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Mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah (/ˈmɪtsvə/; Hebrew: מִצְוָה, mīṣvā [mit͡sˈva], plural מִצְווֹת mīṣvōt [mit͡sˈvot]; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law (halakha) in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments.
In its secondary meaning, the word mitzvah refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).
For some mitzvot, the purpose is specified in the Torah; though, the opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the mitzvot and those who do not question them. The former believe that if people were to understand the reason for each mitzvah, it would help them to observe and perform the mitzvah. The latter argue that if the purpose for each mitzvah could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the ultimate purpose of the mitzvah, while rejecting the mitzvah itself.
The feminine noun mitzvah (מִצְוָה) occurs over 180 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The first use is in Genesis 26:5 where God says that Abraham has "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments (מִצְוֹתַי mitzvotai), my statutes, and my laws". In the Septuagint the word is usually translated with entolē (ἐντολή). In Second Temple period funeral inscriptions the epithet phil-entolos, "lover of the commandments", was sometimes inscribed on Jewish tombs. Other words are also used in Hebrew for commands and statutes; the Ten Commandments (עשרת הדיברות), for example, are the "Ten Words".
Jewish tradition states that there exist 613 commandments. This number does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. The tradition that the number is 613 is first recorded in the 3rd century CE, when Rabbi Simlai claimed it in a sermon, perhaps to make the point that a person should observe the Torah every day with his whole body.
Rabbi Simlai gave as a sermon (darash Rabi Simlai): 613 commandments were communicated to Moses, 365 negative commands, corresponding to the number of solar days [in a year], and 248 positive commands, corresponding to the number of the members [bones covered with flesh] of a man's body.
However, this opinion was not universally accepted. Abraham ibn Ezra observed that there were over a thousand divine commandments in the Bible, but fewer than 300 applied to his time. Nachmanides found that the number was in dispute and uncertain. The number 613 is a rabbinical tradition rather than an exact count.
In rabbinic literature there are a number of works, mainly by the Rishonim, that attempt to enumerate 613 commandments. Probably the most famous of these is Sefer Hamitzvot by Maimonides.
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Mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah (/ˈmɪtsvə/; Hebrew: מִצְוָה, mīṣvā [mit͡sˈva], plural מִצְווֹת mīṣvōt [mit͡sˈvot]; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law (halakha) in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments.
In its secondary meaning, the word mitzvah refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).
For some mitzvot, the purpose is specified in the Torah; though, the opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the mitzvot and those who do not question them. The former believe that if people were to understand the reason for each mitzvah, it would help them to observe and perform the mitzvah. The latter argue that if the purpose for each mitzvah could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the ultimate purpose of the mitzvah, while rejecting the mitzvah itself.
The feminine noun mitzvah (מִצְוָה) occurs over 180 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The first use is in Genesis 26:5 where God says that Abraham has "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments (מִצְוֹתַי mitzvotai), my statutes, and my laws". In the Septuagint the word is usually translated with entolē (ἐντολή). In Second Temple period funeral inscriptions the epithet phil-entolos, "lover of the commandments", was sometimes inscribed on Jewish tombs. Other words are also used in Hebrew for commands and statutes; the Ten Commandments (עשרת הדיברות), for example, are the "Ten Words".
Jewish tradition states that there exist 613 commandments. This number does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. The tradition that the number is 613 is first recorded in the 3rd century CE, when Rabbi Simlai claimed it in a sermon, perhaps to make the point that a person should observe the Torah every day with his whole body.
Rabbi Simlai gave as a sermon (darash Rabi Simlai): 613 commandments were communicated to Moses, 365 negative commands, corresponding to the number of solar days [in a year], and 248 positive commands, corresponding to the number of the members [bones covered with flesh] of a man's body.
However, this opinion was not universally accepted. Abraham ibn Ezra observed that there were over a thousand divine commandments in the Bible, but fewer than 300 applied to his time. Nachmanides found that the number was in dispute and uncertain. The number 613 is a rabbinical tradition rather than an exact count.
In rabbinic literature there are a number of works, mainly by the Rishonim, that attempt to enumerate 613 commandments. Probably the most famous of these is Sefer Hamitzvot by Maimonides.