HaMitzvos
In summary: The Ramban removes 56 mitzvos (32 + 24) ,
and adds 63 mitzvos (32 + 31, see fn. 4).
The sefer Seder HaMitzvos also writes a summary of the
differences between the Rambam and the Ramban. Note hesays the Ramban removed 30 positive mitzvos and not 32.
For semantic reasons he didn’t mention removal #7 and #29,
but there’s no disagreement.
(Lettered entries aren’t removed from Ramban’s list, rather
split in two)
The Ramban disagrees with the following positive mitzvos:
1( ]#5[ מצות תפילה – Prayer. Because it is rabbinic.
2( ]#7[ מצות על כל הצריך לישבע שישבע בשם השם – Anyone who
has to swear to only swear in the name of Hashem. Because
.the verse is giving permisison, not commanding
a) [#10] מצות קרית שמע שחרית וערבית – Reciting the Shema
morning and evening. The Ramban splits this into two
mitzvos, the other is below, addition #3.
b) [#28] מצות הקטרת קטרת – Burning the incense. The
Ramban splits this into two mitzvos, the other is below,
addition #4.
c) [#39] מצות תמידין בכל יום – The daily Tamid offering. The
Ramban splits this into two mitzvos, the other is below,
addition #5.
3( ]#63[ מצות מעשה העולה – .The Olah offering procedure
Because as per Shoresh #12, this is just a detail of the
.mitzvah to bring offerings
4( ]#64[ מצות מעשה החטאת – .The Chatas offering procedure
.Because of #3
5( ]#65[ מצות מעשה האשם – .The Asham offering procedure
.Because of #3
6( ]#66[ מצות מעשה זבח השלמים – The Shelamim offering
.procedure. Because of #3
7( ]#67[ מצות קרבן מנחה – #3 The Mincha offering. Because of.
8( ]#85[ מצות להטפל בהבאת הקרבן מחוצה לארץ לבית הבחירה – To
take care of the offerings as they are brought from outside the
land to the Temple. Because anyways we need to bring
offerings to the Temple, regardless of where they are, so this
.isn’t a new command
d) [#94] מצות קיום מוצא שפתיו – To fulfill the vows of ourmouths. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one
being just about vows to do a mitzvah. The other is below,
addition #9.
9( ]#95[ מצות דין הפרת נדרים – Nullification of vows. Because it
is really a shelilah, to do all that which leaves our mouths and
not to profane our words except through the annulment of
.Beis Din, a father, or a husband (see Shoresh #8)
10( ]#96[ מצות עניין טומאת נבילה – The concept of tumah of a
.neveilah. Because there is no mitzvah here, just a concept
11( ]#97[ מצות טומאת שמנה שרצים – The concept of tumah of
.the eight sheratzim. Because of #10
12( ]#98[ מצות עניין טומאת אוכלים – The concept of tumah of
.food. Because of #10
13( ]#99[ מצות עניין טומאת נדה שטמאה ומטמאה – The concept of
.tumah of a niddah. Because of #10
14( ]#100[ מצות עניין טומאת יולדת – The concept of tumah of a
.woman who gave birth. Because of #10
15( ]#101[ מצות עניין טומאת מצורע – The concept of tumah of a
.metzora. Because of #10
16( ]#102[ מצות עניין נגעי בגדים – The concept of tumah of
.tzaraas on a garment. Because of #10
17( ]#103[ מצות עניין טומאת בית שיהיה בו נגע – The concept of
.tumah of tzaraas on a building. Because of #10
18( ]#104[ מצות עניין טומאת זב להיות טמא ומטמא – The concept
.of tumah of a zav. Because of #10
19( ]#105[ מצות עניין טומאת שכבת זרע שהוא טמא ומטמא – The
concept of tumah of someone who had a seminal emission.
