Torah Basics

[Director Michael]

Shalom Rabbis and Dr. Schulman,
I have a question about the 613 laws that a Jewish person should follow. Are all of them laws that a Jewish person has to follow when the Temple will be rebuilt, or will just a smaller number of laws be followed when the Holy Temple is reconstructed?

There are some concepts here which are not intuitive, so some explanation and thought is required to appreciate the special conditions of Torah Law.

1) The 613 Jewish commandments (and the 7 Noahide commandments) that were given within the Torah at Mount Sinai are eternal. This means that each of these commandments stands forever, regardless of whether or not the particular conditions of its application may be existing or possibly existing.

2) The 613 Jewish commandments are comprised of 248 "postive" commandments (things that are commanded to be done under specific conditions), and 365 "negative" commandments (things that are commanded to not be done under specific conditions).

3) The negative commandments are always in effect. Thus, for example, a Jew is continuously forbidden to eat the meat of a burnt-offering, even now when Jews are forbidden to bring burnt offerings (which they may only bring in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem).

4) Many of the positive Jewish commandments have limited application. Some only apply to men, some only to women, some only to the priests (kohanim), some only to judges, some only to the king, etc. Some only apply during the existence of the Holy Temple, some only apply to those who farm the land in Israel, etc.

5) Some of the positive Jewish commandments are absolutely obligatory on every adult male Jew, at all times, everywhere. The total number of these "unconditional" positive Jewish commandments is 60, for a Jewish man who is living in normal conditions. Of these, 46 are also unconditionally obligatory on an adult Jewish woman.

6) All of the Torah's commandments will continue to apply in the Messianic era, when the Temple is rebuilt and all of the 12 Tribes of Israel are returned and resettled in their designated areas within the Holy Land. However, some of them will not have any occasion to actually be carried out. For example, it is commanded that a Jew who is convicted by the Great Sanhedrin of a capital sin (which can only be during the existence and functioning of the Holy Temple) is to be executed by one of four methods. However, after Moshiach comes no Jew will sin, so this will never have occasion to be carried out in actual practice.

Another question is, when Moshiach comes, is it possible that the set of rules would change, or the number of them would be increased or decreased after the entire nation of Israel is back in the Holy Land? And if so would that be through Moshiach himself?

As explained above, the 613 Jewish commandments (no more and no less) are eternal, although a number of them will not apply in actual practice after Moshiach comes, and a number of them which don't apply now will apply then, after the Temple is rebuilt and all of the 12 Tribes are returned.

However, the Rabbinical injunctions do not have eternal permanence, per se. When Moshiach comes, some Rabbinical injunctions may be lifted, some may be changed, and others may be added. The supreme earthly Torah-law authority for Rabbinical injunctions and rulings on the correct observance of the Torah's commandments will be the Great Sanhedrin when it is re-established by Moshiach in its designated place adjacent to the rebuilt Holy Temple. Moshiach will preside over the future Sanhedrin as its leading sage (the Nasi).