Mitzvot - Sacred Calls to Action

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:

Blessing for Torah StudyBarukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha'Olam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu La'asok Bedivrei Torah

Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Sovereign of Eternity, who has made us holy through Your mitzvot (sacred calls to action) and called upon us to immerse ourselves in the words of Torah.

ויקרא י״ט

(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃(ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃(ג) אִ֣ישׁ אִמּ֤וֹ וְאָבִיו֙ תִּירָ֔אוּ וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ אֲנִ֖י יהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃(ד) אַל־תִּפְנוּ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ם וֵֽאלֹהֵי֙ מַסֵּכָ֔ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּ לָכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃(ה) וְכִ֧י תִזְבְּח֛וּ זֶ֥בַח שְׁלָמִ֖ים לַיהוה לִֽרְצֹנְכֶ֖ם תִּזְבָּחֻֽהוּ׃(ו) בְּי֧וֹם זִבְחֲכֶ֛ם יֵאָכֵ֖ל וּמִֽמׇּחֳרָ֑ת וְהַנּוֹתָר֙ עַד־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י בָּאֵ֖שׁ יִשָּׂרֵֽף׃(ז) וְאִ֛ם הֵאָכֹ֥ל יֵאָכֵ֖ל בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י פִּגּ֥וּל ה֖וּא לֹ֥א יֵרָצֶֽה׃(ח) וְאֹֽכְלָיו֙ עֲוֺנ֣וֹ יִשָּׂ֔א כִּֽי־אֶת־קֹ֥דֶשׁ יהוה חִלֵּ֑ל וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵעַמֶּֽיהָ׃(ט) וּֽבְקֻצְרְכֶם֙ אֶת־קְצִ֣יר אַרְצְכֶ֔ם לֹ֧א תְכַלֶּ֛ה פְּאַ֥ת שָׂדְךָ֖ לִקְצֹ֑ר וְלֶ֥קֶט קְצִֽירְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תְלַקֵּֽט׃(י) וְכַרְמְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תְעוֹלֵ֔ל וּפֶ֥רֶט כַּרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֣א תְלַקֵּ֑ט לֶֽעָנִ֤י וְלַגֵּר֙ תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֔ם אֲנִ֖י יהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃(יא) לֹ֖א תִּגְנֹ֑בוּ וְלֹא־תְכַחֲשׁ֥וּ וְלֹֽא־תְשַׁקְּר֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ בַּעֲמִיתֽוֹ׃(יב) וְלֹֽא־תִשָּׁבְע֥וּ בִשְׁמִ֖י לַשָּׁ֑קֶר וְחִלַּלְתָּ֛ אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יהוה׃(יג) לֹֽא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק אֶת־רֵֽעֲךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִגְזֹ֑ל לֹֽא־תָלִ֞ין פְּעֻלַּ֥ת שָׂכִ֛יר אִתְּךָ֖ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃(יד) לֹא־תְקַלֵּ֣ל חֵרֵ֔שׁ וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יהוה׃(טו) לֹא־תַעֲשׂ֥וּ עָ֙וֶל֙ בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹא־תִשָּׂ֣א פְנֵי־דָ֔ל וְלֹ֥א תֶהְדַּ֖ר פְּנֵ֣י גָד֑וֹל בְּצֶ֖דֶק תִּשְׁפֹּ֥ט עֲמִיתֶֽךָ׃(טז) לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י יהוה׃(יז) לֹֽא־תִשְׂנָ֥א אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ הוֹכֵ֤חַ תּוֹכִ֙יחַ֙ אֶת־עֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א עָלָ֖יו חֵֽטְא׃(יח) לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יהוה׃(יט) אֶֽת־חֻקֹּתַי֮ תִּשְׁמֹ֒רוּ֒ בְּהֶמְתְּךָ֙ לֹא־תַרְבִּ֣יעַ כִּלְאַ֔יִם שָׂדְךָ֖ לֹא־תִזְרַ֣ע כִּלְאָ֑יִם וּבֶ֤גֶד כִּלְאַ֙יִם֙ שַֽׁעַטְנֵ֔ז לֹ֥א יַעֲלֶ֖ה עָלֶֽיךָ׃

Leviticus 19

(1) יהוה spoke to Moses, saying:(2) Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them:
You shall be holy, for I, your God יהוה, am holy.
(3) You shall each revere your mother and your father, and keep My sabbaths: I יהוה am your God.
(4) Do not turn to idols or make molten gods for yourselves: I יהוה am your God.
(5) When you sacrifice an offering of well-being to יהוה, sacrifice it so that it may be accepted on your behalf.(6) It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the day following; but what is left by the third day must be consumed in fire.(7) If it should be eaten on the third day, it is an offensive thing, it will not be acceptable.(8) And one who eats of it shall bear the guilt for having profaned what is sacred to יהוה; that person shall be cut off from kin.
(9) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(10) You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I יהוה am your God.
(11) You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.(12) You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am יהוה.
(13) You shall not defraud your fellow [Israelite]. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning.
(14) You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am
יהוה.(15) You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kin fairly.(16) Do not deal basely with members of your people. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow [Israelite]: I am יהוה.
(17) You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kin but incur no guilt on their account.(18) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself: I am יהוה.
(19) You shall observe My laws.
You shall not let your cattle mate with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; you shall not put on cloth from a mixture of two kinds of material.