.Because of #10
20( ]#106[ מצות עניין טומאת זבה שטמאה ומטמאה – The concept
.of tumah of a zavah. Because of #10
21( ]#107[ מצות טומאה של מת – The concept of tumah of a
.corpse. Because of #10
22( ]#108[ מצות מי נדה שמטמאין אדם טהור ומטהרין אדם טמא
מטומאת מת בלבד – The concept of the water of a red heifere) [#126] מצות הפרשת תרומה גדולה – To separate Terumah
Gedolah. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one
being about separating Terumah. The other is below, addition
.#23
f) [#127] מצות מעשר ראשון – To separate Maaser Rishon. The
Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one being about
separating Maaser Rishon. The other is below, addition #24.
g) [#130] מצות מעשר עני תחת מעשר שני בשנה שלישית – To
separate Maaser Ani instead of Maaser Sheni in the third
year. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one being
about separating Maaser Ani. The other is below addition
.#25
h) [#133] מצות חלה – To separate Challah. The Ramban splits
this mitzvah into two, this one being about separating Chalah.
The other is below, addition #26.
23( ]#142[ מצות לנגוש את הנכרי – To pressure a non Jew to
repay a debt. Because this is a lav habah miklal aseh and
.since there is already a lav counted, this shouldn’t be as well
24( ]#149[ מצות בדיקת סימני בהמה וחיה – To check the kosher
signs of domesticated and wild animals. Because this is a lav
habah miklal aseh and since there is already a lav counted,
.this shouldn’t be as well
25( ]#150[ מצות בדיקת סימני העוף – To check the kosher signs
.of birds. Because of #24
26( ]#151[ מצות בדיקת סימני חגבים – To check the kosher signs
.of grasshoppers. Because of #24
27( ]#152[ מצות בדיקת סימני דגים – To check the kosher signs
.of fish. Because of #24
i) [#153] מצות קדוש החודש – To sanctify the new month. The
Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one being about
establishing Rosh Chodesh. The other is below, addition #27.
28( ]#198[ מצות הלואה לנכרי ברבית אם יצטרך ללוות מה שאינו כן
בישראל – ,To lend to a non Jew with interest if he needs a loan
.unlike to a Jew. Because of #23
29( ]#226[ מצות בית דין להרוג בסייף המחוייב – For Beis Din to killthose liable to decapitation. Because there’s a single mitzvah
to kill those sentenced to death, and the different ways are
.details
30( ]#227[ מצות בית דין להרוג בחנק המחוייב – For Beis Din to kill
those liable to strangulation. Because there’s a single mitzvah
to kill those sentenced to death, and the different ways are
.details
31( ]#228[ מצות שישרפו מי שיתחייב שריפה – For Beis Din to kill
those liable to death by fire. Because there’s a single mitzvah
to kill those sentenced to death, and the different ways are
.details
32( ]#229[ מצות על בית דין לסקול באבנים מי שיתחייב סקילה – For
Beis Din to kill those liable to death by stoning. Because
there’s a single mitzvah to kill those sentenced to death, and
.the different ways are details
j) [#235] מצות עבודה בעבד כנעני לעולם – To rule over a
Caananite slave forever. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into
two, this one being to rule over them forever. The other is
below, addition #31.
k) [#248]1 מצות דיני נחלות – The laws of inheritance. The
Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one being to follow
the laws of inheritance. The other is below, addition #32.
The Ramban adds the following positive mitzvos:
1( מצות אכילת מעשר שני ובכורות בירושלים – To Eat Maaser Sheni
.and Bechoros in Yerushalayim (source, description)
2( מצות אכילת תרומה כשהיא טהורה ולא בטומאתה – To eat
Terumah when it is pure and not while it is impure (source,
.description)
3( מצות קרית שמע בערב – Reciting the Shema in the evening
.(source, description)
4( מצות הקטרת באין הארבים – Burning the afternoon incense
.(source, description)
5( מצות קרבן התמיד בין הערבים – The daily afternoon Tamid
.offering (source, description)
6( מצות עבודת הכהנים בקרבנות – The Temple Service of the.Kohanim with the offerings (source, description)
7( מצות אכילת פירות שביעית – To only eat Shemittah fruit
.(source, description)
8( מצות ישיבת הארץ – ,To settle the land of Israel (source
.description)
9( מצות לקיים שבועה של רשות – To fulfill a vow to do something
.voluntary (source, description)
10( מצות להניח אחת מן הרוחות בלי מצור בשעת מלחמה – To leave
one side of a city during a siege unprotected
.(source,description)
11( מצות זכירה בפה מעשה מרים – To recall with words the story
.of Miriam (source, description)2
12( מצות להיות תמים עם השם – To be with pure trust trust in
.Hashem (source, description)
13( מצות לפרוש תרומה מן היפה – To separate Terumah from the
.best portion (source, description)
14( מצות להקריב רק בקר כשבים או עזים – To bring as an offering
.only cattle, sheep, or goats (source, description)
15( מצות להקריב כל קרבנות בין שני התמידין – To offer all offerings
.between the two Tamid offerings (source, description)
16( מצות אכילת הפסח בלילה – To eat the Pesach offering at
.night (source, description)
17( מצות גואל הדם להרוג הרוצח במזיד – For the Goel HaDam to
.kill an intentional killer (source, description)
18( מצות להרחיק מלהנות בבגד או בית שנראה בו נגע – To avoid
benefiting from a garment or house which has an affliction
.(source, description)
19( מצות בירכת התורה – To make a blessing on learning Torah
.(source, description)
20( מצות להחיות גר תושב – To support and sustain a Ger
.Toshav (source, description)
21( מצות להחזיר רבית – )To return interest (source, description.
