Torah isn’t just theory, it’s a lifestyle. Pomegranate makes the Torah’s wisdom actionable and more intentional through a fully interactive navigator. Discover which of the 613 mitzvot are actionable today with the Pomegranate Smart Filter.

ISSUE: Actionable Mitzvot

Every evening we say Ki Hem Chayeinu V’Orech Yomeinu. What exactly does this imply? Practice what the Torah obligates. However, not all 613 mitzvot are practically applicable nowadays. Many mitzvot are rooted in Eretz Yisroel, or only observed at specific intervals within the Jewish Calendar e.g. Sukkot, or dependent on property ownership or types of employment.

So, what are my divine duties? What obligations are actionable today?

I believe the answer will increase my daily awareness of divine duty. Increased awareness, da’at & kavana will imbue my actions with greater purpose and intent.

“I was curious to know which of all the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah were ever-present”.

Traditional resources outline all the 613 mitzvot. At best, resources will identify all practically relevant mitzvot post chuban Bayis Sheini. So what’s the count? 613…150… 60 …18?

My intrigue turned into a pursuit for a comprehensive list of actionable mitzvot.

RESEARCH

• Rambam’s list of mitzvot at the beginning of Mishna Torah
• The Sefer HaChinuch
• Sma’g
• Sma’k
• The Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvot HaKatzar:
  The Chofetz Chaim provides a comprehensive list of actionable mitzvot. There are 271 Mitzvot. They’re comprised of 77 Do’s, 194 Don’t’s (with an additional 26 mitzvot rooted in Eretz Yisroel).

Not all 271 mitzvot were actionable for many of us, and the text was not so accessible.

SOLUTION: Mitzva Database

• Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot was used to create Pomegranate’s database
• Distinguished between ‘actionable’ and ‘conceptual’ Mitzvot, for instance:
  “Do Keep Shabbat” is actionable, whereas “Do Bring the Korban Pesach in the Beit HaMikdash” would be conceptual.

I used a handful of AI platforms to analyse the database and to identify the 271 mitzvot (77 Do’s and 194 don’ts) from Sefer HaMitzvot HaKatzar. Though, the AI platforms were unable to provide a trustworthy and definitive list…

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Would be delighted to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thank you,

Richy

Other

• Of the 248 positive commands, only 126 are currently applicable. And of the 365 negative commands, only 243 are still applicable. So in total, nowadays, 369 mitzvot are still operative. Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, better known after his famous work as the Shelah (an acronym for “Shnei Luchot HaBrit”), writes1 that the mnemonic for this number can be found in the verse,2 “I sleep, but my heart is awake.” If you add up the numeric values of the letters in the Hebrew word for “I sleep,” ישנה, the tally comes to 365. And when you add the number of letters that are in the word itself, 4, the total comes to 369. This hints to the fact that when the Jewish people are in exile, spiritually asleep, they only have 369 mitzvot to do… there are only 270 precepts that every Jew is required to observe, without any particular circumstance ever having to come about.6 Of these 270 mitzvot, 48 are positive precepts, and 222 are negative. Interestingly, in Sefer HaChinuch, the author, Rabbi Aaron HaLevi, points out that 270 is the numeric value of the Hebrew word for “awake,” ער, in the above quoted verse, “I sleep but my heart is awake.” https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/541686/jewish/How-Many-of-the-Torahs-Commandments-Still-Apply.htm

• Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar writes that there are 77 Mitzvos Aseh which we can be mekayem in our day (77 is the gematria of Vechayu Bahem) and 194 Lo Ta’aseh.