Nedarim 21b — the Talmud in English

He said to him

Ravina:

Are these cases comparable

to the case in the beraita that is relevant to my question?

For

regarding

drinking a drop of

cold water,

which the beraita permitted him to drink, this is because

righteous people say little and do much.

The intention of the person who invited him to eat with him was to invite him to an extensive meal with much food and drink. Therefore, he used a vow made for emphasis concerning a drop of water or entering his house, so that he would not have to dine with him. But certainly, he did not intend to prohibit himself from drinking cold water alone or from entering his house.

But

here, it is uncertain,

because on the one hand, one can say

perhaps

this

less than a sela

means to say, and

this

is

more than a shekel, he said, and

these are

vows made for emphasis.

Or perhaps he meant it literally, and it is a genuine vow?

And we conclude:

the question remains unresolved

The matter remains uncertain.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said: These four vows require that one ask a Torah scholar to annul them.

And Rav Yehuda said:

When I stated

the words of Rav Asi

before Shmuel,

he was astonished at my words and

said:

A tanna teaches: “

The Sages permitted these four vows,”

and

if

you say

that they require one to ask a Torah scholar—is that possible?

Rav Yosef taught this statement

with this wording:

Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said: A Torah scholar may annul a vow only when it resembles one of these four vows,

which are vows based on an error, because

he holds that one may not annul a vow on the basis of regret alone.

That is, when a person comes before a Torah scholar to ask about his vow, the Torah scholar annuls it for him only on the basis of an “opening”—a reason is found such that, had he known it at the time he made the vow, he would not have made the vow. This resembles a vow based on an error. But the vow is not annulled for him merely on the basis that he now regrets what he vowed in the past.

There was a certain man who came before Rav Huna

to ask about his vow.

Rav Huna said to him

Rav Huna:

Is your heart still with you?

Are you still at peace with the vow you made, because you made it wholeheartedly and do not regret having made it, but merely regret that it should continue from now on, and have come to ask me to annul it from this point onward?

He said to him: No,

I am not at peace with having made the vow; rather, I regret it from the outset,

and he annulled it

Rav Huna annulled it for him on the basis of regret alone.

There was a certain man who came before Rabba bar Rav Huna, who said to him: If ten people had come and appeased you at the time

when you made the vow,

would you have made the vow?

Would you have made it then?

He said to him: No,

I would not have made it then; rather, I would have been appeased.

And he annulled it

Rabba bar Rav Huna.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda says: One says to a person:

Is

this heart

with which you made the vow still

with you,

so that you now desire your vow but do not want it to remain in force from now on?

If he said “

No,”

but regrets having made the vow from the outset,

it is annulled for him.

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said in the name of his father: One says to a person: If ten people had come and appeased you at the time

when you made the vow,

would you have made the vow?

If he said “

No,”

it is annulled for him.

Mnemonic: Asi and Elazar, Yohanan and Yannai

There was a certain man who came before Rabbi Asi, who said to him: Do you now regret it?

Do you now regret your earlier action, having made the vow, or are you satisfied that you made it and have merely come to have it annulled now?

He said to him:

But

do I not

regret it?

That is, I certainly regret having made the vow!

And he annulled it

Rabbi Asi annulled it on the basis of his regret, without requiring an opening based on an error. [This was not

Rav

Asi, who holds above that one may not annul a vow on the basis of regret.]

There was a certain man who came before Rabbi Elazar, who said to him: Did you want to make the vow?

He said to him: Had they not

been

making me angry

at the time I made the vow,

we would not have wanted anything

to make the vow.

He said to him: Let it be as you wanted,

as you wish to have it annulled, and the vow is annulled.

There was a certain woman who imposed a vow on her daughter,

prohibiting her daughter from deriving benefit from her.

She came before Rabbi Yohanan

to ask about her vow.

Rabbi Yohanan found an opening for her vow and

said to her:

Had you known

at the time of your vow

that your neighbors would say

that because of your vow they would gossip

about her,

about your daughter: