Positive Mitzvah One

To Believe in the Existence of G-d

Shemot 20:2 I am Hashem your G-d, who have taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.

By this injunction we are commanded to believe in G-d; that is, to believe that there is a Supreme Cause who is the Creator of everything in existence. At the end of Tractate Makkot it is said:

'Six hundred and thirteen (Taryag)1 Mitzvot were declared unto Moshe at Sinai, as the verse says, "Moshe commanded us a law (Torah)" (Devarim 33:4); that is, he commanded us to observe as many Mitzvot as are signified by the sum of the letter-numbers TORAH. To this it was objected that the letter-numbers of the word TORAH make only six hundred and eleven2; to which the reply was: 'The two Mitzvot "I am Hashem your G-d," etc. and "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Shemot 20:3) we heard from the Almighty Himself.' (Makkot 23b)

Thus it has been made clear to you that the verse, "I am Hashem your G-d," etc. is one of the 613 Mitzvot, and is that whereby we are commanded to believe in G-d. This mitzvah - the first of the Torah - is of the very essence of Judaism. Without a firm belief in the existence of the Deity, or Master of the Universe, and without a firm conviction and clear sense of His All-transcendent Reality - such as were directly decreed by the Almighty Himself under the terms of this mitzvah - an understanding of the Torah and the observance of its mitzvot become utter impossibilities. The second mitzvah of the Torah is but a restatement of the first mitzvah in respect of its negative implications. For any Jew who denies the existence of the Deity, or concedes the existence of any deity beside Him, is an out-and-out apostate, having neither merit nor portion with Yisrael.

Notes:

1. Taryag signifies 613, thus tav = 400; resh = 200; yod = 10; gimel = 3.
2. The word Torah in numerical value signifies 611, thus tav - 400; vav = 6; resh = 200; heh = 5.

Positive Mitzvah 1 | 613 Mitzvot Index | Orach Chayim