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Questions tagged [mitzvah]

Mitzvah - commandment. This tag is for questions about the nature of commandments or the status of being a commandment. (However, many particular commandments have their own tags.)

A mitzvah (מצוה) (pl. mitzvot or mitzvos (מצוות)) is a commandment. There are 613 mitzvot.

Mitzvot are divided into positive (עשה) and negative (לא תעשה) categories. There are 248 positive mitzvot, and 365 negative.

This tag is for general questions about mitzvot. Questions about Jewish law belong in . See this list of tags for more specific mitzvah-related tags.

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How many lists of the 613 Mitzvot are there, and who wrote them?

How many different individuals listed the 613 Mitzvot? Who was the first, and who was the most recent?
michael
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Why is Rosh Chodesh called "the first mitzvah in the Torah"?

I continually see Rosh Chodesh identified as "the first mitzvah in the Torah".[1] I recognize that it is the first mitzvah given to Am Yisrael as a nation. But there are three mitzvot that precede it in the Torah: 1) To be fruitful and multiply; 2)…
Sidney76
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Is it a greater mitzvah to return a lost item anonymously?

While of course it is a mitzvah to give tzadekah, I have heard (though I don't have any attribution) that different kinds of giving are of different worth. Particularly, I have heard that giving anonymously is especially worthy. It seems fairly…
AdamRedwine
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תורה אחת יהיה לכם - Are there subjective mitzvos - that vary from person to person?

Generally mitzvos have specific פרטים and שיעורים. For example, the Torah says to bentch (ברכת המזון) once satiated - however it's not left up to each person to decide if they feel satiated - but rather there's a specific שיעור - thus a 100 lb man…
Chaim
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Getting back Reward for Mitzvot you Regretted

This is from Rambam Halachot Teshuva: (From Chabad.org) Anyone who changes his mind about the mitzvot he has performed and regrets the merits [he has earned], saying in his heart: "What value was there in doing them? I wish I hadn't performed them"…
Anonymous111122
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What "types" of reward are promised for keeping particular Mitzvos?

Trying to generalize Alicht's question. Although the Mishnah in Avos states that we don't know the [true] reward of keeping Mitzvos: "וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְבַחֲמוּרָה, שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל מִצְוֹת." And be…
Al Berko
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Why does God modify commandments upon request?

I can find two instances of this in Tanach: 1) when G appoints Moshe to speak before Israel, he says he is "heavy of tongue" and G lets him use Aaron as a spokesman. 2) G commands Ezekiel (4:9) to make and eat bread baked with poop. Ezekiel politely…
Clint Eastwood
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What is the Current Understanding of Mitzvah?

According to Maimonides there are 613 Mitzvot that God commanded us. To the best of my knowledge most traditional halakhic authorities clearly state that “good-deed” is not an accurate translation of mitzvah. Commandment is. It seems to me, however,…
JJLL
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Are all mitzvot in Torah meant to be kept forever?

Nissan Dovid Dubov, in The Eternal Nature of the Torah, says: The Talmud teaches that mitzvahs will be nullified in the Messianic age. How do we reconcile this with Judaism’s cardinal principal that Torah is eternal and mitzvahs don’t…
user4951
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Which of the Mizvot are the most complicated to adhere to in the modern USA?

Which of the Mitzvot are the most complicated/difficult to adhere to in the modern USA?
Ruminator
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Is not articulating YHWH a biblical commandment?

Someone in a Jewish bookstore told me it was but wasn't able to locate the verse. I've always found it odd that the name is written out in texts (with vowels even), but we don't pronounce it. Also odd that my name, Yonatan, includes the name and…
John Strider
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Mitzvahs without action?

Are all Mitzvahs related to an action in thought speech or deed? I always thought that there are mitzvot "to do" and "not to do". But it seems some mitzvot are not related to an action to "do", but are listed under an alternative characterisation,…
hazoriz
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List of Lav HaNitak LeAseh

There's a dispute amongst the Rishonim how exactly to define what is a lav hanitak leaseh (as Artscroll translates: a negative commandment that is given over for positive rectification). I find the simplest explanation is Rashi to Makkos 14b, that…
robev
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Thinking about a mitzvah

Coming from a Reform Jewish perspective, since one is obligated to make as many mitzvot as possible, can one do machshava k’ma’ase’ for doing an actual mitzvah instead? If you think about a mitzvah, is that the same as actually doing it and…
Shmuel
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2 mitzvot you do while sleeping

Recently heard the Vilna Gaon says we do 2 mitzvot while we’re sleeping, does anyone know what they are?
Curious Yid
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