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Nedarim 86b

נדרים פ״ו ע״ב

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Topic

Why a קונם on a wife's handiwork can take effect despite the husband's rights, and a new משנה about a husband who annuls a vow while mistaken about its details

Overview

The גמרא finishes explaining why שמואל ruled like רבי יוחנן בן נורי, who holds that a wife's קונם on her handiwork needs annulling. רב אשי says a קונם is different: it is treated like קדושת הגוף, holiness that sits on the object itself. He backs this with רבא's rule that הקדש, חמץ and freeing a slave all cancel a שעבוד (someone's claim on the item). So the wife's קונם overrides her husband's claim on her work and takes effect right away. The גמרא asks why, then, רבי יוחנן בן נורי gave the reason 'perhaps he will divorce her.' It answers that this is only an extra reason, read as 'and furthermore.' A new משנה then teaches that if a husband or father annulled a vow while mistaken about who vowed or what was vowed, he must annul it again. The גמרא opens its discussion by asking whether this means the פסוק's word אוֹתָהּ ('her') is meant exactly.

Opening lines

אֶלָּא אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי:

Rather, Rav Ashi said:

שָׁאנֵי קוּנָּמוֹת,

Konamot are different,

דְּכִי קְדוּשַּׁת הַגּוּף דָּמֵי,

for they are like inherent sanctity,

וְכִדְרָבָא.

and this is in accordance with Rava.

The steps (6)

  1. Resolutionרב אשי: קונמות are like inherent holiness
  2. Proofרבא's rule: Strong prohibitions cancel a lien
  3. ChallengeThen why mention 'perhaps he will divorce her'?
  4. ResolutionRead it as 'and furthermore, perhaps he will divorce her'
  5. Statementמשנה: Annulling a vow while mistaken
  6. QuestionIs the word 'her' in the verse meant exactly?