Resources and Review Test for Nedarim 60
The גמרא says that if one makes a נדר to not eat today, he can eat once it gets dark but must be מתיר נדר at that time. There are two explanations given by the גמרא for this גזרה. One is that it is a גזרה lest the person think that today is the same as making a נדר for “one day” and think he can stop his fast when he says “one day” as soon as nightfall comes when in fact it needs 24 hours. The other explanation for the גזרה is that it is because someone who makes a נדר is כאילו בנה במה so we gave him a קנס that he needs to be מתיר נדרד. The רא"ש explains that these two explanations are not arguing. Rather, the second explanation of רבינא is simply coming to be מוסיף on the first explanation of רב יוסף. This must be true since if רבינא said what he said independently then every נדר should have a קנס because almost every נדר is like being בונה במה. Rather, the reason we make a קנס only in this case is because of the גזרה אטו יום אחד but its also בצירוף the fact that it was wrong to have made the נדר to start with. The נפקא מינה is that if the person made a נדר של מצוה they would not need to be מתיר נדר. The ר"ן says almost the same thing but it sounds to me more like he holds that רב יוסף would make his גזרה even by נדרי מצוה but that רבינא holds that the גזרה really isn’t שכיח unless you add the fact that it was also wrong to have made the נדר to start and בצירוף that it makes sense to make the גזרה. However, most understand the ר"ן to be agreeing with the רא"ש that there is no מחלוקת between the two explanations. The מפרש understands that each answer is independent and רבינא mainly cares about the fact that it was wrong to make the נדר but where there is no ספק what you meant שאלה doesn’t make sense as opposed to רב יוסף who holds it has nothing to do with whether it was wrong to make a נדר and everything to do with a גזרה. The רמב"ם in הלכות נדרים פּרק י׳ הל׳ א makes it sound like the reason for the גזרה is simply because of the גזרה אטו יום אחד and does not give any נפקא מינהs. The לחם משנה there explains that the רמב"ם learned like the מפרש and paskened like רב יוסף since according to him the משנה is talking about all cases. (In truth, it is possible the משנה wasn’t talking about this at all. The נימוקי יוסףactually explains that רב ירמיה was a later תקנה made after the משנהwhich is why the משנה doesn’t mention it.)
Another question is why we wait till after dark to do the שאלה. Why not do it anytime during the day? The חתם סופר in ד"ה עד שתחשך answers that if the person were to be שואל on his נדר during the day, it would undo the נדר and he would have been מצער himself for nothing. Therefore, we tell him to wait till the nighttime where it is just a formality of sorts to be מתיר the נדר.
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