Gemara Clarity

Nedarim 73b

נדרים ע״ג ע״ב

Learn Nedarim 73b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Can a man who is only engaged (ארוס) cancel his bride's vows alone once the waiting period before the wedding has passed and he must now support her?

Overview

The משנה brings a מחלוקת about a בוגרת or a widow whose waiting time before the wedding has passed. רבי אליעזר says that since her ארוס must already support her, he may cancel her vows by himself. חכמים say he cannot until she actually enters his home. רבה links רבי אליעזר to the משנה ראשונה in כתובות, which let such a bride eat תרומה once the twelve months were over. A later court changed that rule and required the חופה first. אביי rejects the link from both sides. The משנה ראשונה may have been lenient only about תרומה, which is rabbinic, and not about vows, which are from the Torah. רבי אליעזר may be lenient only about vows, because a woman vows with her husband in mind, and he might not let her eat even rabbinic תרומה.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳ בּוֹגֶרֶת שֶׁשָּׁהֲתָה שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ,

MISHNA: A grown woman who waited twelve months

וְאַלְמָנָה שְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם,

and a widow who waited thirty days,

רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר:

Rabbi Eliezer says:

הוֹאִיל וּבַעְלָהּ חַיָּיב בִּמְזוֹנוֹתֶיהָ — יָפֵר.

Since her husband is obligated to support her, he may cancel her vows.

The steps (6)

  1. StatementCan the engaged man cancel her vows once the wedding date has passed?
  2. Statementרבה links רבי אליעזר to the earlier version of a משנה
  3. ProofThe quoted משנה: after twelve months she eats his food and תרומה
  4. ProofPartial time does not count, and the later court changed the rule
  5. Rejectionאביי: תרומה is rabbinic, but vows are from the Torah
  6. Rejectionרבי אליעזר may only be talking about vows, not תרומה