(2008/5768)

The beginning of Parashat VaEtchanan includes a puzzling sequence of Pesukim.  Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael that he pleaded with Hashem for permission to enter Eretz Yisrael but was rejected because of Bnei Yisrael’s sin with Baal Peor.  He then proceeds to give Bnei Yisrael Mussar: he charges them to keep every detail of every law, not to add or take away from the Mitzvot, and not to be enticed into sinning to Hashem by worshiping Baal Peor.  Why does Moshe move from his denied entry to Eretz Yisrael and the sin of Baal Peor specifically to the prohibition of adding to or subtracting from the Mitzvot?

Rashi describes the idol worship of Baal Peor as one of the most degrading forms of worship: worshiping this idol meant defecating on the idol and turning it into a mockery.  Similarly, the Navi Hoshea describes devotion to this idol as a “Bizayon,” a complete disgrace.

When Bnei Yisrael saw Baal Paor, one may suggest that they tried to show their contempt for idol worship by defecating on it, but in the act, inadvertently performed the very action that constituted the worship of the idol that they were trying to degrade. According to this approach, Bnei Yisrael’s sin with Baal Peor was just a freak coincidence. But if this is so, what was so bad about the sin that even Moshe, who did not partake in the sin, was to be punished for it?

The answer is revealed by the next part of Moshe’s rebuke: the warning against adding to or subtracting from the Mitzvot.  Bnei Yisrael tried, though perhaps with good intentions, to make up their own Mitzvah of degrading idol worship, which led to inadvertent violation of the Torah. This teaches us the importance of adhering to the strict letter of the law.  Even when one intends to do the right thing, when one adds to or subtracts from the Torah, one may end up violating a very serious prohibition, like that of Avodah Zarah.