Do-not-Add-or-Diminish
-hebraicstudies.net-
Please do NOT visit this
site on שַׁבָּת - Shabbat or on
the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts!
Re Tanakh versions:
Throughout this site I may use any of three versions of the Tanakh: 1. “Jewish
Publication Society” (JPS-1917), 2. “Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC), and 3. “Sefaria.org” (SEF), three brilliant versions, However, the
JPS-1917 is my preferred version!
Colour coded
details of our beloved TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History & Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of
Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history
of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some
alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’
of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God), having been corrected
like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
The
Threat of ‘Addition’ and ‘Subtraction’: The Self vs. The
Mitzvot:
Let us read Devarim - Deuteronomy 4:2, which contains a powerful Command, which sadly rabbis of the past simply disregarded it!
This verse is first in Ivrit - Hebrew, then in English!
Please
Note: All verses are from the JPS-1917 version of
the Tanakh!
לֹא
תֹסִפוּ, עַל-הַדָּבָר
אֲשֶׁר
אָנֹכִי
מְצַוֶּה
אֶתְכֶם, וְלֹא
תִגְרְעוּ, מִמֶּנּוּ-לִשְׁמֹר,
אֶת-מִצְוֺת
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר
אָנֹכִי, מְצַוֶּה
אֶתְכֶם
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem (God) which I command you”.
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Let us now look what our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, בָּרוּךְ
אֱלֹהִים, means with His powerful Command in Devarim - Deuteronomy
4:2.
1. The
Anatomy of Addition: ‘Lo Tosifu’ - לֹא תֹסִפוּ:
As we have clearly seen, the Hebrew text
uses the command לֹא תֹסִפוּ - ‘Lo Tosifu’,
meaning “you
shall not add”.
The Root:
The word ‘Tosifu’ comes from the raw Hebrew root יָסַף (Y-S-F).
This root means ‘to add’, ‘increase’, or ‘make an expansion’.
The Human Flaw:
Human beings have often sadly added to the precious Word of
Elohim because the raw command makes them uncomfortable. To fix this tension
and make themselves feel safe, men build “man-made
fences”, and the so-called extra oral traditions, and man made theological
commentaries. Which they had absolutely no right to do!
The Result:
This tragic constant addition creates a massive ‘Error
bloat’ and of course confusion. Sadly in certain cases they bury the
clear, written text under layers of rabbinic opinions, changing the Perfect
word of אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the
LORD Elohim, into a flawed heavy system of human destruction!
2.
The Anatomy of Subtraction: ‘Lo Tigre’u’ - וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ:
The text immediately balances this with the
command וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ - V’lo Tigre’u,
meaning “neither
shall you diminish”.
The Root:
The word Tigre’u comes
from the raw Hebrew root גָּרַע (G-R-A). This
root means to ‘shave off’, ‘clip’, ‘diminish’, or ‘subtract’.
The Human Flaw:
When a direct commandment (Mitzvah) collides with ‘human
comfort’, ‘convenience’, or ‘modern social ethics’, the ‘I, Me and Myself’
tries to soften the rules. Human beings chip away at the sharp edges of the
text to escape the strict reality of Divine judgment!
The Result: This
turns an absolute command into a ‘fluid’, ‘optional guideline’. It sadly dilutes
the truth of His word to fit some ‘universal pluralism’ and ‘human consensuses’.
3. The Core Problem: The I, Me, and Myself Paradigm:
Human beings ‘add’ and ‘’subtract because
they choose to live inside that selfish ‘I, Me, and Myself’ paradigm rather than submitting to our beloved Creator?
The Trap of Comfort:
Tragically the human ego always seeks convenience. Following
the text exactly as originally written requires a person to fully surrender
their own ‘intellect’, ‘pride’, and ‘desires’.
The False Pen:
When people are unwilling to submit, they use a “false pen”
to change the parameters of the text, making the law accommodate them instead
of ‘changing themselves to fit אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s blessed law’.
4.
The Path to Becoming Kadosh - קָדוֹשׁ:
The ultimate goal of dropping the self to
zero is to obtain the status of Kadosh (Set-Apart/Holy)
which Elohim wants His people to have!
The Structural Definition:
In Scriptural Hebrew, קָדוֹשׁ - Kadosh does not mean a fluid emotional feeling or a
religious show. Structurally, it means to be ‘physically cut off’, ‘separated’, and ‘entirely locked into a single purpose’.
The Mechanics of Holiness:
A vessel cannot be Kadosh if
its boundaries are open to human negotiation or shifting societal trends. It
only achieves this state when it cuts out all external bargaining with the
commandments, and executes the 613 written Mitzvot exactly as they are hard
coded in the source text.
The
Unmoving Sieve:
By refusing to ‘add’ or ‘diminish a single letter’, you keep the text running with 0% error tolerances. The
fluid systems of the sons of Adam will always change, expand, and inevitably
collapse under the weight of their own rebellious flawed adjustments, but the
unmoving Word remains a perfect, secure blueprint if only man would follow it
as Elohim intended him to.
Yet, those I, me, and myself rabbis have messed parts of our Tanakh disgracefully.
Just check Psalms 53 and 56, In each of these two Psalms they removed from the
Hebrew text His precious name, being - יְהוָה - the LORD, blessed be His Name, and they did
this ‘seven times’ in each Psalm, and they replaced His blessed Name with the
word אֱלֹהִים and in the translation (English) where His
blessed Name suddenly became His attribute being ‘God’.
Tragically, today
Hebrew’s blindly trust the rabbis of the past and present, yet they will never
tell you about the many rabbinic changes they have made to the blessed Word!
Not only that, but they also support the mystical ‘Zohar’ (completed in the 2nd
century), but was included much later into the occultic ‘Kabbalah’, as well as
the flawed ‘Talmud’, all being created by men. Sadly rabbis treat these (their)
writings as further scriptures, which they are not, as these are wholly man created
and must not be compared with our beloved Torah/Tanakh, even though they have defiled
even that in certain places!
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Please Note: “hebraicstudies” links are located down
the page!
This site was originally created, for those
who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work
on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and
always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance,
for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He!
However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of
studies!
Remember
what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following through a number of
our prophets...
“The More Torah, the More Life”,
For Elohim is the One who
gave us our ... “Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace
of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts, be with
you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as
the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your
daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s - Prayers and
regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s - blessings before food
and drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom
Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Enter ...