taryag

Taryag refers to the traditional count of the commandments in the Torah, the 613 mitzvot that describe what Jews are commanded to observe. The term is Hebrew for six hundred thirteen, derived from the letters תרי"ג (tav-resh-yud-gimel) and is commonly used in Jewish literature to denote the comprehensive set of biblical commandments.

The concept is most closely associated with the medieval Jewish scholar Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), who organized the mitzvot into Sefer HaMitzvot, a systematic enumeration. The Sefer HaChinuch and other rabbinic works also discuss and explain the 613 commandments. The phrase taryag mitzvot is used in various sources, including the Talmudic and post-talmudic literature, to refer to this corpus of commandments.

The 613 mitzvot are traditionally divided into two broad categories: positive commandments (mitzvot aseh) and negative commandments (mitzvot lo ta’aseh). A common mnemonic links 248 positive commandments to the (mythologized) number of bones or limbs in the body, and 365 negative commandments to the days of the solar year. Within the framework of instruction, many commandments apply specifically to the Temple or to Israel’s land, while others are universal ethical or ritual duties that can be observed today to varying degrees depending on tradition and circumstance.

In modern study and practice, taryag serves as a framework for examining Jewish obligation and ethics. Not all commandments are actionable outside their historical context (for example, those related to the Temple); nevertheless, the concept remains a foundational reference for understanding the scope and structure of Torah commandments, with some variation in how different communities enumerate or interpret the list.