As we've mentioned many times, there is no exact count for the 613 Mitzvot, and there many questions about what does or doesn't go on the list. In Parashat Ekev (8,5) the pasuk says, וְיָדַעְתָּ֖ עִם־לְבָבֶ֑ךָ כִּ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְיַסֵּ֥ר אִישׁ֙ אֶת־בְּנ֔וֹ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מְיַסְּרֶֽךָּ׃ You should know in your heart, like a man chastises his son, Hashem Your God gives you yesurim/suffering. The Sefer Haredim , written by an early Mekubal from Sfat, says from here we learn about the mitzvah of Siduk HaDin, which means accepting the righteousness of God's judgment. Whether with his or his child’s body, or with his money, a person has to be steadfast in his heart, accept Hashem’s judgment, and understand that it's not a coincidence. This comes under the category of VeAhavta Et Hashem Elokecha/ Love Hashem your God , even if we don't count it as one of the 613. Where do we see that? Because it says Bechol Meodecha/W ith all your Meod . What does Meod mean? The Gemara in Berachot 54A says, Meod comes from the root Middah . Whatever measure God gives us, we must love Him. Whether it's for good or it's suffering, we have to accept it with happiness. This an important principle, and as we have said, some, such as the Smok (Sefer Mitzvot Katan) and the Smog (Sefer Mitzvot Gadol), count it as one of the 613. Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaar Teshuva (4,13), adds that it doesn't just say, Know that the suffering comes from God and accept that. It’s more than that. You have to know that it's being done for your own good, like a father that gives Musar to his son out of love for him. A person has to believe that it's coming from a loving God. Derashot HaRan , from Rabbenu Nissim, one of the Rishonim adds that “ Like a father to a son,” means that when a father disciplines his son, it's not the full measure of what he deserves. The father always gives a step down from what the child fully deserves, because it's hard for a father to discipline his son. As the famous saying goes, This hurts me more than it hurts you, and that's also part of it. So every nuance of a father/ son relationship in discipline is the way we're supposed to view God's discipline upon us. Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaare Teshuva, (3,17) talks about different Mitzvot Aseh , and one of them ( listed in last week's Parashat Ekev) is Zichron Hasadav/Remember God's kindnesses and delve into them. He quotes a pasuk in Devarim (8,2) “ Remember the road that God took us through in, in the desert, when we left Egypt,” and then continues with our pasuk of, “ You should know in your heart that God chastises you like a father chastises a son.” He adds that David Hamelech tells us (Tehilim, 107,43) , “ ויתבננו חסדי ה׳ Delve into the kindness of God,” and (26,3) כִּֽי־חַ֭סְדְּךָ לְנֶ֣גֶד עֵינָ֑י Your kindness is opposite of my eyes. So Rabbenu Yonah puts this pasuk of remembering God's discipline together with the general mitzvah of remembering His kindness . That means that when we look at the kindness of God, dealing with us in the desert, included in that is also the times when God disciplined us in the desert. He puts both under the umbrella of kindness. The Sefer Haredim also says that if we have to remember the kindness of way back when in the desert, and the discipline of then, even more so, a person has to remember the individual kindnesses that happens with the Jewish people at large, which is that we're still here today after thousands of years in exile. And we also have to remember every kindness that God has dealt to us as individuals, from the time we were born. It goes so far that the Ibn Ezra says in Kohelet (5, 1), A person has to thank Hashem every second, because God's kindness is with us every second that we're alive, and that we're enjoying just being alive and here. But, he says, since we're busy with worldly matters- we have to eat and drink and go work- God gave us three times a day to pray to Him and thank Him. But really, it should be every second of the day. These are Torah principles - they're not just positive thinking, like in the outside world.These are positive commandments, and when it's a commandment, it has extra power. It’s not just a nice thought. It has the power of a mitzvah to impact you. Asher Kiddishanu B’Mitzvotav Vesivanu/ God made us holy with His Mitzvot and commanded us. But Mitzvot need kavana . You need to know what you're doing. So every time you appreciate God's discipline, when you say kapara when something doesn't go right, and every time you appreciate God's kindness- when you have a nice hot cup of coffee, you are fulfilling positive commandments. And these commandments will help us live a life with Hashem, which is our goal and mission.