mitzvah

noun

mitz·​vah ˈmits-və How to pronounce mitzvah (audio)
plural mitzvoth ˈmits-ˌvōt How to pronounce mitzvah (audio)
-ˌvōth,
-ˌvōs
or mitzvahs
1
: a commandment of the Jewish law
2
: a meritorious or charitable act

Examples of mitzvah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web All along, Stacy is more concerned with the party aspects of her big event than with its more serious rituals, including the chanting of her Torah portion and her mitzvah (good deed) project. Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2023 The name of a soldier to pray for or dedicate a mitzvah or kabalah to will then be emailed to users. Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2023 Viewers can compare b’nai mitzvah, baptisms, Jumuah prayers, congregational potlucks and Shabbat meals, while watching college students figure out their own Sabbath disciplines for the first time away from their families, and pastors with decades of experience change their views on sabbaticals. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2023 Here was my basic point: American Jews need to restore both sanity and sanctity to the bar/bat/b’nai mitzvah (which many communities now call b-mitzvah or bet mitzvah). The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Sep. 2023 Waving the four species is a mitzvah according to the Torah. Jamie Kravitz, Woman's Day, 24 Aug. 2023 While donors perform a mitzvah in giving, recipients play no less a role in the mitzvah by providing the opportunity to give. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 14 Nov. 2022 Gun violence in America has risen to the point where anything short of a massacre seems like a mitzvah. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2022 So are sweet 16 parties and quinceañeras, other birthday and anniversary celebrations, weddings, confirmations and the like, but postponement in those scenarios is less of an ordeal, because the b’nai mitzvah entails an overarching, difficult religious experience. Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mitzvah.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew miṣwāh

First Known Use

1723, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mitzvah was in 1723

Dictionary Entries Near mitzvah

Cite this Entry

“Mitzvah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mitzvah. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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