(pl. mitsvot; lit. "commandment"). A religious duty commanded by the Torah and defined by talmudic law as being of biblical origin (de-oraita), although there are also mitsvot of rabbinic origin (de-rabbanan; see Commandments, the 613). Jewish teachers have suggested a rationale for the mitsvot of the Torah. Rav (early 3rd cent.) asserted that "the mitsvot were given only in order to refine humanity" (Gen. R. 44:1). Some have interpreted this statement to imply that they were given to instill in man unquestioning obedience to God's commands, and that it is idle to inquire after any further purpose. Maimonides rejects this interpretation, maintaining that the mitsvot are not arbitrary commands but were given for man's benefit. He says, "The general object of the commandments is twofold: the well-being of the soul and the well-being of the body." The former consists in teaching true ideas, the latter in promoting proper social relations (Guide III, 27). Jewish teachers in all ages have been similarly divided between the rationalists who seek the reasons for the commandments (ta'amé ha-mitsvot), and the non-rationalists who decry the search for reasons. The tannaim disagreed as to whether a ruling may be inferred from the apparent reason for a biblical commandment (Sanh. 21a). Those who oppose such inference fear that once the rationale for a mitsvah is provided, people might rationalize that they can achieve the purpose of the mitsvah without necessarily complying with its prescriptions.
Saadiah Gaon (9th cent.) offers another explanation for the mitsvot, arguing that they are a God-given gift to man "enabling him to attain constant bliss; for the person who achieves the good life as a reward for compliance with His commandments obtains double the benefit gained by one who is not called upon to comply but receives the good life only as a result of God's kindness" (Emunot ve-De'ot). A modern Jewish philosopher, Joseph B.. Soloveichik, suggests that by giving commandments to man God has raised him to a higher level than that of the rest of His creatures, enabling him to act not only through natural instinct but through conscious choice (The Lonely Man of Faith).
The prophet Isaiah (29:13) decried the perfunctory fulfillment of the mitsvot, devoid of an awareness of their purpose, saying: "Because that people has approached Me with its mouth and honored Me with its lips; but it has kept its heart far from Me, and its worship of Me has been a commandment of men learned by rote." In keeping with this chastisement, the sages insisted that performance of a mitsvah is meaningful only if accompanied by an awareness---called Kavvanah---that it is God who has commanded the ritual and it is in obedience to His word that man fulfills it. To ensure such awareness, the sages insisted that the performance of a positive mitsvah be preceded by the recitation of a benediction praising God "Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to perform [this particular mitsvah]" (Pes. 7b). (There are several exceptions to this rule. For example, a benediction is not recited before the giving of alms or before reciting the Haggadah on the night of Passover.) There is a discussion in the Talmud as to whether kavvanah is an absolute requirement in the performance of a mitsvah, lacking which the mitsvah is invalid (Ber. 13a). However, the sages did not discount completely a mitsvah performed without kavvanah; better to act imperfectly than not to act at all. The greatest mitsvah is the study of Torah, yet the sages advised, "At all times a person should engage in Torah and mitsvot even if not for their own sake [i.e., if performed for some ulterior motive]; for from acting not for their own sake he will ultimately arrive at performing them for their own sake" (Pes. 50b). Thus the rabbis state, "Whoever says, 'I give this coin for charity on condition that my son [who is ill] should live,' is completely righteous" (RH 4b).
Teachers of Kabbalah attributed mystical powers to the mitsvot and introduced into the liturgy certain prayers to be recited prior to the performance of a mitsvah to verbalize these esoteric intentions. Typical is the one recited before the benediction over the Four Species held aloft and waved on Sukkot, which reads, "May it be Your will ... that with the fruit of the goodly tree, branches of the palm, boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, the letters of Your singular Name [the Tetragrammaton] will approach each other and become as one in my hand." Even though many halakhists objected to these supplementary prayers, they are printed in most prayer books and their recitation became common practice.
The sages ruled that a girl (Bat Mitzvah) is obliged to observe the mitsvot from the age of 12 and a boy (Bar Mitzvah) from the age of 13. However, a father is obliged to train his children in the performance of mitsvot when they are younger, so they will be able to observe them properly when they come of age (Suk. 42a).
The sages urged that a mitsvah be performed esthetically (hiddur mitsvah). "Make a beautiful Sukkah, a beautiful Shofar, a beautiful Scroll of the Law" (Shab. 133b). However, they ruled that one should not expend over a third more than the normal cost for the sake of beauty (BK 9b). They also ruled that a mitsvah performed by committing a transgression is invalid (Suk. 30a). They asserted that the mitsvot were not given for pleasure (RH 28a), which was interpreted by Rashi to imply that they were given "as a yoke, to make known that we are His servants and the keepers of His commandments" (Meg. 32a). On the other hand, the sages speak of simḥah shel mitsvah; that a mitsvah be performed with joy (Lev. R. 34:9).
Another ruling of the sages provides that one who is engaged in peforming one mitsvah is exempt from performing another at the same time (Ber. 11a, 17b). Thus one who is busy making arrangements for the burial of a relative is exempt from all other religious duties. Furthermore, a mitsvah that is at hand may not be bypassed in favor of another (Yoma 33a). Indeed, if a mitsvah is at hand, there must be no delay in fulfilling it (Mekhilta to Ex. 12:17).
The Torah promises the blessings of peace and prosperity as a reward for keeping the mitsvot. The tannaim affirmed this by stating, "He who performs one mitsvah receives good things---his days are lengthened and he inherits the Land" (Kid. 1:9). They also exhort, "Be as eager to perform an easy mitsvah as a difficult one, for you do not know their [respective] rewards; and calculate any loss incurred in performing a mitsvah against its [overriding] gain" (Avot 2:1). On the other hand, one amora asserts categorically, "There is no reward for a mitsvah in this world" (Kid. 39b), and another, interpreting the passage, "You shall keep the commandment ... which I command you today to do them" (Deut. 7:11), says, "Today [in this world] is for the doing; tomorrow [in the world to come] is for the receiving of the reward" (Er. 22a) (see Reward and Punishment). Mitsvah has a redeeming power in this world: "When one is busy performing a mitsvah, it shields him [from pain] and protects him [from transgression]" (Sot. 21a), and when in pursuit of a mitsvah one is shielded from injury (Pes. 8a). The mitsvot a person does are credited to him, balanced against the transgressions he commits; one additional mitsvah can tip the scales in his favor so that he is considered a tsaddik, a righteous person (Kid. 39b; RH 17b).
The term mitsvah was extended in rabbinic parlance to refer to any religious obligation even if not biblically commanded. Thus, to explain why washing the hands before eating non-sacred food is called a mitsvah, though not required by biblical law, the Talmud says, "Because it is a mitsvah to hearken to the words of the sages" (Ḥul. 106a). Any meritorious deed was considered a mitsvah. Thus when Hillel the Elder went to the bathhouse he told his disciples that he was going to perform a mitsvah; for cleansing the body created in the image of God is a meritorious deed (Lev.R. 34:3). The term was especially used to denote the giving of alms. In Eastern Europe the selling of the right to read in the synagogue a specific portion of the Pentateuch was called "the selling of mitsvot."
