The Rambam’s Ninth Principle: Don’t count commandments, count things to do

The Torah commands us in four different areas, the Rambam says. These are: beliefs (to accept certain things about God, not to consider heretical ideas); character traits (to love our neighbor, not to bear a grudge); speech (to bentch after eating, not to speak lashon hara); and actions (to offer sacrifices, not to bow to idols). Separate items in each of these areas are to be counted as mitzvos regardless of how many times a command may appear in the Torah.