About Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz served as Director of Programs for NCSY before becoming Associate Director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue Services. Rabbi Abramowitz holds degrees in Jewish studies, communications and Higher Education Administration. Among his accomplishments, he authored NCSY's Torah on One Foot series of educational pamphlets and created negiah.org, the first abstinence web site for Jewish teens. Rabbi Abramowitz is the author of The Shnayim Mikra Companion on Torah, The Nach Yomi Companion volumes 1 and 2 on the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and The Tzniyus Book.

Recent Posts

Taryag: A Mitzvah a Day

Questions? Contact us at taryag@ou.org

PARSHAT Re'eh
MITZVAH COUNTER
Mitzvos to date: 454
Positives:191
Negatives:263
That can be performed today:195
Plus those that can be performed only in Israel:20

454. All About Eve: The prohibition against adding to the mitzvos


…you shall not add to it… (Deuteronomy 13:1)

We are not allowed to add to the laws of the Torah. By that, we mean that one may not present non-Torah laws as if they are Torah laws. For example, we may not say that chicken and milk are forbidden to be eaten together by the Torah when it is actually a rabbinic prohibition. Such misrepresentation is dishonest and leads to trouble.

A perfect example of this mitzvah is found in the Midrash, cited by Rashi on Genesis 3:3-4. God had commanded Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam told Chava (Eve) not even to touch the tree, but he neglected to tell her that this was his safeguard, not an inherent part of God’s command. When Chava touched the tree with impunity, she assumed the entire command was without teeth, not just Adam’s addendum. Of course, this error had disastrous results for mankind. Adding a safeguard to God’s law was okay for Adam to do – it was actually a good idea! The flaw in his judgment was in not telling Chava what was a Biblical law and what was his “rabbinic” enactment.

Some authorities limit the application of this mitzvah to positive mitzvos. For example, one may not say, “If shaking one lulav on Succos is good, two would be better!” or put five chambers in his tefillin instead of four, etc. The Torah has given us the numbers of things in these mitzvos and we may not add onto them. This also prohibits us from trying to fulfill time-sensitive mitzvos at improper times, such as blowing a shofar (with the intention to fulfill the mitzvah) on a day other than Rosh Hashana.

Some people mistakenly think that this verse somehow bans the establishment of rabbinic laws but such is obviously not the case. There are actually verses in the Torah that take for granted that there will be rabbinic laws, such as Deuteronomy 17:11, which obligates us to observe such enactment.

The reason for this mitzvah is that God is perfect and He gave us the Torah, which is His perfect Book. While we might make safeguards to keep people far from sin, we do not edit the Book itself. To have sixteen strings on one’s tzitzis rather than eight, or to sit in a succah for 10 days, is tantamount to editing the Book that tells us what we should do.

This mitzvah applies in all times and places. It is discussed in the Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin (88b-89a) and Rosh Hashana (28b). It is codified in the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim 128. This mitzvah is #313 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #159 of the 194 mitzvos that can be observed today as listed in the Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar of the Chofetz Chaim.



Submit a Comment

Name:


Email: (Rest assured, your email address will not be published.)

Comment:


Please enter the word you see in the image below:





© Orthodox Union - All Rights Reserved.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Orthodox Union and its agencies