Gemara Clarity

Nedarim 76a

נדרים ע״ו ע״א

Learn Nedarim 76a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Nedarim 76a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Does an advance הפרה (cancelling a vow before it is made) let the vow take hold for a moment and then cancel it (חיילין ובטלין), or does it stop the vow from ever taking hold (לא חיילין), according to רבי אליעזר?

Overview

The גמרא is trying to work out what רבי אליעזר holds when a husband cancels his wife's vows before she makes them. One option is that the vows take hold for a moment and are then cancelled (חיילין ובטלין). The other is that they never take hold at all (לא חיילין). First the גמרא brings the end of a ברייתא, where the רבנן answer רבי אליעזר with an argument about immersing a vessel in advance. That seems to show the vows take hold for a moment. The גמרא pushes this proof aside: the רבנן were not sure of his reasoning, so they gave a counter-argument for each possibility. Next it brings רבי אליעזר's own קל וחומר from seeds already planted in the ground. That seems to show the vows never take hold at all. Finally the גמרא asks why the רבנן reject his קל וחומר, when another ברייתא shows them using a very similar one about selling a daughter who is a נערה. The answer to that question comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֵימָא סֵיפָא,

Say the latter clause:

אָמְרוּ לוֹ לְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר:

They said to Rabbi Eliezer:

אִם מַטְבִּילִין כְּלִי טָמֵא לִיטָּהֵר,

If one immerses an impure vessel to purify it,

יַטְבִּילוּ כְּלִי לִכְשֶׁיִּטְמָא לִיטָּהֵר?

shall one immerse a vessel so that when it becomes impure it will be purified?

The steps (4)

  1. ProofThe end of the ברייתא suggests the vows take hold and are then cancelled
  2. RejectionThe רבנן were not sure of his reasoning and answered both ways
  3. Proofרבי אליעזר's argument from seeds suggests the vows never take hold
  4. ChallengeDon't the רבנן use this kind of קל וחומר elsewhere?