mitzvah

or mits·vah

[ Sephardic Hebrew meets-vah, mits-; English, Ashkenazic Hebrew mits-vuh ]
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noun,plural mitz·voth, mitz·vot, mitz·vos [Sephardic Hebrew meets-vawt, mits-; Ashkenazic Hebrew mits-vohs]; /Sephardic Hebrew mitsˈvɔt, mɪts-; Ashkenazic Hebrew mɪtsˈvoʊs/; English mitz·vahs [mits-vuhz]. /ˈmɪts vəz/. Hebrew.
  1. any of the collection of 613 commandments or precepts in the Bible and additional ones of rabbinic origin that relate chiefly to the religious and moral conduct of Jews.

  2. any good or praiseworthy deed.

Origin of mitzvah

1
First recorded in 1720–30; from Hebrew miṣwāh “command, commandment”

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British Dictionary definitions for mitzvah

mitzvah

/ (ˈmɪtsvə, Hebrew mitsˈvɑ) /


nounplural -vahs or -voth (Hebrew -ˈvɔt) Judaism
  1. a commandment or precept, esp one found in the Bible

  2. a good deed

Origin of mitzvah

1
from Hebrew: commandment

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