Deuteronomy 4:2
RASHI
You shall not add anything to what I command you. By, for example,
adding a fifth text to your phylacteries, a fifth species to the four waved on
the Feast of Tabernacles, or a fifth fringe to your garments. Or take anything away from it. The same
applies here.
IBN EZRA
You shall not add anything. You shall not add anything that you
think up yourselves, even if you do so for the purpose of worshiping the Lord;
nor shall you take anything away.
NAHMANIDES
You shall not add anything … or take anything away. See Rashi’s
comment, which comes from the Sifrei; B. RH 28b adds one who dwells in his
“booth” on the festival of Sukkot for eight days rather than the standard
seven. (He would similarly be violating this commandment if he dwells there for
only six days.) But in my view it extends beyond increasing or decreasing
numbers to include making up a brand-new commandment. So when Jeroboam dreamed
up “a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month” (1 Kings 12:32), he
was violating this prohibition. We see this on B. Meg. 14a, which explains that
Israel had 180 prophets who neither took
anything away from the Torah nor added anything to it but for the reading of
the Megillah, the book of Esther, on
Purim. In the Palestinian Talmud’s version of this story, the Sages exhibit
great distress over the matter until God opens their eyes and they realize that
there are indeed verses in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings alluding to this
commandment. The verse cited by the
Sages in that story, “These”—and only these—“are the commandments that the Lord
gave Moses for the Israelite people on Mount Sinai” (Lev. 27:34), demonstrates
that even a prophet cannot add such a new commandment if it is not already
found in a verse. For prophets are no longer authorized to innovate in this
way. When the Sages “add” to the commandments by creating a “fence” around the
Torah (for example, by extending the laws of incest), this in itself is the
fulfillment of a Torah commandment—though it is very important to distinguish
between such rulings and the actual Torah declared by the mouth of the
Almighty.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away
from it. By adding a fifth fringe to your garments, you in effect entirely
replace the command to have four
fringes (Bekhor Shor). When I told your ancestors to go up and take possession
of the land, they added to that command the request, “Let us send men ahead to
reconnoiter the land for us” (1:22)—an addition that ended with their carcasses
dropping dead in the wilderness (Hizkuni). The reference is to adding something
that detracts from the Torah’s purpose—for example, by extending the law of
21:10–14 to a woman who was not
captured in wartime. But an addition that preserves the intent of the Torah,
like the “fences” added by our Sages, is perfectly fine (Gersonides). Moses’
point was that the laws he was teaching them were not human—in which case they
might be improved by adding or taking away—but divine (Abarbanel). (Deuteronomy:
Introduction and Commentary [trans. Michael Carasik; The Commentators’
Bible; Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2015], 28)
2: This admonition not to alter the Torah, whether by addition or
subtraction (cf. 13:1), parallels similar admonitions in wisdom literature
(Prov. 30:6; Eccl. 3:14; 12:12–13; Sir. 42:21; cf. Revelation 22:18–19). It
seems to originate in ancient Near Eastern literature (Egyptian wisdom
literature; Babylonian law codes; Neo-Assyrian state treaties; cf. 1 Maccabees
8:30). (The Jewish Study Bible, ed. Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi
Brettler, and Michael Fishbane [New York: Oxford University Press, 2004], 370)
2. This verse is
generally taken as a blanket prohibition of abrogating any of the laws taught
by Moses or adding new ones. As such, it would serve as a general introduction
to the Instruction, expressing its completeness and immutability. Injunctions
against adding and removing items appear in various genres of ancient
literature, including treaties. Likewise, the Laws of Hammurabi conclude with
exhortations against changing them. This verse would also serve as a transition
from chapters 1–3, which describe the consequences of Israel’s refusal to
follow God’s directives.
However, this blanket
interpretation is problematic. As noted in the Introduction, the laws of
Deuteronomy, like those of the Torah as a whole, are not a complete code that
could have sufficed to govern all areas of life. Important subjects, such as
commerce, civil damages, and marriage, are covered insufficiently or not at
all. Further laws were obviously necessary. In order to prevent paralysis and
leave room for necessary legal innovations, Jewish legal exegesis had to
subject this verse to very narrow interpretations, to the effect that no
prophet may add laws claiming that they are in the Torah or that God has
instructed him to do so, nor may private individuals add or subtract details in
any of the commandments, nor may the total number of commandments recognized as
biblical be changed. By restricting the scope of the present verse, these
interpretations left wide parameters for legislation and innovative
interpretation (see the Introduction and Comment to 17:11).
