What is a mitzvah?
A mitzvah (plural mitzvot) is a commandment in Judaism — an instruction from the Torah for how to live. In everyday speech it has also come to mean a "good deed," because doing a mitzvah is doing what's asked of you. Jewish tradition counts 613 mitzvot in the Torah, spanning ritual, ethics, and relationships — from charity and honesty to Shabbat and prayer. A mitzvah is where Jewish belief becomes Jewish action.
What are the 613 mitzvot?
Tradition enumerates 613 commandments in the Torah, often divided into:
- Positive mitzvot — things to do (e.g. give charity, honor your parents) — traditionally 248.
- Negative mitzvot — things to refrain from (e.g. don't steal) — traditionally 365.
Not all apply to everyone or every era (many relate to the Temple), but they form the master list that halacha draws on.
Mitzvah as "commandment" vs. "good deed"
The deeper meaning is commandment — a mitzvah connects the doer to the Commander and to a tradition far larger than themselves. The popular sense of "a good deed" captures something true (mitzvot are good) but misses the relationship at the heart of the word. Learning what each mitzvah means turns rote action into meaningful practice.
In short: a mitzvah is a Torah commandment (and, colloquially, a good deed). Tradition counts 613 of them — the building blocks of Jewish practice.
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