Nedarim 22b

נדרים כ״ב ע״ב

Learn Nedarim 22b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Nedarim 22b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The dangers of anger, and undoing serious vows (including those made with 'אלהי ישראל')

Overview

This amud finishes a short story from the previous page, where the people involved had not yet crossed the Jordan. The גמרא then brings three sayings about how harmful anger is: it pushes away awareness of the שכינה, makes a person forget his learning, and shows that his sins outweigh his merits. רב אדא ברבי חנינא adds that if ישראל had not sinned and angered God, they would have received only the Torah and ספר יהושע. The גמרא then returns to vows. רבי אסי teaches that a vow made with 'אלהי ישראל' is not undone unless it rested on a false fact, and stories about רב אסי and about רב כהנא at רב יוסף's home show this strict approach. רב נחמן then rules that the הלכה is that regret is a valid opening, and that even a vow by 'אלהי ישראל' can be undone. In a story, רב סחורה cannot find an opening before רב נחמן, so he uses רב נחמן's annoyance as an opening to undo his own vow. A similar story about רבי שמעון ברבי begins, and it continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. ResolutionThey were still outside ארץ ישראל
2. StatementAn angry person ignores even the שכינה
3. StatementAnger makes a person forget his learning
4. StatementAn angry person's sins outweigh his merits
5. StatementWithout sin, only the Torah and ספר יהושע
6. ProofThe verse behind רב אדא's teaching
7. StatementVows made with 'אלהי ישראל' are not undone
8. Proofרב אסי refuses to undo a woman's vow made by אלהי ישראל
9. Proofרב כהנא vows not to eat at רב יוסף's home
10. QuestionWhy did רב יוסף repeat the vow words?
11. Responseרב יוסף was quoting רב כהנא's own vow
12. ConclusionFinal ruling: vows can be opened through regret, even by the God of Israel
13. Statementרבא praises רב סחורה, who brings a vow to רב נחמן
14. Statementרב נחמן keeps searching for an opening and gets upset
15. Statementרב סחורה finds his own opening from רב נחמן's annoyance
16. StatementA similar story begins with רבי שמעון ברבי