אֵין גּוֹזְרִים גְּזִירָה לַגְּזִירָה

ביטוי (אנגלית)

One does not decree a decree upon a decree

הגדרה (אנגלית)

One does not impose a prohibition as a safeguard for another safeguard. A 'decree' or 'fence' is a prohibition intended to prevent entering a state of risk for committing a transgression. However, it is not permitted to set double safeguards for the same transgression; one safeguard suffices to prevent the risk.

(“All meat is forbidden to be cooked in milk, some by Torah law and some by the words of the Sages, except for fish and locusts, which are neither forbidden by Torah nor by the Sages… Rav Yosef said: We learn from this that chicken with milk is a Torah prohibition, for if you thought it was Rabbinic, eating itself is a decree, and should we then decree burning based on eating! And from where do you know that we do not decree a decree upon a decree” – Chullin 104a, and also: “A decree upon a decree that the officials invented on their own, all the tax receipts… are taken out on Friday afternoon” – Agnon, A City and Its Fullness, 291)