Q&A: The First Root
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The First Root
Question
Hello.
I wanted to ask: if, according to Nachmanides’ objection in the first root, violating rabbinic enactments and protective decrees does not stem from “do not deviate,” then what does it stem from?
Thank you.
Answer
That’s the million-dollar question. There is no answer to this in his words, aside from the statement that there is a textual support for it in “do not deviate.” In my book Ruach HaMishpat and in the article on the first root, I explained how that textual support works. I argued there that this is a textual support that is actually a source, unlike the usual kinds of textual supports. See column 443.