans 13:8-10
So, the way that we need to understand this is that when we uphold the two most important commandments, then we will ultimately begin to fulfil the all of them; so this is a process. Start with the ones that you can understand the most and pray for guidance on the rest of them. Soon you will find yourself doing them automatically and with very little effort, as you will be given strength and clarity from above. I know that this us how it's been working for me and many others as well, it truly is amazing. It pleases G*d when we uphold his commandments and that's really what it's all about. He's our Father and we all should strive to make our Father proud of us.
Don't let this big 613 number intimidate you!
It's not as restricting as it seems. Many of the mitzvot cannot be observed today, following the destruction of the Second Temple, although they still retain religious significance. According to one standard reckoning, there are 77 positive and 194 negative commandments that can be observed today, of which there are 26 commands that apply only within the Land of Israel. Furthermore, there are some time-related commandments from which women are exempt (examples include shofar, sukkah, lulav, tzitzit and tefillin). Some depend on the special status of a person in Judaism (such as kohanim), while others apply only to men or only to women. This is why it's important that we study them and pray about which ones most pertain to our individual lives.
I had put all of this together as one post, but was unable to post it way as it was too large. Please refer to my post entitled "List of The 613 Commandments" for the entire list of these 613 Laws, as well as where each one can be found in the The Torah.
Much Love and Blessings!
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