The Torah’s commandments through a woman’s lens
The Creator of the Universe bestowed 613 mitzvahs upon the Jewish people. 248 commandments are positive (actions that we perform), and 365 are negative
(actions which are prohibited).
Today, it is only possible to observe and perform 207 of these mitzvahs – positive and negative together. Why? Because today we no longer have a Temple in Jerusalem, many of the mitzvahs are curtailed. Some cannot be performed because they were tied directly to the service in the Temple. Others because they were affected indirectly by the Temple’s existence.
How does this pertain to women? The Torah has a principle: The obligation of women to observe mitzvahs varies according to the type of mitzvah. When it comes to negative mitzvahs, women are obligated just like men. When it comes to positive mitzvahs, it depends on the type of mitzvah.
Women are not obligated to perform mitzvahs that are time-dependent, meaning, mitzvahs that do not apply at all times. These mitzvahs become an obligation only with the arrival of a specific time. Take, for example, the mitzvah of the four species on the Sukkot holiday. Before the arrival of the holiday, there is absolutely no obligation to perform the mitzvah. But once the specific day arrives – the day of Sukkot – the mitzvah becomes obligatory.
Mitzvahs which do not depend on a specific time and are always obligatory (for example, the mitzvah to honor one’s parents, or to return a lost item) obligate women as well.
However, some time-dependent commandments do obligate women. Some have a specific reason, and some because there is a biblical verse that indicates God’s wish that women observe a certain mitzvah. For example? The mitzvah of eating matzah on Passover night. Although the mitzvah to eat matzah applies only with the arrival of Passover, women are obligated because, in Egypt, they were equally affected by Pharaoh’s decrees. They were in the same boat as the men. Therefore, they too celebrate the redemption, the matzah, and the exodus from Egypt, and are obligated to perform the mitzvahs that derive from those miracles.
Q: I would like to observe a mitzvah that I know I am not obligated to keep. Can I recite the blessing on the mitzvah?
A: You may say the blessing.
