Sefer HaChinukh - On 613 Mitzvahs of the Torah

Sefer HaChinukh

On 613 Mitzvahs

of the Torah

By

Anonymously Rabbi

The Sefer ha-Chinukh (Hebrew: ספר החינוך, "Book of Education"), often simply "the Chinukh" is a work that systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah.

It was published anonymously in 13th-century Spain.

The work's enumeration of the commandments (Hebrew: mitzvot; sing. mitzvah) is based upon Maimonides' system of counting as per his Sefer Hamitzvot; each is listed according to its appearance in the weekly Torah portion and the work is structured correspondingly. The book separately discusses each of the 613 commandments, both from a legal and a moral perspective. For each, the Chinuch's 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").

This book is an excellent book for a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah gift.

Or for anyone who wants to know the mitzvot of the Torah and their reasons.