Customer Reviews

The 613th Commandment: An Analysis of the Mitzvah to Write a Sefer Torah (Derush Vechiddush)

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The 613th Commandment was an excellent book penetrating the questions of a scholarly, rabbinic mind. I'll admit I expected a book outlining all the rules governing the path to fulfilling the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah. Those rules were not expounded, but rather most of the questions one may ask directed towards the purpose and intentions, speed and accuracy, ownership and inclusion of fulfilling this mitzvah.

Rabbi Cohen starts each chapter with a thought, such as why there is no specfic blessing attached to the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah, and zigzags through rabbinic literature citing an explanation, an alternate explanation, a clearification, a redefinition, ecetera. The best part of the book is the opportunity to understand the process of rabbinic investigation to arrive at a halachic decision. Some of the ensuing lines of thought were predictable, but all were educational.

The most interesting chapter was 'Printing a Sefer Torah'. Rabbi Cohen investigated the possiblity of fulfilling the mitzvah by way of printing a Torah. He took the reader through the rabbinic decisions relating to the printing press when it first appeared in history, how it relates to the Torah, and he provided interesting references and stories.

This book was repetitive at times. I gave it 4-stars because it is not for everyone. It is more for someone who enjoys details, logic, and debate.