Shabbos Parashas Vaeschanan - 5774

Shabbos Parashas Vaeschanan - 5774

Rabbi Hal Miller

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract

from it, to observe the commandments of Hashem, your G-d, that I command

you. [Devarim 4:2]

This directive appears again, nearly verbatim, in Parashas Re'eh [Devarim

13:1]. One might think this is straightforward and doesn't require repetition,

so there must be some deeper reasons behind its appearance these two times.

What exactly is being prohibited here? The first issue is what "the word" means.

Who is speaking here? Chizkuni says that this commandment is part of Moshe's

admonitions to the people, the 'tochachah'. If so, this is a command from

Moshe, not from Hashem. Since it goes on to say "to observe the commandments of

Hashem", it really makes little difference whether Moshe spoke this out on his

own or as the mouthpiece of G-d. The result is that the prohibition of adding

or subtracting applies to the commandments of the Torah.

Why would someone think to add or subtract from the word of G-d? Two trains of

thought seem prevalent in the commentaries. Either one wants to do even more

that we have been commanded in the service of G-d, or one wants to 'adjust'

the Torah to meet 'current' expectations and circumstances.

Rashi describes the first case. "Five sections in the tefillin, five species

for the lulav, four blessings in the blessing of the Kohanim." Ramban cites

Rosh Hashanah [28b] adding sleeping in the succah on the eighth day of Succos.

In each of these situations, the attitude is "more of a good thing cannot be

bad." Another way to look at it, "if G-d commanded me to do this, then it must

be a minimum, and all the moreso I should do more." Our verse directly

contradicts this reasoning. Why? That line of reasoning is man putting himself

in the position of assuming a complete understanding of the mitzvos, and thus

in a position where he can 'override' them.

This leads to the second train of thought, the idea that man may modify the

Torah as he sees fit. This argument is the basis for dozens of "movements"

throughout our history. Each group felt that the Torah was a "good idea", but

needed to be "updated" to match the current views of society. This position

assumes that man is somehow able "in this day and age" to see the pitfalls

that the Torah aims to protect us from. King Solomon, the wisest man of all

time, felt that his understanding of the reason behind the Torah's prohibition

for a king to have too many wives put him in the position to avoid the issues

and marry as many as he wanted. He found out differently. This view is in

fact the reason for the Torah in the first place. The generations since Noach

had all believed they were intelligent enough to not need the "restrictive"

laws of G-d, to the point of building the Tower of Babel and attempting to

attack G-d directly. The Torah would not have needed to prohibit burning

children if 'enlightened' people weren't doing it. Man, by definition, does

need these laws, especially when he thinks he does not.

In both of these cases man is claiming that he is qualified to judge what G-d

has decreed. If man can override any part of the Torah, then he can override

the entire thing. This works if one is creating his own religion, to whatever

extent creation of a new religion has any meaning. But the argument assumes

that the Torah is not the divine word of G-d. If it is G-d's word, then all of

it is G-d's word. If it isn't G-d's word, then there is no need for anyone to

adjust or override it, they can merely ignore it. If one does so, even for the

best of intentions, he cannot continue to call it Judaism, as by definition it

makes no sense.

So why is this stated twice? Rav Hirsch says that the Torah in our verse

addresses the totality of the people, telling them that they may not change

the laws of the Torah. They must set the Torah as it is as the law of the

Jewish people. In Re'eh, the commandment applies to each individual. The Gra

says that here the Torah orders us not to add to the 613 mitzvos, whereas in

Re'eh it orders us not to add details. Thus our commandment applies both to

individuals separately and to the nation as a whole, and to all of the laws.

Many Jews do not observe all the commandments. Their reasons are their own.

Most of them understand that the laws are from G-d and meant for all time.

Some, such as the Sadducees or Karaites, believed that the Torah is a set of

rules that prevent any change in our way of life, disallowing rabbinic

rulings that "build a fence" around Torah laws. Others believe that the

Torah is a set of laws applied to a generation a few thousand years ago,

with only limited application to us now. Our verse states clearly that these

latter groups are wrong, that the Torah is a living constitution applying to

all times, that the laws are from G-d, and that man is in no position to

change or override them. We must protect them, but we cannot abrogate them. We

are not G-d, merely His servants.