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Nedarim 70b

נדרים ע׳ ע״ב

Learn Nedarim 70b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The אב's power to annul alone after the ארוס dies, and when the בעל annuls a בוגרת's vows

Overview

The גמרא finishes a derivation: the פסוק links vows made before a second betrothal to vows made before a first betrothal. So after the ארוס dies, the אב annuls his daughter's vows alone. It asks whether this covers only vows the ארוס never knew about. It answers that those vows are already learned from 'בנעוריה בית אביה', so the link must also cover vows he did know about. Then the גמרא turns to the משנה's line comparing the power of the אב and the בעל, and asks when a בעל annuls the vows of a בוגרת. A girl betrothed as a נערה who then grew up does not work, because בגרות is like the father's death, which does not hand his authority to the ארוס. So the case must be a woman betrothed when already a בוגרת. The גמרא objects that a later משנה already teaches this, and along the way it fixes that משנה's wording to read as two cases. It ends with two answers: either our משנה is the main source, or the later משנה is, and ours repeats it only to match its two 'בזה' clauses.

Opening lines

מַקִּישׁ קוֹדְמֵי הֲוָיָה שְׁנִיָּה

It compares [vows] preceding the second 'being'

לְקוֹדְמֵי הֲוָיָה רִאשׁוֹנָה.

to [vows] preceding the first 'being'.

מָה קוֹדְמֵי הֲוָיָה רִאשׁוֹנָה —

Just as with [vows] preceding the first 'being'

אָב מֵיפַר לְחוֹדֵיהּ,

the father annuls on his own,

The steps (13)

  1. StatementSecond betrothal is compared to the first
  2. ChallengeMaybe this only covers vows the ארוס never knew about
  3. ResolutionThose vows are already covered by another פסוק
  4. QuestionNew line of the משנה: where each one's power is greater
  5. ResponseFirst suggestion: betrothed as a young girl, then she grew up
  6. RejectionRejected: growing up is like the father dying
  7. ResponseSecond suggestion: betrothed when already grown
  8. ChallengeProblem: a later משנה already teaches this
  9. ChallengeSide problem: why twelve months for a grown woman?
  10. ResolutionFix: read it as two separate cases
  11. ChallengeBack to the main problem: it is still a repetition
  12. ResolutionOur משנה is the main source, the other sets up a מחלוקת
  13. ResolutionThe other משנה is the real source, and ours repeats it for style