If there is one word that sums up the core of Jewish philosophy, it is Mitzvah. This is one of those very complex Hebrew words that just doesn't have an easy, direct translation into English, or any other language for that matter. In fact, the word Mitzvah is at the center of one of the most hotly contested mistranslations in all of monotheism: Commandment.
The first use of the word Mitzvah comes in the biblical book of Exodus. After the Israelites leave Egypt, God leads them to Mt. Sinai (or Mt. Horeb, depending on who you talk to) and gives them the Ten...
Commandments? Not exactly. The word in the Torah is Mitzvot, the plural of Mitzvah. That word doesn't even share a common root with the two different words in Hebrew that can mean "Command". One of those words is the verb L'shalot which basically just means, "To tell someone to do something" and the other is a verb from a different "family" of verbs, Pikodah. Neither of these could possibly be construed to relate to Mitzvah.
So, why translate Mitzvah as "Commandment"? Well, that's an issue of philosophy. The list of Mitzvot handed down at Sinai have commonly been interpreted as laws that come directly from God. Philosophically, it sets more nicely for a lot of believers and theologians to think of them as hard rules given by the ultimate authority. It's certainly easier to explain them that way.
The truth is that the Ten Mitzvot aren't commandments in any form, not even grammatically. Take for instance the Mitzvah commonly translated as, "Thou shalt not kill". In the original Hebrew, the phrase is Loh Tirtzakh. This literally means "No murder." Were this a command, it would be phrased Tzakh Loh. Is this just nit-picking? Absolutely not. There is a very different connotation here.
Philosophically and linguistically speaking, that big list of ten things just doesn't make sense as an authoritative command. The Torah explicitly states that human beings have free will. It seems a lot more likely, given context, that the big list actually means to say, "In a society of righteous people, the following things are true." The Ten Mitzvot are not followed by The Ten Consequences for Breaking The Ten Mitzvot. These aren't rules or commands, they're statements of righteousness.
So, what exactly does Mitzvah mean? These days, Jews use the term to mean any act of goodness or kindness. While that's closer to the spirit of the word, it's still not exactly right. It's true that all good and kind acts are Mitzvot, but not all Mitzvot are good or kind. More accurately, Mitzvah is a lifestyle. It means remaining mindful of what would be best in any situation. To live a life of Mitzvah is to strive to make the world better through actions and to appreciate what good there is in the world already. There are as many Mitzvot as there are experiences in life. Every experience is an opportunity for Mitzvah, even times of difficulty and sadness. It is sad to lose a loved one, but it is a Mitzvah to fondly remember the dead. It is frustrating to meet with cruelty and ignorance, but it is a Mitzvah to refrain from anger and choose to educate the ignorant.
This lesson is just the beginning of understanding Mitzvah. It is a very rich, complex philosophy and it is the central preoccupation of Jewish theology. In a sense, it is a word that has no translation because its meaning changes with each year and each life that lives it.
