20 Jul VETCHANAN: THE TIMELESSNESS OF THE TORAH

The Torah in Parashat
Vaet’hanan (4:2)
introduces the
prohibitions known as
“Bal Tosif” and “Bal
Tigra” – adding onto the Torah’s laws and
detracting from the Torah’s laws. Rashi
explains that this refers to adding onto or
detracting from a particular Misva. He
gives the examples of wearing Tefillin
with parchment containing more or fewer
Parashiyot (sections of text) than the Torah
requires. There are four Parashiyot which are
to be inserted in the Tefillin, and if a person
adds a fifth Parasha, then he transgresses the
prohibition of “Bal Tosif,” and if he includes
only three Parashiyot, then he violates “Bal
Tigra.” Another example given by Rashi is
waving more than four species on Sukkot, or
fewer than four.
The Ramban comments that the prohibition of
“Bal Tosif” includes also introducing a new
Misva to the Torah. If a person comes along
and makes up a new law, claiming that this
should be part of the Torah, he violates the
prohibition of “Bal Tosif.” Conversely, one
who decides that a certain Biblical command
is no longer part of the Torah transgresses
“Bal Tigra.” The Ramban clarifies that this

applies only to one who introduces a new law
and claims that it is obligatory as a Biblical
imperative. The Sages enacted numerous
obligations and prohibitions, but they made
it very clear that these are not included in
Torah but are rather provisions that they saw
fit to legislate to meet a particular need. And,
they stipulated that the laws they enacted are
treated differently than the laws of the Torah,
with greater leniency. Thus, they do not
violate the prohibition of “Bal Tosif.”
The Gaon of Vilna (1720-1797) brilliantly
noted that both interpretations are correct and
rooted in the text of the Torah. The prohibition
of “Bal Tosif” appears not only here, in
Parashat Vaet’hanan, but also later, in Parashat
Re’eh (13:1). However, the contexts of these
verses reveals that they address two different
commands. Here in Parashat Vaet’hanan, the
command of “Bal Tosif” appears after Moshe
tells the people, “Listen to the statutes and
laws which I am teaching you to observe”
(4:1). Moshe is telling Beneh Yisrael that he
was going to present to them the Misvot, and
he then warns them not to add more laws or
to reject any of the laws that he was teaching
them. In Parashat Re’eh, however, Moshe
says, “Each thing that I am commanding you –
you shall ensure to observe; do not add onto it,

and do not detract from it.” It seems clear that
in this verse, Moshe speaks of each particular
Misva, urging the people to observe every
Misva precisely as he commands, without
adding onto the Misva or taking anything
away from it.
The Ha’ketab Ve’ha’kabbala (Rav Yaakov
Tzvi Mecklenberg, 1785-1865) follows this
general approach of the Vilna Gaon, but he
notes a different distinction between the
two verses. The command here in Parashat
Vaet’hanan is formulated in the plural form
– “Lo Tosifu…Ve’lo Tigre’u” – whereas the
command in Parashat Re’ei appears in the
singular form – “Lo Tosef…Ve’lo Tigra.”
The Ha’ketab Ve’ha’kabbala thus suggests
that here in Parashat Vaet’hanan, the Torah
is addressing not an individual, but rather the
Sanhedrin, the highest rabbinic body, which
represents the entire nation. These scholars,
the leading Sages of Israel, are the ones who
need the warning not to change the Torah by
introducing new laws or doing away with
existing laws. In Parashat Re’eh, by contrast,
the Torah is addressing the individual, who
has no authority and would thus never think
to introduce a new Misva, or eliminate a
Misva. He needs the warning not to add onto
or detract from specific Misvot, such as by

adding an additional Parasha to the Tefillin or
removing a Parasha.
This command reminds us of the timelessness
of the Torah, that at no point does it become
“outdated” or in need of modification.
Already from the outset, when the Torah was
given, we are told that it and all its commands
are eternal and eternally binding. Today’s
world is, of course, very different from
the world at the time of Matan Torah, and
the changing circumstances may affect the
practical application of certain Misvot, based
on the details of each Misva’s requirements as
determined by our oral halachic tradition. But
never can we say that a Misva is no longer
binding simply by virtue of the fact that
many centuries have passed since the Torah
was given. Each and every Misva is eternally
relevant, and we are bound to all the Misvot
no less now than our ancestors were millennia
ago.