22( מצות להרחיק מלהנות משער נזיר – To avoid benefiting from
.the hair of a Nazir (source, description)
23( מצות נתינת תרומה לכהן – To give terumah to the Kohen.(source, description)
24( מצות נתינת מעשר ראשון ללוי – To give Maaser Sheni to the
.Levi (source, description)
25( מצות נתינת מעשר עני – ,To give Maaser Ani (source
;description)
26( מצות נתינת חלה לכהן – To give Chalah to the Kohen
.(source, description)
27( מצות לעבר השנה – To calculate and establish leap years
.(source, description)
28( מצות עשיית הארון והכפרת – To make the Aron and its cover
.(source, description)
29( מצות ב”ד להרוג מי שמחוייב מיתה – For Beis Din to kill those
.who are liable to death (source, description)
30( מצות לחכם להורות בלי להיות שכורים – For a Sage to rule
.without being intoxicated (source, description)3
31( לשחרר עבד כנעני אם הפיל עינו או שינו – For a master to free
his Caananite slave if he removed his eye or tooth (source,
.description)
32( לתת לבכור פי שנים – To give a first born a double
.inheritance (source, description)
The Ramban disagrees with the following negative mitzvos:
1( ]#5[ שלא להשתחוות לעבודה זרה – .Not to bow to idols
Because this is included in Rambam’s #1, not to believe in
idols.i
2( ]#6[ שלא לעבוד עבודה זרה במה שדרכה להעבד – Not to worship
idols in their normal mode of service. Because this is included
.in Rambam’s #1, not to believe in idols
3( ]#28[ שלא לשמע ממתנבא בשם עבודה זרה – Not to listen to
someone who prophecizes in the name of an idol. Because
.this is just another verse prohibiting idol worship
a) [#53] שלא ישא עמוני ומואבי בת ישראל – An Ammonite or
Moabite cannot marry a Jewish woman. The Ramban splits
this mitzvah into two, this one being about an Ammonite. The
other is below, addition #4.
4( ]#58[ שלא לערוץ מפני אחד מכל שבעה עממין – Do not be afraidof the enemy during battle. Because this is a promise not a
.command
5( ]#69[ שלא יכנס בעל מום בהיכל – A blemished Kohen shall not
enter the Temple Heichal. Because “he shouldn’t enter” refers
.to doing the Temple service, which is already in mitzvah #70
6( ]#71[ שלא יעבוד כהן בעל מום עובר – A Kohen with a temporary
blemish should not perform the Temple service. Because this
.is just part of mitzvah #70
7( ]#95[ שלא להקריב קרבן בעל מום עובר – Not to sacrifice an
animal with a temporary blemish. Because this is just part of
.mitzvah #91
b) [#98] שלא להקריב שאור או דבש – Not to offer leaven or
honey. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one
being about offering leaven. The other is below, addition #8.
c) [#100] שלא להקריב אתנן זונה ומחיר כלב – Not to offer a
harlot’s wage or the exchange for a dog. The Ramban splits
this into two, this one being about a harlot’s wage. The other
is below, addition #9.
d) [#125] שלא לאכול הפסח נא ומבושל – Not to eat the Pesach
offering raw or boiled. The Ramban splits this into two, this
one being about a eating the Pesach offering raw. The other
is below, addition #10.