What Do Jews Believe? - The Mitzvot
David S. Ariel

Spirituality is to be found not in what you feel but in what you do. According to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the leading contemporary spokesman for halakha [Jewish law] and modern Orthodoxy, the only real expression of one's deepest convictions is how one acts in the world on a consistent basis. Halakhah is not about enforced conformity, which stifles the individual's autonomy and creativity. Rather, it is within the very realm of Jewish law that the fullest expression of human autonomy and creativity is to be found. Halakhah deals with real-life issues of economics, work, social and family relations, sexual behavior and personal ethics--every area of life.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Faith does not come to an end with attaining certainty of God’s existence. Faith is the beginning of intense craving to enter an active relationship with The One who is beyond the mystery, to bring together all the might that is within us with all that is spiritual beyond us. At the root of our yearning for integrity is a stir of the inexpressible within us to commune with the ineffable beyond us. But what is the language of that communion, without which our impulse remains inarticulate?

We are taught that what God asks of humanity is more than an inner attitude, that God gives humanity not only life but also a law, that God's will is to be served not only adored, obeyed not only worshiped. Faith comes over us like a force urging to action. We respond by pledging ourselves to constancy of devotion, committing us to the presence of God. This remains a life allegiance involving restraint, submission, self-control and courage. Judaism insists upon establishing a unity of faith and creed, of piety and halacha, of devotion and deed. Faith is but a seed, while the deed is its growth or decay. Faith disembodied, faith that tries to grow in splendid isolation, is but a ghost, for which there is no place in our psychophysical world.

Abraham Joshuah Heschel

We should... not evaluate the mitzvot... by the amount of rational meaning we may discover at their basis. Religion is not within but beyond the limits of mere reason. Its task is not to compete with reason, to be a source of speculative ideas, but to aid us where reason gives us only partial aid. Its meaning must be understood in terms compatible with the sense of the ineffable. Frequently where concepts fail, where rational understanding ends, the meaning of observance begins. Its purpose is not essentially to serve hygiene, happiness or the vitality of man; its purpose is to add holiness to hygiene, grandeur to happiness, spirit to vitality.

Spiritual meaning is not always limpid; transparency is the quality of glass, while diamonds are distinguished by refractive power and the play of prismatic colors.

Indeed, any reason we may advance for our loyalty to the Jewish order of living merely points to one of its many facets. To say that the mitzvoth have meaning is less accurate than saying that they lead us to wells of emergent meaning, to experiences which are full of hidden brilliance of the holy, suddenly blazing in our thoughts....

Works of piety are like works of art. They are functional, they serve a purpose, but their essence is intrinsic, their value is in what they are in themselves.

Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition
Rabbi Arthur Green

Religions emerge to create forms that serve as reminders of the oneness of Being. I do not know a God who “commands” or cares about the fulfillment of specific rites. I understand that all religious practices are of human origin and evolve within religious communities through history. But I am suggesting that the creation of such ritual forms is indeed our human response to an authentic single mitzvah, a divine imperative of the immanent presence, a wordless calling forth within us that says: “Know Me!” “Wake up!” “Be aware!” “I am Y-H-W-H your God.” ..

The word mitzvah is usually translated as “commandment.” As traditional Judaism meets the modern world, it often founders on the question “Who commands?” Do we believe in a personal God who demands that we perform certain rites, recite certain words, acknowledge “Him” in established ways? If not, the fear is that nothing will be left of Judaism, that the authority that stands behind tradition will be shattered, and with that Judaism will come to an end.

The forms we know as Judaism developed over a long period, often in response to circumstances now lost to us. Some practices were magical in origin, given a more historical or “spiritual” meaning only by later interpreters. Some of these transformations reach back so far that they are already found in the Torah text, where they are presented as the word of God. Others emerged only later, codified by the rabbis in explaining either obligatory laws or optional customs. But all of the forms came about at one time or another as products of human innovation and the ensuing evolution of religion, rather than as dictated by the will of God.

Such an admission need not spell the end of Judaism, however...

