Maimonides’ List — divided into Positive (Do) and Negative (Do Not) commandments
I. BELIEF IN GOD & THE SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
Positive
- To know there is a God
- To believe in God’s unity
- To love God
- To fear/revere God
- To sanctify God’s name
- To recite the Shema
- To serve God (traditionally prayer)
- To cling to God
- To swear in His name (when appropriate)
- To walk in His ways (imitate His goodness)
Negative
- Do not believe in other gods
- Do not make idols
- Do not bow to idols
- Do not worship idols in the manner they are worshiped
- Do not make images to be worshiped
- Do not worship stars/angels
- Do not follow magical or idolatrous practices
- Do not swear falsely in God’s name
- Do not test God
II. TEMPLE SERVICE & SACRIFICES
(Historically practiced; no longer active since 70 CE)
Positive
- Build the Temple
- Honor the Temple
- Guard the Temple area
- Priests must bless the people
24–72. Sacrificial laws (various offerings: burnt offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, firstborn animals, tithes, meal offerings, daily offerings, incense, festival offerings, and more)
Negative
73–120. Forbidden practices such as:
- No offering blemished animals
- No bringing sacrifices outside the Temple
- Priests may not serve drunk
- No improper handling of sacrificial meat
- No kindling unauthorized fire
…and many more relating to purity, timing, location, and priesthood.
III. PRIESTS, LEVITES, AND HOLINESS
Positive
- Priests must wear special garments
- Levites must serve in the Temple
- Support the priests and Levites through gifts
124–134. Laws of the Kohanim (priests) — including purity, marriage rules, and consumption of sacred food.
Negative
135–150. Restrictions on priests, such as:
- Not becoming impure from corpses (except relatives)
- Priests may not marry certain women
- High Priest has stricter purity and marriage rules
- Non-priests may not perform priestly duties
IV. RITUAL PURITY & CLEANLINESS
Positive
- Laws of impurity from a corpse
- Red heifer purification
153–168. Laws for:
- Menstruation (niddah)
- Bodily discharges
- Leprosy-like conditions (tzara’at)
- Immersing in a mikveh
- Impure vessels and clothing
Negative
169–183. Prohibitions such as:
- No entering the Temple while impure
- No touching consecrated items while impure
- Avoiding contamination sources
- Not shaving leprous marks
V. FESTIVALS & HOLY TIMES
Positive
- Sanctify the new moon
- Rest on Shabbat
- Make Kiddush
187–214. Festival laws:
- Passover: eat matzah, tell the Exodus story
- Counting the Omer
- Shavuot
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur fast
- Sukkot: dwell in a sukkah, take the Four Species
- Shemini Atzeret
- Sabbatical year laws
- Jubilee laws
Negative
215–231. Includes:
- No work on Sabbaths/holidays
- No chametz on Passover
- No fasting/working on Yom Kippur
- Not harvesting during the Sabbatical/Jubilee year
- No sounding of instruments on Shabbat (rabbinic now)
VI. FAMILY & PERSONAL LAWS
Positive
- Procreation
- Marriage with a ketubah
- Divorce through a get
- Levirate marriage (yibbum)
- Chalitzah if yibbum is refused
Negative
237–260. Forbidden relationships:
- Incest prohibitions
- Adultery
- Homosexual anal sex
- Bestiality
- Relations during menstruation
- Priestly marriage restrictions
VII. DIETARY LAWS (KASHRUT)
Positive
- Examine signs of kosher animals
- Slaughter animals properly (shechita)
Negative
263–297. Do not:
- Eat non-kosher animals
- Eat blood
- Eat sciatic nerve
- Mix meat and milk
- Eat insects
- Eat animals that died improperly
- Eat sacred offerings improperly
VIII. CIVIL & CRIMINAL LAW
Positive
298–319. Courts and justice:
- Appoint judges
- Follow courts’ rulings
- Testify truthfully
- Rescue the persecuted
- Return lost objects
- Rebuke wrongdoers
- Love your neighbor
- Love the convert
Negative
320–359. Laws forbidding:
- Murder
- Kidnapping
- Theft
- Fraud
- Withholding wages
- Using false weights
- Revenge
- Bearing grudges
- Gossip
- Oppressing strangers
- Delaying justice
IX. BUSINESS & ECONOMIC LAW
Positive
- Lend to the needy
- Pay workers on time
- Observe laws of loans and collateral
- Cancel debts in the sabbatical year
Negative
364–392. Do not:
- Charge interest to fellow Jews
- Move property boundaries
- Use dishonest business practices
- Deny or lie about debts
- Misuse collateral
X. AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
Positive
393–413. Includes:
- Leave corners of fields for the poor
- Leave gleanings
- Bring first fruits
- Tithes
- Treat animals kindly
- Let land rest in the Sabbatical year
Negative
414–429. Includes:
- Do not mix seeds
- Do not plow with mixed animals
- Do not destroy fruit trees in war
- Do not muzzle an ox while it works
XI. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & COMMUNITY
Positive
430–442. Includes:
- Honor parents
- Charity
- Bury the dead
- Comfort mourners
- Stand before the elderly
- Support widows and orphans
Negative
443–450. Do not:
- Curse parents
- Strike parents
- Cause suffering to others
- Mislead the blind (metaphorically or literally)
XII. MONARCHY & NATIONAL LAW
Positive
- Appoint a king
- Follow the king’s laws
- Wipe out Amalek
- Build cities of refuge
Negative
455–474. Includes:
- King must not have too many wives
- King must not amass excessive wealth or horses
- Do not fear going to war
- Do not spare Amalek
- Do not remove boundary markers
XIII. WAR, JUSTICE & PUNISHMENT
Positive
475–488. Includes:
- Punish criminals fairly
- Establish courts for cities
- Carry out capital punishments when necessary
- Provide fair warfare rules
- Offer peace before besieging a city
Negative
489–520. Includes:
- No perjury
- No bribery
- No excessive punishment
- No harming civilians
- No destroying fruit trees
XIV. MISCELLANEOUS TORAH COMMANDS
Positive
521–538. Includes:
- Write a Torah scroll
- Wear tefillin
- Attach mezuzah
- Wear tzitzit
- Bless God after meals (Birkat HaMazon)
- Fear the Temple
- Follow the Sanhedrin
- Separate tithes
- Observe vows
Negative
539–613. Includes:
- Do not add to or subtract from the Torah
- Do not practice sorcery
- Do not engage in witchcraft
- No necromancy
- No astrology-based worship
- No tattoos (traditional interpretation)
- No self-harm
- No cutting the beard in certain ways
- No cross-dressing
- Do not bring shame to God’s name
- Do not break oaths
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