Mitzvah

Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, IPA: [ˈmɪtsvə], "commandment"; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, "command") is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. The term can also refer to the fulfilment of a mitzvah as defined above.

The term mitzvah has also come to express any act of human kindness, such as the burial of the body of an unknown person. According to the teachings of Judaism, all moral laws are, or are derived from, divine commandments.

Rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the mitzvot and those who do not question them. The latter argue that if the reason for each mitzvah could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the purpose of the mitzvah, without actually performing the mitzvah itself.

Enumeration

The Rabbis came to assume that the Law comprised 613 commandments. According to Rabbi Simlai, as quoted in the Talmud, this enumeration of 613 commandments was representative of

365 negative commandments like the number of days in the solar year, and 248 positive commandments like the number of bones in the human body - Talmud, tractate Makkoth, 23b

Three of the negative commandments can involve Yeihareig ve'al ya'avor, meaning "One should let himself be killed rather than violate this negative commandment."

For a time, gematria was a significant feature in religious thought, and so it became said that 611, the gematria value for torah, was the number of commandments given via Moses, with the remaining two being identified as the first commandments of the Ethical Decalogue, given by the Mouth of God Himself.

According to R. Ismael only the principal commandments of these 613 were given on Mount Sinai, the remainder having been given in the Tent of Meeting. According to R. Akiba they were all given on Mount Sinai, repeated in the Tent of Meeting, and declared a third time by Moses before his death. According to the Midrash, all divine commandments were given on Mount Sinai, and no prophet could add any new one (Midrash Sifra to Leviticus 27:34; Talmud, Yoma 80a).

In rabbinic literature there are a number of works, mainly by the Rishonim, that were composed to determine which commandments belong in this enumeration:

Maimonides: Sefer Hamitzvot ("Book of Commandments") with a critical commentary of Nachmanides;
Sefer ha-Chinnuch ("Book of Education"), attributed to Rabbi Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona (the Ra'ah);
Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Gadol ("Large book of Commandments") by Rabbi Moses of Coucy;
Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ha-Katan ("Small book of Commandments") by Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil;
Sefer Yere'im ("Book of the [God-]fearing") by Rabbi Eliezer of Metz (not a clear enumeration);
Sefer ha-Mitzvoth by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the "Chafetz Chaim") - this work only deals with the commandments that are valid in the present time.

Rabbinical mitzvot

The biblical mitzvot are referred to in the Talmud as Mitzvot de oraita, translated as commandments of the law. In contradistinction to this are rabbinical commandments, referred to as Mitzvot de rabbanan. Among the more important of these latter mitzvot are:

The benediction, or thanksgiving for each enjoyment
Washing of the hands before eating
Lighting of the Sabbath lamp
The 'Erub, on preparation for Sabbath transfer
The Hallel liturgy on holy days
The Hanukkah lights
The reading of the Esther scroll on Purim.

These seven rabbinical commandments are treated like Biblical commandments in so far as, prior to the fulfilment of each, a benediction is recited:

Blessed be the Lord who has commanded us ...

The divine command is considered implied in the general law (Deuteronomy 17:11, and 32:7; Shab. 23a). Many of the ideas concerning the implication of Biblical mitzvot are only derived via rabbinical interpretation; for example, the reading of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-7), the binding of the tefillin and the fixing of the mezuzah (Deuteronomy 8-9), and the saying of grace after meals (Deuteronomy 8:10).

Academic treatment

Biblically, six differing law codes were given by HaShem, to Moses, at Mount Sinai:

The Ten Commandments.
The Covenant Code follows, and provides more detailed laws.
The Ritual Decalogue, roughly summarising the Covenant Code, is presented after a brief narrative describing the design for the Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle.
The Priestly Code, containing extensive laws concerning rituals and more general situations is given from above the mercy seat in the Tabernacle, once the Ark and Tabernacle have been completed. This code is extended further when events occur not quite covered by the law, causing Moses to ask Yahweh for greater clarification.
The Holiness Code is contained within the Priestly Code, close to the end, but is a distinct subsection placing particular emphasis on things which are holy, and which should be done to honour the holy. It also contains the warnings from Yahweh about what will occur if the laws are not followed, as well as promises for the event that the laws are followed.
The Deuteronomic Code is remembered by Moses, in his last speeches before death, both covering the ground of prior codes, but also further laws not recorded earlier, which Moses has, by this point, remembered.

In biblical criticism, these codes are studied separately, particularly concerning the features unique, or first appearing, in each, by atheists, and apologists alike. Nevertheless, many of the mitzvot enumerated as being from one or other of these codes are also present in others, sometimes phrased in a different manner, or with additional clauses. Also, themes, such as idolatry, sexual behaviour, ritual cleanliness, and offerings of sacrifice, are shared among all six codes, and thus, in more religiously motivated theological studies, it is often the case that the mitzvot are organised instead by theme, rather than the location in which they are found within the bible.

The Mitzvot and Jewish law

Main article: Halakha

In rabbinic thought, God's will is the source of, and authority for, every moral and religious duty. In this way, the Mitzvot thus constitute the Divinely instituted rules of conduct. Consequently, while Judaism regards the violation of the mitzvot to be a sin, Jewish ideas concerning sin differ from those of other religions. In rabbinic thought, the commandments are usually divided into two major groups:

positive commandments (obligations) – mitzvot aseh מצות עשה
negative commandments (prohibitions) – mitzvot lo ta'aseh מצות לא תעשה

The system describing the practical application of the commandments is known as Halakha, loosely Jewish Law. The Halakha is the development of the Mitzvot as contained in the written law, via discussion and debate in the Oral law, as recorded in the rabbinic literature of the classical era, especially the Mishnah and the Talmud. Any mitzvah which can only be fulfilled by transgressing another law is considered unlawful.

The Halakha dictates everything the traditionalist Jew does from the moment he or she wakes up to the moment they go to sleep. It is particularly extensive, and so includes codes of behaviour applicable to virtually every imaginable circumstance, as well as many hypothetical ones. More generally, in Judaism, it is viewed that proselytes, on being initiated into Judaism, must be familiarised with commandments both of great and of small importance (Yeb. 47b).

Many of these laws concern only special classes of people, such as kings or the priesthood, Levites, or Nazarites, or are conditioned by local or temporary circumstances of the Jewish nation, as, for instance, the agricultural, sacrificial, and Levitical laws.

The majority view of classical rabbis was that the commandments will still be applicable and in force during the messianic era. However, a significant minority of rabbis held that most of the commandments will be nullified by, or in, the messianic era. Examples of such rabbinic views include:

That the grain-offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to God as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. (Malachi 3:4)
That today we should observe the commandments. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarah 3a, 4b).
That today we should observe the commandments, because we will not observe them in the world to come (Rashi).
That in the future all sacrifices, with the exception of the Thanksgiving-sacrifice, will be discontinued. (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 9:7)
That all sacrifices will be annulled in the future. (Tanchuma Emor 19, Vayikra Rabbah 9:7)
That God will permit what is now forbidden (Midrash Shochar Tov, Mizmor 146:5).
That most mitzvot will no longer be in force. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Niddah 61b and Tractate Shabbat 151b).

There is no authoritative answer accepted within Judaism as to which mitzvot, if any, would be annulled in the messianic era.

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