by Barry Marcus

Created on: May 27, 2011   Last Updated: May 30, 2011

A mitzvah is a divine commandment revealed in the Torah - the five Books of Moses. The plural of mitzvah is mitzvoth. A total of 613 mitzvoth are defined in the Torah. These were listed and categorised by Maimonides in the twelfth century.

The 613 mitzvoth are divided into positive and negative commandments. There are 248 positive mitzvoth that define what must be done. The number - 248 - corresponds to the number of bones and body parts in a male human. The negative mitzvoth are prohibitions that state what you are not allowed to do. There are 365 of these, corresponding to the number of days in a solar year. 

The term mitzvah refers to a Torah commandment, but it is often used in a looser way, such as for a good deed. 

The mitzvoth apply specifically to the Jewish people. Many can only be carried out in Israel. Some apply only to Temple procedures and sacrifices and others apply only to Cohanim - the tribe of priests. 

The positive mitzvoth include the requirement to observe the Shabbat (Sabbath), to eat matza on Passover and to eat kosher food. Negative mitzvoth include the prohibition of work on Shabbat, and laws forbidding one to steal, to commit murder or to worship other gods. 

Some mitzvoth can only be performed in the land of Israel. These include all those relating to the Temple (which does not exist now) and those relating to the sabbatical and jubilee years when the land must not be cultivated. 

The Cofetz Haim has identified 271 mitzvoth that can be observed today outside of the land of Israel.  

Many mitzvoth have been extended by the rabbis in various ways to help prevent one from inadvertently transgressing a mitzvah. One example relates to eating milk with meat. The Torah commandment mentions the prohibition on cooking a kid in its mother’s milk. With the commercialisation of meat and milk production it becomes impossible to identify where a piece of meat or milk originated. Therefore a blanket ban is placed on eating any milk with any meat. For this purpose chicken, turkey or any other bird is classified as meat even though their mothers do not produce milk.

Many of the mitzvoth have been codified in the Halacha. The Talmud goes a long way towards generalising specific laws. The requirement to fence in a flat roof is therefore extended to fencing in a swimming pool.

Other rabbinic extensions of the mitzvoth include the practice of the Jewish holidays. The Torah specifically requires

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