8( ]#142[ שלא לאכול מעשר שני של תירוש חוץ לירושלם – Not to eat
Maaser Sheni of wine outside Jerusalem. The Rambam
counts these as three mitzvos (#141-143), but the Ramban
.combines them all into one
9( ]#143[ שלא לאכול מעשר שני של יצהר חוץ לירושלם – Not to eat
Maaser Sheni of oil outside Jerusalem. The Rambam counts
these as three mitzvos (#141-143), but the Ramban
,combines them all into one
10( ]#150[ שלא לאכול מעשר שני בטומאה – Not to eat Maaser
Sheni while impure. The Ramban holds that this is just
another case of shelilus plus it’s a lav habah miklal aseh,
.which the Rambam says not to count
11( ]#151[ שלא לאכול מעשר שנע באנינות – Not to eat Maaser
Sheni as an Onen. The Ramban holds that this is just anothercase of shelilus plus it’s a lav habah miklal aseh, which the
.Rambam says not to count
12( ]#152[ שלא להוציא דמי מעשר שני בשאר דברים שאינם מאכילה
ושתייה – Not to purchase with Maaser Sheni money anything
besides food or drink. The Ramban holds that this is just
another case of shelilus plus it’s a lav habah miklal aseh,
.which the Rambam says not to count
13( ]#177[ שלא לאכול מן השרצים המתהוים מן העפוש – Not to eat
bugs that come from sweat. As per Ramban’s understanding
of Shoresh #9, if it’s essentially one prohibition, it doesn’t
.matter if there are many multiples of lashes
14( ]#178[ שלא לאכול מיני שרצים דקים הנולדים בזרעים ובפירות –
Not to eat worms that come from seeds or fruits. Because of
#13.
15( ]#179[ שלא לאכול משרץ המים – .Not to eat sea bugs
.Because of #13
16( ]#190[ שלא לאכול קלי מתבואה עד ביום ההוא – Not to eat
.roasted grain until the Omer is brought. Because of #13
17( ]#191[ שלא לאכול כרמל מתבואה עד הזמן הנזכר – Not to eat
.fresh grain until the Omer is brought. Because of #13
18( ]#194[ שלא לשתות יין נסך – Not to drink an idol’s wine
.libations. This is the same as mitzvah #25
19( ]#198[ שלא לאכול מכל דבר שיש בו חמץ – Not to eat anything
that has chametz in it. This is just an extra prohibition against
.chametz, so it’s not worth counting again
20( ]#199[ שלא לאכול חמץ אחר חצות – Not to eat chametz after
noon. This is the opinion of R’ Yehudah, but we hold like R’
.Shimon that there’s no negative commandment on this
e) [#256] שלא לענות יתום ואלמנה – Not to oppress an orphan or
widow. The Ramban splits this mitzvah into two, this one
being about an orphan. The other is below, addition #21.
f) [#290] שלא לחתוך הדין באומד הדעת – Not to decide
someone’s fate just with estimation. The Ramban splits this
mitzvah into two, this one being about killing someone without
proper testimony (see Megillas Esther ad. loc.). The other isbelow, addition #22.
