Mitzvah "mitzvah" (some "mitzvot" are given reasons in the Torah). In its secondary meaning, Hebrew "mitzvah", as with English "commandment", refers to a moral deed performed within a religious duty. 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). The tertiary meaning of "mitzvah" also refers to the fulfillment of a "mitzvah". The feminine noun ' () occurs over 180 times in the Masoretic Text of the
Mitzvah The collection is part of the larger Jewish law or "halakha". 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 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 ("lishmah"), which would become self-defeating. The former believe that if people were to understand the reason and the purpose for each "mitzvah", it would actually help them to observe and perform the