Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
(ב) לֹ֣א תֹסִ֗פוּ עַל־הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָנֹכִי֙ מְצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תִגְרְע֖וּ מִמֶּ֑נּוּ לִשְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־מִצְוֺת֙ יהוה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶֽם׃
You shall not add anything to what I command you and do not take away from it, to keep the mitzvot of the God your Lord that I command you.
The bolded words are puzzling. Isn’t it obvious that if you take away from the rules of the Torah, then you’re not following the Torah? Why are we specifically commanded not to take away?
וּבַאֲשֶׁר יֵשׁ אֶמְצָעִים אֲחֵרִים לְהַשִּׂיג דְּבֵקוּת אֱלֹקִית... עַל כֵּן אָמַר כִּי עַל יְדֵי חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים טוֹב יוֹתֵר לְהַשִּׂיג זוֹ הַחַיּוּת, מֵאֶמְצָעִים אֲחֵרִים. וְעַל זֶה אָמַר "לֹא תּוֹסִיפוּ" כִּי כָּל הָאֶמְצָעִים בְּלִי דַּעַת תּוֹרָה יֵשׁ לְהִזָּהֵר... אוֹ לְהֵפֶךְ "וְלֹא תִּגְרְעוּ מִמֶּנּוּ."
There are other ways to connect to God… but the Torah is emphasizing that its rules are the best way to live a spiritual life.
This is why it says “You shall not add”—you have to be careful of non-Torah modes of spirituality, and this is also why we need the opposite warning, “and do not take away from it” (in case taking away mitzvot might come from a desire to be more spiritual).
- What could be a problem with finding new ways to be spiritual?
- Can you think of places where there is room for creativity in Jewish practice?
וְלֹא יַחְשֹׁב הַחוֹשֵׁב שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר תָּסוּר סִבַּת הָאִסּוּר אֶצְלְךָ לֹא יִהְיֶה חֵטְא לִגְרֹעַ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁחָשַׁב שְׁלֹמֹה הַמֶּלֶךְ - "אֲנִי אַרְבֶּה וְלֹא אָסוּר אֲנִי אַרְבֶּה וְלֹא אָשׁוּב" - וְנִכְשְׁלָה.
Do not think that if the reason for a prohibition disappears, then there will be no sin in taking away the mitzvah. This is what King Shlomo imagined—“I can take many wives because I will not turn away from God; I can have tons of horses because I will not cause the people to return to Egypt”—and he failed.
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