Doing the mitzvah is the will of God, in the sense that it is the way we as a religious community respond to the One that calls out to us, that seeks to have us know it, ever awaiting our response. This particular form of response rather than another is sanctified by the canonizing power of the Jewish people, an ancient community that bears much wisdom about how to bring divine awareness into everyday life. The mitzvah is holy because Jews do it, because they have done it for such a long time, and because they have invested it with a depth of kavvanah, or spiritual energy, that is never lost but only builds in intensity over the course of centuries. The fullness of that energy is the divine presence that lies within it, waiting to be uncovered anew in each generation... We have declared it holy, and so it is. Hasidic tradition reads the word mitzvah to mean “a place of encounter,” a form in which the divine and the human meet and are joined together. Its mystery and power, reinforced by antiquity and the very absence of obvious meaning, remain in force despite the fact that it originates within history. It is an act in which we open ourselves to Y-H-W-H, a moment, a “place,” or a deed of awareness and response. Each mitzvah is an opportunity for encounter between the silent divine presence and the human soul that seeks to articulate it.

The Authority of Torah for Liberal Jews
Jacob Staub

If you don't believe that the oral Torah and the 613 mitzvot are literally divine commandments, then why would you continue to read and interpret the Torah and observe some if not all of the mitzvot?

Tradition. Reconstructionists believe that belonging to the Jewish people is the basis for all other aspects of Jewish civilization. Belonging precedes behavior and belief--not only for Jews, but also for all communities and nations. What you share with all other members is citizenship or membership. In our community and our family, we become acculturated. We learn the language that shapes the contours of reality. We acquire beliefs and values. We are rendered culturally specific. The Jewish people's narratives rituals and practices shape us and become our spiritual home. When I fast on Yom Kippur, I'm doing what my parents and grandparents did, even if I interpret the practices differently from them, and even if I modify them or change the words. That's okay--they were interpreting the same practices differently from their grandparents. Traditions are the constants that allow for continuity, even as they change over time. Even when we don't want to live as our parents did, we still want to acknowledge our connection to our origins.
Accrued sanctity. Using my grandmother's Shabbat candlesticks and my grandfather's tallit (prayer shawl) is not only meaningful and emotionally powerful. These material objects convey an accrued holiness because of the prayers and aspirations they have expressed over the decades., This is also true of a newly purchased tallit or pair of candlesticks because they are ritual objects that have been used to express the yearnings of countless millions over the centuries. The same can also be said of the rhythms of the Jewish calendar, liturgical blessings, colloquial expressions, melodies, recipes, and texts. The Torah, however we define it, is a sacred heritage. This is the case not because it is God-given, but because it was and is produced by people who have sought to experience the deepest and riches levels of reality.
Limiting autonomy. It is good to belong to a community that expects its members to show up sometimes on Shabbat mornings. I am not compelled by that expectation to show up ever week, but I am somehow rendered accountable; I need to think about what I'm doing (or not doing) to celebrate Shabbat this morning. I am grateful to belong to a community that adopts Jewish texts, values and practices as a starting point, rather than to a group of individuals who are starting from scratch. In short, nonhalakhic Jews can enrich their lives by regarding the Torah as a sacred inheritance worth celebrating.
Practice as an instrument of revelation. Studying sacred texts, practicing rituals, and working to effect prophetic values may be activities in which we engage because we believe them to be divinely revealed--or they may be the instruments by means of which we are able to experience what we might call revelatory moments in which we are transported beyond ourselves and connected to a presence that is divine.

The Past Has A Vote, Not A Veto
Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob Staub

The value of the past is considerable. The Jewish tradition is a record of the insights of prophets and sages through the generations. Neither human nature nor the nature of the divine has changed over the millennia; only the concepts and idioms through which Jews understand the world has evolved. Thus, we strive to translate the insights we have inherited from the Jewish past into our own terms. We thereby revalue inherited beliefs and practices so that we can enrich our own lives through them...

The process of revaluation is no simple task. For all the brilliance and depth of insight of our ancestors, their values are often not applicable today in a straightforward way. They are occasionally even repugnant from our perspective. [Rabbi Mordecai] Kaplan insisted that we preserve and observe Jewish customs and values as long as they continue to serve as vehicles towards salvation--the enhancement of the meaning and purposefulness of our existence.

When a particular Jewish value or custom is found wanting in this respect, it is our obligation as Jews to find a means to reconstruct it--to adopt innovative practices or find new meaning in old ones. That the past has a vote means that we must struggle to hear the voices of our ancestors. What did this custom or that idea mean to them? How did they see the presence of God in it? How can we retain or regain its importance in our own lives? That the past does not have a veto means that we must work to hear our own voices as distinct from theirs. What might this custom or that idea mean to us today? As participants in a secular civilization, how can we incorporate our values into our lives as Jews?