Is believing in G-d and trusting in Him actually one of the 613 mitzvot, or something broader?
Q. Is emunah/Bitachon a mitzvah from the Torah, and if so which one(s)?
The Vilna Gaon stresses that there are more than 2,000 mitzvot but our tradition has only 613. In other words, there are many things that we should do m’d’oraita, but there are differences of opinion whether they are officially counted as mitzvot. Emuna/Bitachon is one of those cases, where the Rambam “counts” it as a mitzva as opposed to others who don’t (not that they say one doesn’t need to, but they explain that it’s such a basic prerequisite that it’s not “counted”). Some learn it from the pasuk of Shma Yisrael, while others learn it from the first of the Ten Commandments.
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