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The Jewish Religion

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When choosing my classes at the beginning of the semester I wanted to choose something that I was interested in learning but didn’t know much about, and that’s exactly why I chose to take this Jewish Studies course. As I was raised a Catholic and attended Catholic school all my life I knew very little about the Jewish Religion. Now my knowledge of the Jewish faith has strengthened and has been fulfilled with the help of this class and Rabbi Bogot. The phrase I chose to right my term paper on is the word and meaning of Mitzvah also known as commandment. As stated in the syllabus packet “A Mitzvah is a God-mandated behavior. These behaviors, introduced in the Torah as statutes and ordinances for the Hebrew people, define the ways in which …show more content…

A Bar-Mitzvah or a Bat-Mitzvah is when a boy or girl reaches the age of thirteen and they are now obligated to observe the commandments and are welcomed into adulthood. These are both celebrated through the gathering or family and friends in the form of a party. This celebration is one of the rituals of the Jewish religion.
Mitzvot (plural of Mitzvah) are understood to come from God and intended for Jewish people to observe and partake in. Some Jewish people that live on the Western side of the world believe there is some contradiction with the thought of being “commanded” to act in something because it takes away from their right to choose how to behave. In the Torah, it says that when God gave the commandments he declared, “Behold, I have set before you the blessing [of observing the commandments] and the curse [the potential punishment of failing to observe the Mitzvot]- therefore, choose life!”. The Jewish people interpreted this as God acknowledging that Jews have a choice and he wants them to choose the right one. All Jewish people have different beliefs behind the importance of a Mitzvah. Some believers attempted to prove that Mitzvot are all sensible, logical actions that any person with ethical morals would welcome. Whereas others reject that belief and believe that the six hundred and thirteen commandments improve them as human beings and refines them into honest and impartial people by obeying God

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