Me’irat enayim (Light of the Eyes)

Precepts 26 and 27

There is a severe admonition addressed to every individual within Israel not to add any precept on his own initiative onto those precepts which are written in the Torah, and likewise there is a severe admonition against removing/derogating from any of the precepts written in the Torah, but on the contrary, there is an obligation to take care to perform those precepts which are written explicitly in the Torah, without any addition or derogation—Heaven forbid—or those precepts that may be deduced from the words of the Torah by the similarity of words or phrases appearing in different passages and of a fortiori reasoning, which enjoy the same status as if they had been written in the Torah, and do not constitute additions to the written text—Heaven forbid!

And likewise, those precepts which have been permanently established as binding upon us by virtue of the “burden of the heritage” bequeathed to us by our ancestors, which enjoy some support from scripture, and all Israel—both Karaites and Rabbanites—unani-mously accept their validity. But apart from this, it is forbidden to add to that which is written or to derogate from it—Heaven forbid! And this is what is meant by that which is written in the Torah: “You shall not add to the thing which I command you this day, nor shall you derogate from it.” And it is further written: “You shall not add to it, neither shall you derogate from it.” Now these admonitions have been written just twice in the Torah, because addition to and derogation from the precepts of the Torah can come in two forms—either by way of adding an entirely fresh precept or removing an existing precept in its entirety, or merely by adding a little to the precept as written in the Torah, or by derogating in small measure from the precept as it is written—and both of these are equally bad.

Now the rabbinic sages have indeed erred greatly, and paid no heed to these admonitions, and have, of their own initiative, added to the precepts of the Torah, and have also derogated from them in respect of both types of addition and derogation. Either they have added novel precepts, such as, for example, the precept of lighting candles on the eve of the Sabbath, and the precept of waving the palm-branch on Sukkot, and many others besides these; or, alternatively, they have added a little to those precepts that are written in the Torah, such as, for example, they have added the obligation of uncovering the corona to that of plain circumcision, and they have invented an obligation to sanctify two days in respect of the festivals instead of one, and they have required seven “clean” days in respect of a menstruating woman, and a great number of other cases besides these.

And similarly, they have got rid of many of the precepts of the Torah. Either they have disposed of a precept in its entirety, such as, for example, they have abolished the notion of ritual impurity arising from contact with a corpse in the diaspora, and they have derogated from and in effect disposed of the notion of ritual impurity arising from contact of the contents of pots with the corpses of swarming creatures through [application of a rabbinic rule nullifying the impurity wherever the volume of such contents exceeds the volume of space occupied by the corpse by a factor of sixty], and they have set aside altogether the ritual impurity of a menstruating woman. Moreover, they have set aside the precept of attaching a thread of blue [to the obligatory fringes on four-cornered garments], and they have set aside the precept: “You shall kindle no fire” on the Sabbath; and there are numerous similar instances of this kind. Or, alternatively, they have set aside a part of the precepts written, such as, for example, the obligation to eat unleavened bread throughout all seven days of the Passover festival, and they have permitted the consumption of half of the prohibited fats. They have ignored many major divine utterances concerning incestuous relationships, and they have permitted a woman who has given birth to have marital relations with her husband after seven days in the case of a male, and after fourteen days in the case of a female child.

Apart from all these cases, there are numerous instances of their having added to and derogated from the precepts of the Torah, which is perfect, in accordance with the Sage, renowned for his expertise in this area, the Master, R. Solomon the Elder—may his soul rest in Paradise—author of the work “He Made a Palanquin,” who assembled and compiled all the instances of their additions, and derogations from, and amendments to the divine precepts, and produced them in a scrolled manuscript, in the initial section of his book of disputation entitled “Fighting in the Gates,” incorporated within his exposition included in that section, where these may be seen. In similar vein, the distinguished sage, our teacher, the Master, R. Abraham, son of the Master, R. Josiah Yerushalmi, performed a wonderful service in listing all their errors in his notable work, entitled “The Truth of Faith,” where these may be seen.

What is vital for you to know and be bestirred by is that one who alters and varies the intent even of a single precept of the Torah, or who adds to it or who derogates from it, such a person is creating a defect in the perfection of the sacred and perfect Torah, and in the Truth of the One Who gave it, may His Name be blessed, and is limiting the knowledge of the Almighty, blessed be He, and His infinite wisdom, in that he is, from his point of view, setting straight that which Almighty God, blessed be His Name, has made crooked. Heaven forbid that we should believe such a thing; and accordingly the Almighty, blessed be He, has warned us against varying or altering the intent of the precepts, or adding to them or derogating from them, so as firmly to establish within us the truth of the belief in the perfection of the Torah, which is perfect and true, and in its duration and everlasting nature for all time.

For something which is absolutely perfect cannot admit of addition or diminution; and it is also intended for the purpose of firmly establishing within us the belief in the perfection of the One Who gave the Torah, blessed be His Name—that He is wholly and entirely perfect, without any defect, Heaven forbid! And accordingly it is forbidden for us to alter or add or remove a single word, or a single letter, or a single vowel point of the Torah of the Almighty, which is perfect and trustworthy, and a fortiori a single precept, Heaven forbid! Be aware of this accordingly, and appreciate it most profoundly.