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Sefer ha-Chinuch (??? ?????? Hebrew: "Book of Education", often simply "the Chinuch") is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments
613 mitzvot

The 613 Mitzvot are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments or collectively as the "Law of Moses" , "Mosaic Law," or simply "the Law."...
 of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
. It was published anonymously in 13th Century Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. The work's enumeration of the commandments (; sing. mitzvah
Mitzvah

This article is about commandments in Judaism. For the Jewish rite of passage, see Bar Mitzvah and Bat MitzvahMitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 Mitzvot given in the Torah and the Mitzvah#Rabbinical_mitzvot instituted later for a total of 620....
) is based upon Maimonides
Maimonides

Moses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Maimon , the Rambam, and Musa ibn Maymun , was born in C?rdoba, Spain, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204.....
' system of counting as per his Sefer Hamitzvot
Sefer Hamitzvot

Sefer Hamitzvot is a work by the 12th century rabbi, philosopher and physician Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "Sefer Hamitzvot" without a modifier refers to Maimonides' work....
; each is listed according to its appearance in the Weekly Torah portion and the work is structured correspondingly .

The Chinuch separately discusses each of the 613 commandments, both from a legal and a moral perspective.






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Sefer ha-Chinuch (??? ?????? Hebrew: "Book of Education", often simply "the Chinuch") is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments
613 mitzvot

The 613 Mitzvot are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments or collectively as the "Law of Moses" , "Mosaic Law," or simply "the Law."...
 of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
. It was published anonymously in 13th Century Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. The work's enumeration of the commandments (; sing. mitzvah
Mitzvah

This article is about commandments in Judaism. For the Jewish rite of passage, see Bar Mitzvah and Bat MitzvahMitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 Mitzvot given in the Torah and the Mitzvah#Rabbinical_mitzvot instituted later for a total of 620....
) is based upon Maimonides
Maimonides

Moses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Maimon , the Rambam, and Musa ibn Maymun , was born in C?rdoba, Spain, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204.....
' system of counting as per his Sefer Hamitzvot
Sefer Hamitzvot

Sefer Hamitzvot is a work by the 12th century rabbi, philosopher and physician Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "Sefer Hamitzvot" without a modifier refers to Maimonides' work....
; each is listed according to its appearance in the Weekly Torah portion and the work is structured correspondingly .

The Chinuch separately discusses each of the 613 commandments, both from a legal and a moral perspective. For each, the discussion starts by linking the mitzvah to its Biblical source, and then addresses the philosophical underpinnings of the commandment (here, termed the "shoresh", or "root"). Following this, the Chinuch presents a brief overview of the halakha
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
 (practical Jewish law) governing its observance - usually based on Maimonides Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah

The Mishneh Torah , subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka , is a Legal code of Judaism religious law by one of the important Jewish authority Maimonides ....
 - and closes with a summary as to the commandment's applicability.

Because of this structure, the work remains popular to this day. The philosophic portions are widely quoted and taught, while the legal discussion provides the basis for much further study in yeshivot
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
; here the Minchat Chinuch
Minchat Chinuch

Minchat Chinuch is a legal commentary on the Sefer ha-Chinuch. It was written by Yosef Ben Moshe Babad , Av Beit Din of Ternopil#Jewish_Ternopil....
 by "Rabbeinu Yosef" (Yosef Ben Moshe Babad, 1800-1874), Av Beit Din
Av Beit Din

Av Beit Din, Av Beis Din, or Av Beth Din . was the second-highest ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Commonwealth period....
 of Ternopil
Ternopil

Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret . Ternopil is one of three main cities of Eastern Galicia . It is located approximately east of Lviv, at around ....
 - serves as a legal commentary.

Some scholars ascribe the authorship of Sefer ha-Chinuch to Rabbi Aharon HaLevi
Aharon HaLevi

Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona , known as the 'RaAH' , was a medieval rabbi, Talmudical scholar and Halakha.The Ra'ah was born in Gerona, Spain in 1235 to his father Rabbeinu Joseph ha-Levi, son of Rabbi Benbineshti ha-Levi, son of Rabbi Joseph ha-Levi, who was the son of Rabbeinu Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona the Ba...
 of Barcelona
Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous communities of Spain of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081....
 (1235-c. 1290), a Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ic scholar and halakhist but others disagree, as the views of the Chinuch contradict opinions held by HaLevi in other works. This has led to the conclusion that the true author to Sefer HaChinuch was a different Reb Aharon Halevi, a student of the Rashba, rather than his colleague.

See also

  • Sefer Hamitzvot
    Sefer Hamitzvot

    Sefer Hamitzvot is a work by the 12th century rabbi, philosopher and physician Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "Sefer Hamitzvot" without a modifier refers to Maimonides' work....
  • Sefer Mitzvot Gadol
  • Ben Ish Chai
    Ben Ish Chai

    Yosef Chaim was a leading Hakham , posek on Jewish law and Master Kabbalah. He is best known as author of the work of Halakha Ben Ish Chai , by which title he is also known....
  • Rabbinic literature
    Rabbinic literature

    Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Judaism history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew language term Sifrut Hazal ....
  • Minchat Chinuch
    Minchat Chinuch

    Minchat Chinuch is a legal commentary on the Sefer ha-Chinuch. It was written by Yosef Ben Moshe Babad , Av Beit Din of Ternopil#Jewish_Ternopil....


Resources

  • Translation: The Book of Mitzvah Education. Charles Wengrow. Feldheim 1992. ISBN 1583303839
  • Discussion: A Philosophy of Mitzvot. Gersion Appel. Ktav 1975. ISBN 0870682504
  • Classes: . Rabbi David Botton. teachittome.com


External links and References