21( ]#294[ שלא לענוש האנוס – .Not to punish someone coerced
The Ramban holds that this is just another case of shelilus,
.that they aren’t punished, not that it’s a command
22( ]#307[ שלא לגלח שער הנתק – Not to shave the hair of a
nesek affliction. This is the same as #308, and no need to
.count it as two mitzvos
23( ]#318[ שלא לקלל אב ואם – Not to curse one’s father or
mother. This is the same prohibition against cursing any Jew,
.despite having a different punishment
24( ]#319[ שלא להכות אב ואם – Not to injure one’s father or
mother. This is the same prohibition against hurting any Jew,
.despite having a different punishment
The Ramban replaces them with the following negative
mitzvos4:
1( שלא לשכוח השם – ,Not to forget Hashem (source
.description)
2( שלא לשכוח מעמד הר סיני – Not to forget the giving of the
.Torah at Sinai (source, description)
3( שלא לשנות הסדר של כלי המקדש – Not to change the order of
.the Temple vessels (source, description)
4( שלא ישא מואבי בת ישראל – A Moabite cannot marry a Jewish
.woman (source, description)
5( שלא לשחוט קרבנות על מנת לאכלם או לעשות עבודתם חוץ למקומם
או לזמנם – Not to slaughter offerings with intention to eat them
or perform their service outside of their location or time
.(source, description)
6( שלא לאכול קרבנות ששחטן על מנת לאכלן או להקריבן חוץ למקומן –
Not to eat offerings which were slaughtered with intention to
eat them or perform their service outside of their location
.(source, description)
7( שלא לאכול הצפור ששחטו אותה לטהרת המצורע – Not to eat of
the bird slaughtered for the metzora’s purification (source,
.description)
8( שלא להקריב דבש – )Not to offer honey (source, description.9( שלא להקריב מחיר כלב – Not to offer the exchange for a dog
.(source, description)
10( שלא לאכול הפסח מבושל – Not to eat the Pesach offering
.boiled (source, description)
11( שלא ירימו הלויים תרומת מעשר מן הרע שבו אלא היפה – For the
Leviim not to separate Terumas Maaser from the bad, rather
.from the good (source, description)
12( שלא נקבל שקלים מן הגוים ולא נצרף אותם עמנו בקרבנות הציבור –
Not to accept money from non-Jews or combine them with
.ours for communal offerings (source, description)
13( שלא לקבל עדות מיוחדת בדיני נפשות – -Not to accept non
.unified testimony for capital cases (source, description)
14( שלא יבוא האיש הירא ורך הלבב במלחמה – For a fearful person
.not to join in a war (source, description)
15( שלא לעשות דבר שיסלק השכינה בזמן מלחמה – Not to do things
which remove the Divine Presence during wartime (source,
.description)
16( שלא להעביר הבכורה מן הבן הגדול – Not to withold the double
.inheritance from a firstborn (source, description)
17( שלא לחמול על נפש הרוצח במזיד – Not to have mercy on an
.(intentional killer (source), description
18( שלא יבא החולץ על יבמתו – For someone who performed
.chalitzah not to lie with her afterwards (source, description)
19( שלא יבוא איש על אשתו שזנתה תחתיו – Not to lie with one’s
.wife who committed adultery (source, description)
20( שלא יחר בעינינו בשלחנו העבדים חפשים בשנה השביעית – Not to
be upset about seeing our slaves free in their seventh year
.(source, description)
21( שלא לענות אלמנה – ,Not to oppress a widow (source
.description)
22( שלא להרוג צדיק בדין – Not to execute someone who was
acquitted (source, description (see also Megillas Esther ad.
.loc.)
23( שלא יחר בעינינו בתתנו צדקה לעניים – Not to be upset about
.giving tzedaka to the poor (source, description)24( שלא לגנוב כלי שרת מכלי המקדש – Not to steal any Temple
.vessel (source, description)
25( שלא ישא לוי ארון הקדש בכתף מבן חמשים שנה – For a Levi not
to carry the Aron Kodesh on his shoulders from the age of
.fifty (source, description)
26( שלא תחטיא ב”ד הארץ להניח מחזיר גרושתו – For Beis Din not
to ignore someone who remarried his divorcee (source,
.description)
27( שלא יזנה איש הארץ בזנות – For a man not to profane the
.land with illicit relations (source, description)
28( שלא יחלל כהן גדול המקדש בצאתו מהעבודה מפני אבל – For a
Kohen Gadol not to defile the Temple by leaving his service
.due to mourning (source, description)
29( שלא תטמא ב”ד את הארץ בלינת המת – For Beis Din not to
profane the land by leaving a corpse hanging (source,
.description)
30( שלא לחלוק על הכהונה – ,Not to dispute the Kehuna (source
.description)
31( שלא להנות מעגלה ערופה ופטר חמור – Not to benefit from the
.beheaded calf or firstborn of a donkey (source, description)
1 There seems to be a typo in Derech Mitzvosecha, which
says the Ramban split mitzvah #247 into two.
