Nedarim - Daf 61
- Machlokes if fiftieth year is included in previous Yovel cycle
The Gemara asks: אמר יין שאני טועם יובל מאי – If one said “Wine [is konam] for my tasting for a Yovel cycle,” what is the halachah? The Ran clarifies that the Gemara’s intent is for one who said “this Yovel.” The Gemara explains the question is whether the Yovel year is the final year of the completed Yovel cycle, and thus included in his neder, or the first year of the next cycle and not included in his neder. The Gemara shows this is a machlokes Tannaim in a Baraisa, from the passuk which says: וקדשתם את שנת החמשים שנה – “You should sanctify the fiftieth year” as Yovel. The Rabbonon learn that the fiftieth year is only counted as the fiftieth year but does not additionally function as the first year of the next cycle and say: מכאן אמרו יובל אינו עולה למנין שבוע – from here they said that Yovel is not counted in the shemittah cycle. רבי יהודה אומר יובל עולה למנין שבוע – Rebbe Yehudah says: Yovel is counted as the first year in the following shemittah-cycle. When the Rabbonon challenged Rebbe Yehudah from the passuk which states that one may plant for six years, which, according to Rebbe Yehudah, will only be five years in a shemittah cycle following Yovel (because the fiftieth year is forbidden like shemittah), he responded that the passuk is referring to the other full shemittah cycles.
- Machlokes if a person is מעייל נפשיה לספיקא
The Mishnah on Daf 60a taught that one who makes a neder עד פני הפסח – “until before Pesach,” Rebbe Meir says he is forbidden until the beginning of Pesach, and Rebbe Yose holds he is forbidden until the end of Pesach. The Gemara understands that Rebbe Meir holds לא מעייל נפשיה לספיקא – a person does not place himself in an uncertain position, meaning that when using an ambiguous phrase (such as “until before Pesach” which can be understood as the beginning or end), he only included what is clearly included in the term, and Rebbe Yose holds a person would include all possible meanings, even until the end of Pesach. The Gemara asks that they both contradict their positions in a Mishnah: One who has two sets of daughters from two wives, and declared that he had married off his “elder daughter” to someone, but did not clarify which “elder daughter” he meant, Rebbe Meir holds all but the youngest in the younger group are forbidden as possibly married women, because they can all conceivably be called “elder” in reference to this youngest daughter, and Rebbe Yose holds only the very oldest is forbidden, since the ambiguous term is understood to only include what it would definitively include. Thus, they both contradict their position in our Mishnah. The Gemara answers that we must reverse the positions of our Mishnah to accord with the Mishnah in Kiddushin.
- A neder “until the harvest”
The next Mishnah teaches that a neder made “until the harvest” is forbidden until the start of the harvest. The rule is expressed: כל שזמנו קבוע ואמר עד שיגיע אסור עד שיגיע – Any event whose duration is set (such as the seven days of Pesach), and he said, “Until the event arrives”, he is forbidden until it arrives, אמר עד שיהא אסור עד שיצא – but if he said, “until it is,” he is forbidden until it concludes. וכל שאין זמנו קבוע – And any event whose duration is not set, such as the harvest, בין אמר עד שיהא בין אמר עד שיגיע, אינו אסור אלא עד שיגיע – whether he said, “until it arrives” or “until it is,” he is only forbidden until it arrives.
