Musar para sa Deuteronomio 17:11

Now we will explain the levels of the [positive and negative] commandments and the allotment of the punishments: The first level is the severity of the words of the Scribes: We were obligated by the Torah to accept the ordinances of the prophets and the judges, to obey the words of sages and to be careful with their fences, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 17:11), “you must not deviate from the thing that they tell you either to the right or to the left.” And even though we have also been warned by the Torah to be steadfast to do everything that they instructed us, nevertheless positive commandments [directly] from the Torah are more weighty than their words - since the essence of the thing is mentioned explicitly in the scroll of God’s Torah, and God, may He be blessed, commanded it specifically. But there are ways and angles in which words of the Scribes are more weighty than the words of the Torah - like our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 88b), “(With regards to the rulings of the rebellious elder,) there is greater stringency to the words of the Scribes than to the words of the Torah. For one who states, ‘There is no commandment to don tefillin’ - to transgress the words of the Torah - is exempt. But [one who says,] ‘There are five compartments’ - to add to the words of the Scribes - is liable”; [and] (Berakhot 4b), “Anyone who transgresses the words of the Scribes is liable for the death penalty.”

Keeping all this in mind we can understand the meaning of Rashi's comment on 17,11: "Do not depart to the right or to the left," i.e. even if the judge tells you that (what you know to be) right is "left" or what (you know to be) left is "right." This interpretation was valid only when there was no king in Israel. Once a king was appointed, however, each level of administration had its functions clearly defined. In the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer Israel's sin consisted of their wanting to do away with this divison of responsibility between two different bodies. Israel committed a major error as soon as they asked for the king to act as שופט. Rabbi Eliezer divides the verse in Samuel I 8,5 שימה לנו מלך לשפטנו ככל הגוים into two distinct requests. One request was made by the elders, the second one by the people at large. The elders, who spoke about לנו, meant that the king would join them, as they were the judges already. This is why they did not say עלינו, "over us." The people at large, who entertained a different perception of the tasks to be performed by a king, said: שימה עלינו "place him above us" (Samuel I 8,5). They wanted the king to perform both the functions the Sanhedrin was designed for, i.e. משפט התורה, as well as those of a king, i.e. הוראת שעה.

These works will also make clear the rules which the Sages and Prophets of every generation decreed in order to make a fence about the Torah, as they heard explicitly from the mouth of Moses, as it is said, "Therefore shall ye keep my charge" (Lev. 18:30), that is to say, make a guard for the laws which were to be guarded (Moed Katan 5a). One can also obtain from these works a clear interpretation of the customs, and the regulations that our Sages enacted in every generation according to the way that the Bet Din of that generation understood the matter, for it is forbidden to turn away from the words of the Sages, as it is said, "Thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left" (Deut. 17:11). And similarly included were all those judgments and excellent laws which our Sages did not receive from Moses, our teacher, but which the Bet Din of that generation decided according to the rules by which the Torah is interpreted, and also the decisions which the Elders made and concluded that the law was thus. Everything was included in the Gemara by Rav Ashi, from the days of Moses until his own day.