וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ (במדבר ה, ז)
They shall confess the sin they committed… (Bamidbar 5:7)
The 73rd mitzvah is that we are commanded to verbally acknowledge the sins we have committed before G‑d (exalted be He), when we come to do teshuvah (to repent). –Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos)
Teshuva, repentance, is absent from the list of the 613 mitzvos, mentioning it only within the mitzvah of the verbal confession upon doing teshuvah, led the later commentaries to discuss whether according to Maimonides repentance is an actual commandment at all.
If it is, why does he not list it as one of the 613 unique commandments? One explanation for this is that though we are obligated to repent, repentance is not a distinct and particular command but an overall reacceptance of all the others. This idea reflects the inner meaning of teshuva vis-à-vis the other 613 commandments, which are comprised of 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions, corresponding – in the words of Chazal – to the 248 limbs and 365 sinews in the human body (Talmud, Makkot 23b, Zohar 1:170b).
Likewise, the soul is comprised of 613 spiritual limbs or faculties, each corresponding to another Mitzvah (Tanya, Chapter 4). When one is deficient in the fulfillment of one of the 613 commandments, this causes a deficiency in the corresponding spiritual limb in the soul (Likutei Torah, Nitzavim).
Conversely, the heartfelt desire and drive to reconnect with G-d, i.e. repentance, is not a particular “faculty” of the soul but the expression of its essence - a veritable and inseparable part of G-d. Since teshuva is the manifestation of the soul’s essence, the source from which all 613 spiritual organs are drawn, teshuva therefore brings new life into its offshoots, repairing any and all of their deficiencies. The list of 613 mitzvos thus includes only mitzvos that relate to one of the 613 limbs of the soul, but not teshuva which relates to their source and includes them all.
Likutei Sichos vol. 38, pp. 18-23
They shall confess the sin they committed… (Bamidbar 5:7)
The 73rd mitzvah is that we are commanded to verbally acknowledge the sins we have committed before G‑d (exalted be He), when we come to do teshuvah (to repent). –Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos)
Teshuva, repentance, is absent from the list of the 613 mitzvos, mentioning it only within the mitzvah of the verbal confession upon doing teshuvah, led the later commentaries to discuss whether according to Maimonides repentance is an actual commandment at all.
If it is, why does he not list it as one of the 613 unique commandments? One explanation for this is that though we are obligated to repent, repentance is not a distinct and particular command but an overall reacceptance of all the others. This idea reflects the inner meaning of teshuva vis-à-vis the other 613 commandments, which are comprised of 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions, corresponding – in the words of Chazal – to the 248 limbs and 365 sinews in the human body (Talmud, Makkot 23b, Zohar 1:170b).
Likewise, the soul is comprised of 613 spiritual limbs or faculties, each corresponding to another Mitzvah (Tanya, Chapter 4). When one is deficient in the fulfillment of one of the 613 commandments, this causes a deficiency in the corresponding spiritual limb in the soul (Likutei Torah, Nitzavim).
Conversely, the heartfelt desire and drive to reconnect with G-d, i.e. repentance, is not a particular “faculty” of the soul but the expression of its essence - a veritable and inseparable part of G-d. Since teshuva is the manifestation of the soul’s essence, the source from which all 613 spiritual organs are drawn, teshuva therefore brings new life into its offshoots, repairing any and all of their deficiencies. The list of 613 mitzvos thus includes only mitzvos that relate to one of the 613 limbs of the soul, but not teshuva which relates to their source and includes them all.
Likutei Sichos vol. 38, pp. 18-23
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