Sefer Mitzvot Gadol ( he, ספר מצוות גדול; in

english English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "The Great Book of Commandments"; abbreviated: , "SeMaG") work of

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

by Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, containing an enumeration of the 613 commandments.

Description

The work was completed in 1247, and is a literary work that deals with the 365 negative commandments ( mitzvot), and the 248 positive commandments, discussing each one of them separately, according to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

and the decisions made by the rabbis. "SeMaG" also contains many non-legalistic moral teachings. The references in the "SeMaG" are ordered by section (negative and positive commandments alike) and there is a number for each commandment in every section of the book. The arrangements and the presentation are strongly influenced by the discussions of

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

about the commandments, which are found in

Sefer HaMitzvot ''Sefer Hamitzvot'' ("Book of Commandments", Hebrew: ספר המצוות ) is a work by the 12th century rabbi, philosopher and physician Maimonides. While there are various other works titled similarly, the title "Sefer Hamitzvot" without a modi ...

and

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

. Unlike Maimonides, Rabbi Moses ben Jacob presents long discussions of the different interpretations and legal opinions. The work also makes extensive use of other legal codes, especially the comments of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

and the

Tosafists Tosafists were rabbis of France and Germany, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and sources) on the Ta ...

, normally favoring the Ashkenazi traditions over the opinion of Maimonides. The traditional commentaries on the "SeMaG" include the "Tosefe SeMaG" by Rabbi

Elijah Mizrachi Elijah Mizrachi ( he, אליהו מזרחי) (c. 1455 – 1525 or 1526) was a Talmudist and posek, an authority on Halakha, and a mathematician. He is best known for his ''Sefer ha-Mizrachi'', a supercommentary on Rashi's commentary on the To ...

(the Re'em), and "Ammude Shlomo" by Rabbi

Solomon Luria Solomon Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) ( he, שלמה לוריא) was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commen ...

(the Maharshal). Mitzvot Gadol is a modern commentary by Rabbi Avraham Aharon Price. The Sefer Mitzvot Katan ("SeMaK") by Rabbi

Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (died 1280) ( he, יצחק בן יוסף מקורבי"ל) was a 13th-century French rabbi and tosafist, best known as the author of ''Sefer Mitzvot Ḳatan.'' Biography Isaac was the son-in-law of R. Yechiel of Paris, ...

, is a summary of the "SeMaG", including additional material about ethics and legends (

aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

). The oldest known, complete manuscript from 1288 is now in Switzerland, in the largest private collection of Hebrew manuscripts, the Braginsky Collection. A document at about the same time can be found in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (ms. Hébr. 370). website
Braginsky Collection - Sefer Mitzvot Gadol
accessed on January 29, 2021

References

{{reflist Rabbinic legal texts and responsa