The Mitzvot (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

The Importance of the Ten Commandments

• Many Jews believe God revealed these to Moses and they are central to Jewish beliefs and practices

• The first four show the relationship between God and humans and the final six show how people should relate to each other

• The Ten Commandments forbid:

• Idolatry

• Blasphemy

• Adultery

• Stealing

• Murder

• Lying

• Envy

• The Ten Commandments also tell Jews to remember the importance of God, to remember and keep the Sabbath day and to honour parents

• Each year there is a Mitzvah Day (Translated as "commandment"), on which Jews aim to make a positive impact on their local community

• They are still significant within Jewish belief and practice today:

  • They act as a guide for Jews living today

  • Following the Ten Commandments is part of the covenant made at Mount Sinai, which applies to all Jews then and now

  • God will judge Jews on how well they have observed these commandments

  • Following the commandments helps Jews to become better people today

  • The commandments help Jews to treat other people with respect

  • The commandments guide Jews to love and worship God effectively

What is the Mitzvot?

• Jewish people believe they have a special responsibility to follow God’s laws or commandments (called mitzvot in Hebrew), because of the covenants they have made with him

• Maimonides, an influential rabbi, compiled a list of the 613 mitzvot. He wanted to provide a summary of Jewish law

• This list is in the Sefer Madda or Book of Knowledge, which is found within the Mishneh Torah:

  • The Sefer Madda explains that the foundation of everything is God and therefore moral principles should also originate from God

• The Torah contains 613 laws, and these are the mitzvot:

  • There are 248 positive mitzvot, which explain what Jews should do. These rules are known as mitzvot aseh

  • There are 365 negative mitzvot, which explain what Jews should not do. These rules are known as mitzvot ta’aseh

• Alternatively, the mitzvot can be divided up according to their purpose

• Ritual mitzvot explain what Jews should or should not do to avoid offending God and cover areas such as worship and festivals:

  • These mitzvot form a personal covenant between a Jewish person and God

  • The first four of the Ten Commandments are the most important of the ritual mitzvot

• Moral mitzvot explain how Jews should act when dealing with other people:

  • They help Jews to live as a community in a way that God finds acceptable

  • The Ten Commandments are important mitzvot as they are the basis for moral behaviour

  • Some laws are judgements from God, for example "you shall not steal"

  • These are known as mishpatim

• There are also six constant mitzvot. These are rules or laws that should always be in the minds of Jews:

The constant mitzvot

• There are also other mitzvot within the Talmud

• They mitzvot attempt to prevent the bond between humans and God from being damaged

• Jews believe that God gave the mitzvot to Moses and that they formed part of the covenant at Mount Sinai 

Difference between Orthodox and Reform Jews

• Orthodox Jews uphold every area of the mitzvot because they believe all of the Jewish laws are important and should be followed. They believe this because:

  • The Torah is the word of God and should be taken literally

  • God’s law must be obeyed as he is the creator of all life

  • However, some laws cannot be obeyed as they refer to the Temple, which no longer exists

  • God will judge them on how well they follow His law and Jews will be rewarded or punished accordingly

• Reform Jews believe that the ritual side of Judaism can seem a bit outdated and that many of the rules are not compatible with modern life, so they focus on rules that seem more relevant. They believe this because:
  

  • Things change over time and we live in the modern world and religious rules should be adapted

  • Mitzvot are a good guide to living but no one can keep to them all

  • Some of the rules are symbolic and should not be taken literally

Why is the Mitzvot important?

• They form the basis of the Halakhah which is the code of conduct for Jewish life

• How Jewish people conduct their lives will impact on what happens after death

• Jews believe that, by following the mitzvot, they will live a good life, meaning that they will be closer to God

• Some Jews believe this will also help them to be judged well in the afterlife and achieve a place in Gan Eden

Justice, Healing the World and Charity

Mitzvah Day

• Mitzvah Day started in Britain in 2008

• It is a festival that is followed by Jews and non‐Jews and quickly spread to be a global celebration

• It is a day set aside when people work together to:
  

  • Reduce poverty

  • Care for the environment

  • Care for others

  • Perform good deeds

• Three Jewish concepts have particular importance on Mitzvah Day:

  • Healing or protecting the world, which concentrates on looking after the environment and those in it:

    • Two initiatives that Mitzvah Day has led to are Sunshine to Seniors, which provides care to the elderly, and Plant a Tree on Mitzvah Day

  • The giving of loving kindness whilst expecting nothing in return:

    • 37,000 participants every year perform random acts of kindness on Mitzvah day

  • Righteousness and Justice are shown through social actions and loving acts:

    • These must not be done for any other reason than because the Jewish faith educates that it is the right thing to do

• Although it is important for these three concepts to be acted upon on Mitzvah Day, Jews are encouraged to perform these actions all year round

Healing the World

• Tikkun olam is related to the idea of repairing the world

• Many Jews help to heal the world by contributing to social justice and volunteering for charities

• Others believe that people should act in a morally good way to improve life on Earth, which includes obeying the mitzvot given by God

• Jews believe that trying to heal the world is an action that brings people closer to God

Justice

• Justice in Judaism involves bringing about what is right and fair according to the law or making up for a wrong that has been committed

• The Torah and the Prophets were sent to help people understand and bring about justice

• Creating a just society requires all individuals to live their lives correctly

• Creating a just society also involves giving each individual, whether Jew or non-Jew, a sense of dignity

Charity and Kindness to Others

• Gemilut Hasadim is a central principle of Judaism. It means that everyone should try to carry out good deeds

• Jews believe that their wealth is on loan from God so they should give to charity to bring justice to the poor

• Many Jews believe that, by showing kindness, people can try to heal the world

• Judaism teaches that charity and kindness are important towards both Jews and Non-Jews

• Jews aim to show kindness to others as the Torah teaches that people should love others in the same way that they love themselves

• Tzedekah means that charity is an obligation rather than a choice and so it is expected that all Jews will give to those less fortunate as part of their religious beliefs