Nedarim 21b (כא:) — the Talmud in English

He said to him

Ravina:

Are they comparable

the case in the beraita and my question?

Indeed,

regarding

drinking a drop of

cold water,

which the beraita permitted him, this is because

the righteous say little and do much.

And the intention of the one who invited him to eat with him was to invite him to an ample meal and substantial drinking. Therefore, he used an emphatic vow 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 merely drinking cold water or from entering his house.

But

here, it is uncertain,

for on the one hand, one can say

perhaps

this

less than a sela

is what he meant,

and

this

more than a shekel is what he said, and

these are vows of

emphasis.

Or perhaps he stated it precisely, and it is a proper vow?

And we conclude:

The matter remains unresolved!

The matter remained uncertain.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said: These four vows require inquiry before a sage.

And Rav Yehuda said:

When I stated

the words of Rav Asi

before Shmuel,

he was astonished at my words and

said:

The tanna teaches “

The Sages permitted four vows,”

and

these

you say “

require inquiry before a sage”!?

Rav Yosef taught this tradition

in the following formulation:

Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said: A sage may not annul a vow except one resembling these four vows,

which are vows made in error, because

he holds: One may not open with regret.

That is, when someone comes before a sage to inquire about his vow, the sage annuls it for him only on the basis of a “petah,” a reason such that, had he known it at the time of his vow, he would not have vowed. This is similar to a vow made in error. But they do not annul it for him on the basis that he now regrets what he vowed in the past.

There was a certain man who came before Rav Huna

to inquire about his vow.

Rav Huna said to him

Rav Huna:

Is your heart still with you?

Are you at peace with the vow you made, because you made it wholeheartedly and do not regret having made it, but only now regret its continued existence 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 retroactively,

and he annulled it,

for Rav Huna annulled it on the basis of mere regret.

There was a certain man who came before Rabba bar Rav Huna, and he said to him: Had there been ten people who appeased you at that time

when you made the vow,

would you have vowed?

Would you have vowed then?

He said to him: No,

I would not have vowed then; rather, I would have been appeased!

And

Rabba bar Rav Huna annulled the vow.

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

Did

this heart

with which you made the vow still

remain upon you,

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

If he said “

No,”

but regrets having made it retroactively—

they annul it for him.

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, says in the name of his father: We say to a person: Had there been ten people who appeased you at that time

when you made the vow,

would you have vowed?

If he said “

No”—

they annul it for him.

Mnemonic: Asi and Elazar, Yohanan and Yannai

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

Do you now regret what happened earlier, namely, having made the vow, or are you satisfied that you made it and have come only now to have it annulled?

He said to him:

Is it possible that

I do 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 a petah based on error

[and this is not

Rav Asi, who holds above that one may not open with regret].

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

He said to him: Had they not

been

provoking me

when I made the vow—

I would not have wanted anything

to 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 made her daughter forbidden to her through a vow,

for she prohibited herself by vow from deriving benefit from her daughter.

She came before Rabbi Yohanan

to inquire about her vow.

Rabbi Yohanan opened a petah for her vow and

said to her:

Had you known

at the time of your vow

that your neighbors would say

that, on account of your vow, your neighbors would gossip

about her,

about your daughter: