Details

Several years ago, on one of the "ask the rabbi" websites, a frequent poster wrote a question. He said "I can understand don't kill, don't steal; but the great concern for details, like what is or isn't permitted on Shabbat, or what ingredients in a food would render it non-kosher, why is G-d concerned with these things?" The rabbi did not answer the question. After a few days, the person posted "have I finally asked you a question that you cannot answer?" The rabbi responded "I certainly did answer. In fact, I sent you a long email. However, in your email address, I left out the "dot" in "dot com." I can't imagine that a small detail like that would prevent the email from going through".
Our lives are made up of details. A slight shift in blood chemistry can mean illness...or death. A statement to a spouse "I love you, for the most part" would spell death for the relationship.
There is a delicate balance in Torah, between obligations to G-d and to Man; commands intended to sanctify every facet of life. There is a balance between "Love" and "Fear/Awe" of G-d that we are commanded to maintain  in the proper proportions.We are equally commanded not to add to the Torah, nor to detract. Judaism neither demands abstinence from the pleasures of life, nor unbridled hedonism. In the law of the Nazirite, who takes a vow to abstain from wine and hair cutting for a period of time (Numbers, chapter 6), at the completion of his vow, he must bring a sin offering. Why? The rabbis tell us that this is because self-affliction is, in most cases, a sin both against one's self, as well as against G-d. Then why is the Nazirite vow even mentioned in the Torah? The passage comes immediately after the law of the suspected adulteress. "One who sees the immorality around him, should vow to abstain from excesses, lest he also fall to debauchery". There is a time for abstinence, and other times where it is a sin. The details make the difference.
In one of Woody Allen's essays, he asks "the body and the soul; which is better to have?" The answer of Torah is "both are essential...in the right balance". For us, there is no dichotomy between "the letter of the Law, and "the spirit of the Law". These complement, rather than conflict. Our lives, our loves, our professions; all are composed of details. We must not forget to put the "dot" in the addresses of our lives.