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The Torah, which is the Five Books of Moses, is considered by most Jews to be the whole body of Jewish laws and teachings. In the Torah, there are six hundred and thirteen Mitzvot which is simply a commandment. That is a lot of chances to find the most important isn't it? Some of them are Positive and some of them are Negative Mitzvot. That does not mean that they are good or bad. It means that they tell us to do something or not to do something.

A good number of these Mitzvot are no longer possible for us to keep. Some, because the Temple was destroyed and the Jews can no longer do the ancient sacrifices, and others because so many of us live in the diaspora and cannot follow the land Mitvot. Also, long before it was common anywhere in the world, the Jews stopped all forms of Capitol Punishment even though it was a Mitzvah in the Torah.

The Mitzvot are scattered throughout the Torah. It took scholars like Maimonides to pull them all together in his Mishneh Torah and make them understandable for the more modern man. At least the modern man of his time. Maimonides stressed each Mitzvot equally. He did not consider any of them more important than any other. He taught them all together never leaving any of them out or discounting any of them. They were all handed down by G'd and written in G'd's Book. They are all of equal importance! They carry the same importance today, that they carried the day they were written. Maybe more so since it becomes more and more difficult in the modern world to follow the ancient laws with all the modern temptations. It is even more difficult today to hold the children close and keep them from being tempted away from the ancient teachings.

There is no Mitzvah that is of greater importance than the rest. They are all of equal importance. Even the Mitzvot that can no longer be carried out, are of equal importance, because they are still commandments given to us in the Torah. They cannot be denigrated. They can no longer be fulfilled, but they cannot be denigrated.

Everyone wants to have a special Mitzvah. They do not need such a thing. The best way to approach the Mitzvot, is one at a time. Make one of them your own. When you have made it yours, and you are used to doing it everyday, then move onto the next one, and slowly make that one your own. That way every Mitzvot is the most important Mitzvah because it is your own!

Learn more about this author, Donna Ritchley.
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