Nedarim 75b

נדרים ע״ה ע״ב

Learn Nedarim 75b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

According to רבי אליעזר, when a husband cancels his wife's vows before she makes them, do those vows take effect for a moment and then get cancelled, or do they never take effect at all?

Overview

The גמרא is asking about רבי אליעזר's view that a husband can cancel his wife's vows before she makes them. Do such vows take effect for an instant and then get cancelled, or do they never take effect at all? First the גמרא shows why this matters in practice. If another person attached his vow to hers (התפסה), his vow only counts if hers ever existed. Next it tries to prove the answer from the משנה's wording 'vows that did not come into prohibition.' That proof is rejected, because the phrase can mean 'not yet.' Then it brings רבי אליעזר's קל וחומר from a person cancelling his own vows in advance. That proof is also rejected, since the two cases need not match in every way. Finally, the חכמים's reply to רבי אליעזר compares a מקוה, which cannot save pure things from becoming impure. From this the גמרא concludes that, for רבי אליעזר, pre-cancelled vows never take effect at all.

Opening lines

The steps (8)

1. ResponseThe practical difference: someone who attached his vow to hers
2. ProofProof from the משנה's wording: vows that did not come into prohibition
3. RejectionRejection: 'did not come' means 'not yet'
4. ProofA second attempt: רבי אליעזר's קל וחומר from one's own vows
5. ProofHis wife's vows are like his own vows
6. RejectionThe two cases do not have to be the same in every way
7. ProofThe חכמים answer רבי אליעזר with the example of a מקוה
8. ConclusionPre-cancelled vows never take effect