3 Comments
User's avatar
Matthew AbdulHaqq Niemi's avatar

Does the Ge'ez (?) word "mitswate" mean almsgiving specifically? Mitzvah in the Jewish usage means to fulfill any divine commandment.

Expand full comment
H.E. Negash's avatar

Yes, it specifically means zakat, charity, almsgiving. But I believe the Hebrew means specifically a command to do a righteous deed. I could be wrong. In Ge'ez command is tiizaz. For example the ten commandments are sometimes asertu qalat (the ten words) ans sometimes asertu tiizazat (the ten commandments).

Expand full comment
Matthew AbdulHaqq Niemi's avatar

A mitzvah is certainly considered righteous, but it can include ritual acts, which confuses the point of the quote, if I understand correctly. For instance:

426. To set aside the firstborn animals [to be eaten by the Kohanim, and sacrificed unless they are blemished]--Exodus 13:12

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/756399/jewish/The-613-Commandments-Mitzvot.htm

Expand full comment