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Reform Judaism - Some Questions and Answers
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8. Do Reform Jews practise Mitzvot?
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 Yes, and in all three meanings of the word. The singular is mitzvah and it can mean an act of kindness or a privilege in the synagogue service (being called up to read the blessings over the Torah or opening the Ark) or one of the many commandments or obligations of Jewish life. It is to this third meaning that the question really refers.
One of the most important Jewish religious ideas is that of covenant (brit). God made a covenant or solemn binding agreement with the Jewish people at Sinai – not just with those who were there but with their descendents and converts to Judaism – and from this covenant flow a great many obligations or commandments (for the sake of clarity it is worth remembering that Judaism doesn’t use the phrase the 10 commandments - they are called aseret hadibrot, the 10 statements - though each is one of the many obligations or commandments, called mitzvot, that I am referring to).
Nearly 2000 years ago a rabbi suggested that there might be as many as 613 mitzvot. Some centuries later lists were drawn up. Many of the mitzvot are very familiar – like putting up a mezuzah, (the container with the shema inside on the doorpost). Many are ethical, like visiting the sick or maintaining honest business practices. Many relate to the Temple and Temple times and can no longer be observed.
Reform Judaism attaches very great importance to the concept of covenant and the obligations, duties, commandments, mitzvot which flow. But we are not constrained by a list of 613, frozen in time. We encourage within our synagogues the study of mitzvot, the dynamic development of both the concept and its practice. We encourage individuals to deepen their Reform Jewish lives by increasing the number of mitzvot they practice and in so doing coming to hear the voice of God behind the covenant and its many obligations.
Acknowledgement: ‘What is Reform Judaism' by Rabbi Tony Bayfield.
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