Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 5 (Digest)
Prayer
"And you shall serve the L-rd, your G‑d"—Exodus 23:25.
We are commanded numerous times throughout the Torah to serve G‑d. Although this is a general commandment, it does contain a very specific application: prayer, service of the heart as expressed through the mouth.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
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> The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve G‑d (blessed be He). This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve G‑d, your L‑rd";;) "And you shall serve Him";;) "And to serve Him.";)
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> Although this commandment is of a general nature,;) as explained in the Fourth Principle,;) [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.
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> [We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri;) says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.
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> In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili,;) the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' ";)
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> They also said,;) "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.;)
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> Footnotes
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> 1.
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> Ex. 23:25.
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> 2.
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> Deut. 13:5. Some versions of Sefer Hamitzvos include here Deut. 6:13, "And you shall serve Him."
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> 3.
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> Deut. 11:13.
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> 4.
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> I.e., "serving" G‑d includes performance of all the mitzvos, rather than a specific act.
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> 5.
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> In the Introductory section of Sefer Hamitzvos. This Principle states that a mitzvah must be of a specific nature in order to be counted among the 613 mitzvos.
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> 6.
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> Deut 11:13.
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> 7.
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> Also quoted in Migdal Oz, beginning of Hilchos Tefilah.
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> 8.
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> Deut. 10:20.
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> 9.
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> Sifri Medrash Tenaim.
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> 10.
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> Kings I, 8:23,35. Chronicles II, 6:32.