Nedarim - Daf 24
- If the Rabbonon disagree with our Mishnah’s case of נדרי זירוזין
Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov taught in the previous Mishnah, according to the Gemara’s revision on 23b: הרוצה שיאכל אצלו חבירו ומסרב בו ומדירו נדרי זירוזין הוא - One who wants his friend to eat with him and his friend is resisting, and he made a neder against him, it is a motivational neder and not valid . The Gemara asks if the Rabbonon disagree and quotes a Mishnah which states: קונם שאיני נהנה לך אם אי אתה נוטל לבנך כור של חיטין ושתי חביות של יין - “Konam that I will not benefit from you if you do not take for your son a kor of wheat and two barrels of wine,” then the neder is invalid, שיכול לומר לו כלום אמרת אלא בשביל כבודי, זה הוא כבודי - because [his friend] can say, “Did you not say this merely for my honor? This itself is my honor, to decline your offer.” This implies that if not for his response, the neder would be valid, proving that the Rabbonon disagree with our Mishnah!? The Gemara answers that in this case all would agree that the neder was made in seriousness, because the vower would say:לא כלבא אנא דמיתהנינא מינך ולא מיתהנית מינאי - “I am not a dog, that I should benefit from you, and you do not benefit from me!”
- הדירו חבירו שיאכל אצלו וחלה הוא או שחלה בנו
The Gemara attempts to bring a proof to its question from a Mishnah which states: נדרי אונסין - What is the case of forced nedarim? הדירו חבירו שיאכל אצלו - If one made a neder against his friend that he should eat with him, וחלה הוא או חלה בנו, או שעכבו נהר - and he or his son became ill, or he was delayed by a river, then the neder is invalid since the condition was not fulfilled because of circumstances beyond his control. הא לאו הכי נדר הוא - This implies that otherwise, the neder would be valid, and it is not a motivational neder. This shows that the Rabbonon disagree with Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov and consider such nedarim legitimate. The Gemara answers, ומי סברת דאדריה מזמנא לזמינא - do you think that the inviter initiated the neder against the invitee? No, the invitee caused the inviter to vow against him. The case was where the invitee asked, “Will you invite me to your seudah?” When the inviter said “yes,” the invitee asked the inviter to make a neder against him if he failed to come, which he did. Since the invitee clearly needed no motivation to attend, the neder would have been valid, if not for the circumstances that were beyond his control, such as getting sick or being delayed by a river. The Mishnah rules that this case is an example of נדרי אונסין – nedarim of circumstances beyond one’s control.
- נדרי הבאי ושבועות הבאי
The next Mishnah states: נדרי הבאי - What are cases of nedarim of exaggeration? אמר קונם אם לא ראיתי בדרך הזה כעולי מצרים, אם לא ראיתי נחש כקורת בית הבד - If he says, “konam if I did not see on this road like the multitudes leaving Egypt,” or “if I did not see a snake like the beam of an olive press.” The Ran notes that these are two distinct cases; in the first, he is exaggerating the truth that he saw many people; in the second, his statement is patently false, as per the Gemara on 25a. It was taught in a Baraisa thatשבועות הבאי are also not effective (according to the reading preferred by most Rishonim) and asks what the case of this oath is. After Rava rejects Abaye’s approach, he explains the case is where one says: יאסרו פירות העולם עלי בשבועה – “All the world’s fruits shall be forbidden upon me by an oath, if I have not seen on this road like the number of men who went out of Mitzrayim at the time of the Exodus.” The Gemara will analyze this answer on the next Daf.
