Nedarim 22a (כב.) — the Talmud in English

Had she not seen in her fear

if her mother had not seen in her

disgraceful words

the offensive things on account of which she caused her to take a vow,

for that reason, she would not have caused her to take the vow"—

would she have caused her to take the vow

would you have caused her to take the vow even then?

She said to him: No!

And he permitted it

and Rabbi Yohanan permitted her vow on the basis of this opening.

The son of the daughter

the grandson

of Rabbi Yannai the Elder came before Rabbi Yannai the Elder

to request dissolution of his vow.

He said to him

Rabbi Yannai presented him with an opening for regret concerning his vow:

Had you known

that as a result of your vow, by which you present yourself as righteous,

they would open your ledger

that in Heaven they would open the ledger in which all your deeds are recorded,

and examine your deeds

to determine whether or not you are righteous—

would you have made the vow?

He said to him: No!

And he permitted it

Rabbi Yannai dissolved his vow on the basis of this opening.

Rabbi Abba said: What is the verse"—

as it is written [Proverbs 20,

“And after vows”—

“to examine.”"

Since he makes a vow, his deeds are examined, to see whether he is indeed on this level.

And the Gemara says:

And although Rabbi Yannai presented him

with such an opening for regret,

we—

do not present him with this opening.

For we do not rely on his statement that he genuinely regrets the vow from the outset. It is possible that he says this to the Sage because he cannot brazenly tell the Sage that he is not afraid that his deeds will be examined; in fact, however, he does not regret the vow.

And

likewise,

we do not present him with this other opening,

with another opening for regret, such as

that which Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yohanan said: What opening did Rabban Gamliel present to that elderly man

who came before him to request dissolution of his vow?

It is written [Proverbs 12]

“There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,

but the tongue of the wise—

is healing.”

Everyone who speaks rashly,

who expresses a vow,

deserves to be stabbed with a sword; but

the

tongue of the wise,

who dissolve his vow,

is healing

for him.

And when the elderly man heard these words, he said that he regretted his vow, and Rabban Gamliel dissolved it for him. But we do not present him with this opening, because we are concerned that he is not telling the truth and does not regret the vow; rather, he does not dare say that he remains bound by his vow after such a threat.

And

likewise,

we do not present him with this other opening,

for if the one who made the vow is threatened with what is stated in the following beraita, and he expresses regret before us, we do not rely on his regret as being genuine—

as it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Natan says: One who makes a vow

a vow is

as though he built a private altar,

at a time when private altars were prohibited. Although his intention is to offer a sacrifice, in practice he does something that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire.

And

one who upholds it

the vow and does not seek its dissolution, but fulfills his vow, does something even more severe,

as though he offered a sacrifice upon it

outside the Temple, for which he is liable on account of offering sacrifices outside the Temple.

That is, he has not performed a mitzva but a transgression; similarly, one who completes and upholds his vow violates the will of God, who wants him to seek dissolution of his vow rather than uphold it!

But

with

the words of the

first clause

of the beraita,

we do present him with an opening,

and inform him that anyone who makes a vow is as though he built a private altar. If he regrets it upon hearing this, his regret is genuine, and it is possible to dissolve the vow, since these matters are not extremely severe, and he is speaking truthfully when he expresses regret.

But

with

the words of the

latter clause

of the beraita, which states that one who upholds it is as though he offered a sacrifice outside the Temple, Abaye and Rava disagree—

Abaye said: We do present him with an opening

even through such a threat, and if he expresses regret, it is possible to rely on his regret.

Rava said: We do not present him with an opening,

lest, because of the severity of the matter, he say that he regrets the vow even though, in truth, he does not regret it.

Rav Kahana taught this discussion in this formulation,

as we have just stated.

But

Rav Taviumi taught

the dispute between Abaye and Rava

as follows:

With regard to the latter clause,

which states that one who upholds it is as though he offered a sacrifice outside the Temple—

we do not present him with an opening

according to everyone, because of the severity of the matter.

With regard to the first clause,

which states that one who makes a vow is like one who maintains a private altar—

Abaye said: We do present him with an opening.

Rava said: We do not present him with an opening.

And the halakha is: We do not present him with an opening, neither with regard to the first clause nor with regard to the latter clause.

And we likewise do not present him with this statement of Shmuel—

as Shmuel said: Even though one upholds it

the vow, he is

called wicked.

Rabbi Abbahu said: What is the verse? [Deuteronomy 23] "

? [Deuteronomy 23]:

And when you refrain from vowing, there will be no sin in you."

And he derives

from this that he is called wicked by means of a gzera shava,

“refrain, refrain.”

Here it is written: "

When you refrain from vowing."

And there it is written: [Job 3] "

“There the wicked cease from raging.”

There the wicked cease from raging."

Rav Yosef said: We too have learned this in the Mishna: “Like the vows of the righteous”—

he has said nothing; “like the vows of the wicked”—

he has made a vow concerning a nazirite, a sacrifice, or an oath.

And from here it follows that one who makes a vow is called wicked.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: With regard to anyone who becomes angry, all kinds of

calamities of

Gehinnom dominate him.

As it is stated [Ecclesiastes 11]: "

“Remove anger from your heart, and take evil away from your flesh.”

Remove anger from your heart, and take evil away from your flesh."

And “evil” means nothing other than Gehinnom, as it is stated [Proverbs 16]: "

“The Lord has made everything —

The Lord has made everything—

for His purpose, and even the wicked—

for the day of evil."

Moreover, ailments of the lower body dominate him, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 28]: "

What is the thing that causes the eyes to fail and the soul to suffer?

And the Lord will give you there an anxious heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul."

What is the thing that causes the eyes to fail and the soul to suffer?

You must say: These are ailments of the lower body.

Ulla, on his ascent

at the time of his ascent

to Eretz Yisrael, was accompanied by two men from Ḥuzai.

One arose and slaughtered his companion.

He said to him,

the murderer asked

Ulla: Did I act properly,

did I do the right thing by slaughtering him?

Ulla was afraid of the murderer and answered him falsely:

He said to him,

Ulla said:

Yes,

you indeed did the right thing. Moreover, continue your slaughter,

and tear open

and open

for him

the

slaughtering area

completely, so that he will die more quickly!

When he came before

Ulla

Rabbi Yohanan, he said to him,

Ulla asked Rabbi Yohanan: Did I act properly by speaking to the murderer in this way?

Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I have strengthened

I have reinforced through my words the

hands of transgressors?

He said to him,

Rabbi Yohanan said to him: You acted well, for you

saved your own life!

Rabbi Yohanan wondered

how such a horrifying incident could have occurred: that one man from Ḥuzai became so angry with his companion that he rose and slaughtered him in Eretz Yisrael.

Since,

after all,

it is written "

And the Lord will give you there an anxious heart"—

it is written with regard to Babylonia,

not Eretz Yisrael!

He said to him,

Ulla said to him:

At that moment

when this man slaughtered his companion—