Moreover, Chazal stated (Eruvin 21b): ”My son! Be more careful with the words of the Rabbis than with the words of the Torah. For the words of the Torah contain positive and negative commandments, but one who transgresses the words of the Rabbis is liable to death.”
This statement is astonishing, for there are many fundamental Torah laws whose violation does not incur the death penalty. Why, then, should the words of the Rabbis be considered more severe than those of the Torah? Some explain that the Written Torah represents the aspect of a “king,” for its commandments are the decrees of the HaKadosh Baruch Hu. In contrast, the words of the Sages are merely safeguards and fences designed to distance a person from sin, and they are akin to the “king’s guards,” who protect the king so that no harm befalls him.
Now, it is the way of the world that a king cannot punish or execute someone who violates his decrees without first bringing him to judgment, where all the details of the transgression are thoroughly examined. Only if it is determined that the offender is guilty beyond justification may the king issue his verdict. The situation is different, however, when it comes to the ”king’s guards”—they are permitted to strike down and kill anyone who approaches the king suspiciously, as such a person is presumed to be an enemy seeking the king’s harm. In other words, although the king’s guards do not hold the same authority as the king himself, they are granted even greater power to eliminate the king’s enemies than the king himself possesses.
Accordingly, since the Chachmei Torah are in the category of ”the king’s guards,” they are granted the authority to impose a death penalty upon those who transgress their words—even though the Torah itself, which represents the ”king,” does not impose the death penalty for many transgressions.
Furthermore, we must understand that ”the words of the Rabbis” do not refer only to the specific safeguards and decrees established by our holy Chazal in their time. Rather, any Chacham in his generation who establishes a fence to address a breach in observance—his enactment is also considered ”the words of the Rabbis.” And regarding this, too, it was said that anyone who transgresses their words...