Actually, the present verse does
not seem intended to stymie legal innovation. In context, Moses seems to have
but a single issue in mind. As noted above, when he speaks of “the exhortation,
the laws, and the norms,” he often seems to be referring particularly to the
commandments of accepting the Lord alone as God and worshipping no idols. As
noted by Ḥazzekuni, this seems to be the case with the prohibition of adding to
or subtracting from the laws. This prohibition appears twice in biblical law
and in each case it is connected with warnings against the worship of other
gods and other pagan practices. In 13:1 it follows a warning not to imitate
pagan practices and precedes a prohibition against following a prophet who
claims that the Lord has commanded Israel to worship additional gods. Here it
precedes a reminder that all who worshiped another god perished. Evidently,
then, in both passages the prohibition is invoked to stress that one may not
nullify the first commandment of the Decalogue by adding a commandment
ordaining the worship of additional gods.
That certain worshipers of the
Lord might think it permissible to worship additional gods is not as strange as
it might seem. Polytheists did not believe that their gods demanded exclusive
worship. A polytheist who worshiped the Lord—even one who believed that He is
the supreme deity—might think that He favored the worship of His “fellow gods”
and lesser supernatural beings even by Israelites, as explained in the Comment
to 13:2. One making such a claim might point to v. 19, which states that the
Lord ordained the worship of the heavenly bodies by the other nations. The
possibility of such a misunderstanding explains why the Torah so frequently
repeats the prohibition of worshiping other gods. This interpretation of the
verse is consistent with the fact that 4:1–40 are primarily concerned with
preventing the worship of other gods, not simply with the integrity of
Deuteronomy as a legal code. As noted above, throughout chapters 4–11 “the laws
and rules” that Moses expounds are usually those against idolatry (note, e.g.,
v. 14 and the subject to which Moses turns after it). For this reason, the
present unit is an appropriate beginning for chapters 4–11. (Jeffrey
H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [The JPS Torah
Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996], 43-44)
Deuteronomy 13:1
RASHI
Be careful to observe. As before, “be careful” serves to add
prohibitions to the positive commandments given in this section. The idiom is
that you are supposed to “be careful” not
to do a thing—except one is not whipped for violating a positive
commandment that is turned into a prohibition as one is for violating a
straightforward prohibition. Only that which I enjoin upon you. The
Hebrew says not “only” but “all” (see OJPS)—the trivial commandments as well as
the serious ones. Neither add to it nor
take away from it. Do not add a fifth text to the four of the phylacteries,
a fifth species to the four used on the Feast of Booths, or a fourth blessing
to the three of Num. 6:24–26.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Neither add to it nor take away from it. Do not add your sons and
daughters to the permissible sacrifices, and do not neglect to offer any of the
animals that I do require you to offer (Hizkuni). (Deuteronomy: Introduction
and Commentary [trans. Michael Carasik; The Commentators’ Bible; Philadelphia:
The Jewish Publication Society, 2015], 394)
13:1: NJPS, following the Masoretic paragraph divisions, correctly
regards this verse as the conclusion to ch 12; contrast the standard chapter
and verse numbers, which were first added to the Hebrew text in the 13th
century ce. The demarcation of the unit is here important. In form, ch 12 is
thus framed by an inclusio (see next note) that urges fidelity to law and
tradition, even though, in its content, the unit has just profoundly
transformed both. Be careful to observe,
the same idiom found at 12:1 (also 11:32), frames the unit with an inclusio.
Moreover, Neither add to it nor take away
from it reflects an ancient Near Eastern scribal formula that was often
included in the epilogue of treaties, inscriptions, or law collections to
protect them from being defaced, altered, or written over. Although the
admonition may begin a section (4:2), more frequently, as here, it serves as an
ending marker or “colophon” to conclude the literary unit (Prov. 30:6; Eccl.
3:14; cf. Revelation 22:18–19). (The Jewish Study Bible, ed.
Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, and Michael Fishbane [New York: Oxford
University Press, 2004], 394)