2 The following mitzvah in Shichchas HaAsin LeDaas
מצות לאכול מן האילנות HaRambam #6, has the mitzvah of
To enjoy the fruits of the – שבגבולה כל ימי המצור ולא לכרות אותם
trees surrounding a city under siege and not to destroy them
(source). The Mishneh LaMelech claims that the Ramban
listed it only according to the opinion of the Rambam, who
himself should have listed it. However, the Ramban himself
doesn’t hold it should be included, for the same reason as
#24 above. This explains why the Ramban at the conclusion
of his Hasagos says there are only 16 mitvos that the
Rambam forgot, when he himself listed 17.
3 At the end of Ramban’s Hasagos, he says that he’s unsure
if he should list the positive mitzvah for a King or Shofet toask the Urim VeTumim if the people should go out to war. He
says if it shouldn’t be counted, then he’ll count the mitzvah for
a Sage to rule while not intoxicated. He leaves it as an
unresolved question, but in his Hasagos to negative mitzvah
#73 he pretty confidently counts the latter as a mitzvah, so I
wrote above only that one. However, at the end of the Zohar
HaRakiah he writes that we cannot rely on what the Ramban
writes in his Hasagos; only on what he writes at the end when
he sums up the mitzvos. This is also brought in the sefer
Seder Hamitzvos.
4 The Ramban in his summary at the end of his Hasagos
writes that the Rambam is missing seven negative mitzvos.
Apparently he had a different version of Sefer HaMitzvos than
we have. The Zohar HaRakiya tries to figure out which were
missing, and feels he discovered five. However, Rav Chaim
Heller (Yevul HaYovlos pg. 82) disagrees, and feels there was
simply a copyist error at fault. He therefore says it’s a waste
of time trying to figure out which mitzvos were missing from
his version. Regardless, the Ramban therefore added 7 more
to the 24 he removed.
Ramban includes all of these positive mitzvos, which the
Rambam doesn’t:
Mitzvah 1: Positive mitzvah of eating maaser sheni.
Mitzvah 2: Positive mitzvah of not eating impure trumah
Mitzvah 3: Positive mitzvah of not selling shvi’is fruits
Mitzvah 4: Positive mitzvah of settling Eretz Yisrael
Mitzvah 5: Positive mitzvah of leaving a way for the enemy to
retreat
Mitzvah 6: Positive mitzvah to eat fruit trees when sieging a
city
Mitzvah 7: Positive mitzvah to remember Miriam verbally
Mitzvah 8: Positive mitzvah to be wholesome with G-d
Mitzvah 9: Positive mitzvah to separate trumah from the best
Mitzvah 10: Positive mitzvah for every korban to be one of the
three valid species
Mitzvah 11: Positive mitzvah to offer all korbanos between the
two temidinMitzvah 12: Positive (?) mitzvah for the Pesach not to be
eaten by day
Mitzvah 13: Positive mitzvah to kill a killer
Mitzvah 14: Positive mitzvah not to benefit from clothing or a
house with tzara’as
Mitzvah 15: Positive mitzvah to thank G-d
Mitzvah 16: Positive mitzvah to keep your brother alive
Mitzvah 17: Positive mitzvah to return interest
Ramban includes all of these negative mitzvos, which the
Rambam doesn’t
Mitzvah 1: Negative mitzvah not to forget belief in G-d
Mitzvah 2: Negative mitzvah not to forget the standing at Har
Sinai
Mitzvah 3: Ngeative mitzvah not to misplace vessels in the
beis hamikdash
Mitzvah 4: Negative mitzvah not to slaughter kodshim
intending to eat them
Mitzvah 5: Negative mitzvah not to eat kodshim outside of
their place
Mitzvah 6: Negative mitzvah not to eat the bird slaughtered
for a metzora
Mitzvah 7: Negative mitzvah for levi’im not to take trumah
Mitzvah 8: Negative mitzvah not to accept shekalim from non-
Jews for the purpose of korbanos tzibur
It is important to note that the Rambam and Ramban agree
with each other most of the time that these are obligations,
but they disagree about whether they are de’oraisa.