The admonishment against diminishing a word of the Torah is easily comprehensible. Why are we exhorted, however, not to add mitzvos to the Torah? Would not adding mitzvos serve to enhance our service of Hashem? Horav Yaakov Neiman Z”l responds with a simple, but emphatic, statement. We must believe that the Torah was given directly to Moshe by Hashem. He presented the book with all aspects of each mitzvah fine-tuned to perfection. Thereafter, he handed the Torah to Moshe to transmit to Bnei Yisrael in its entirety. As it is expressed so eloquently in Tehillim (19) “the Torah of Hashem is perfect.” Only if the Torah had been a human creation would there have been room for possible amendment. The Jew’s firm belief that the Torah is a unique manuscript obviates any question regarding the Torah’s completeness.
Due to the Torah’s Divine origin it is a code which is accessible to all individuals regardless of their scholastic acumen. It is relevant to varied life situations under all conditions. The Divinely authored Torah is immutable because of its inherent perfection. One who audaciously attempts to alter any aspect of the Torah indicates a blatant disregard for its Divine origin.
