Nedarim 53b (נג:) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel:

They taught

in the beraita the ruling that if one vows against vegetables during the Sabbatical Year, he is permitted to eat garden vegetables,

only

in a place

where they do not bring

there

garden

vegetables

from outside Eretz Yisrael.

But in a place where they bring

there

garden

vegetables

from outside Eretz Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael, he is prohibited

even from garden vegetables, since the people there are accustomed to eating during the Sabbatical Year both field vegetables and garden vegetables; therefore, he certainly intended to vow against both of them.

This is subject to a dispute between tannaim:

we find a dispute between tannaim concerning whether it is permitted to bring vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael.

As it was taught:

One may not bring vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Ḥananya ben Gamliel says: One may bring vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael.

Accordingly, according to the one who says that it is prohibited to bring vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael, the ruling is that one who vows against vegetables during the Sabbatical Year is permitted to eat garden vegetables but prohibited from eating field vegetables. Since garden vegetables are not readily available, as garden vegetables are not brought from outside Eretz Yisrael, he did not intend to vow against garden vegetables.

But according to the one who says that it is permitted to bring vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael, the ruling is that he is prohibited even from garden vegetables.

And we examine the words of the beraita:

What is the reason of the one who says

who maintains that

one may not bring

vegetables from outside Eretz Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael?

Rabbi Yirmeya said:

The reason of the one who prohibits it is

because

he is concerned that perhaps, together with them, he will bring into Eretz Yisrael

a clod

of soil from outside Eretz Yisrael adhering to the roots of the vegetables, and it will render the land impure, as the Sages decreed impurity upon the soil of outside Eretz Yisrael because of the possibility that it contains a corpse (from the generation of the Flood, when people died throughout the world, except in Eretz Yisrael, where there was no Flood).

Mishna:

A. One who vows

against cabbage is prohibited from eating asparagus

as it is included within the category of cabbage.

But one who vows

against asparagus is permitted to eat cabbage

as cabbage is not included in the name asparagus.

B. One who vows

against grits—

which are beans crushed into halves—

is prohibited from eating mikpe—

a thick grits stew, since it is called “grits mikpe.”

And Rabbi Yosei permits it,

because in his locale they called the stew “mikpe” and the grits “grits.”

But one who vows

against mikpe is permitted to eat grits

according to everyone, since he did not vow against the grits, but against the grits stew.

C. One who vows

against mikpe is prohibited from eating garlic,

since they would put garlic into the mikpe.

And Rabbi Yosei permits it,

because in his vow he prohibited only the mikpe, and not the garlic.

But one who vows

against garlic is permitted to eat mikpe

according to everyone.

D. One who vows

against lentils is prohibited from eating ashishim—

lentil refuse

. Rabbi Yosei permits it,

as he maintains that ashishim is not included within the category of lentils.

But one who vows

against ashishim is permitted to eat lentils

according to everyone.

E. One who says: Konam,

“Wheat and wheats—I will taste,”

the ruling is that he

is prohibited from eating them

as wheat,

whether

in the form of

flour, whether

in the form

of

the

bread,

because “wheat,” in the singular, denotes baked bread made from wheat, which is a single entity, whereas “wheats,” in the plural, denotes chewing wheat kernels, which are chewed one by one. Therefore, one who says in his vow “wheat and wheats” prohibits wheat in every form, and is prohibited both from flour and from bread.

F. One who says: Konam,

“Grit and grits—I will taste,”

the ruling is that he

is prohibited from eating them

as grits,

whether

they are

raw, whether

they are

cooked.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

One who says:

“Konam, grits”

in the singular,

or

one who says: Konam,

“Wheat—I will taste,”

in the singular, the ruling is that he

is permitted

to

to chew

grits and wheat

raw,

and he does not disagree with the first tanna; rather, he comes to teach us that one who vows using the singular intends only a cooked dish and bread.

Gemara:

It was taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says:

A. One who says: Konam,

“Wheat—I will taste,”

in the singular,

is prohibited from baking

and eating bread, because baked bread is a single entity.

And he is permitted to chew

raw wheat, because he chews it one kernel at a time.

One who says: Konam,

“Wheats—I will taste,”

in the plural,

is prohibited from chewing

raw wheat

and is permitted to bake

and eat bread.

One who says: Konam,

“Wheat and wheats—I will taste,”

having vowed using both the singular and the plural,

is prohibited both from chewing

raw wheat

and from baking

and eating bread.

B. One who says: Konam,

“Grit—I will taste,”

in the singular,

is prohibited from cooking

and eating it cooked,

and he is permitted to chew

and eat it raw.

One who says: Konam,

“Grits—I will taste,”

in the plural,

is prohibited from chewing

and eating them raw,

and he is permitted to cook

and eat it cooked.

One who says: Konam,

“Grit and grits—I will taste,”

having vowed using both the plural and the singular,

is prohibited both from cooking

and eating it cooked

and from chewing

and eating them raw.

We have returned to you, chapter “One who vows against cooked food.”

Mishna: