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
Society for the Advancement of Judaism Society for the Advancement of Judaism The Society for the Advancement of Judaism is a synagogue and Jewish organization in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Founded in 1922 by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, the synagogue is affiliated with the Reconstructionist Jewish movement. The current rabbi is Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, who succeeded Michael Strassfeld on 1 July 2015. Moshe Nathanson, composer of Hava Nagilah, was Cantor of the SAJ during Kaplan's tenure. The first American Bat Mitzvah was held at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism on Saturday morning, March 18, 1922,