Nedarim 57a (נז.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

1. One who forbade upon himself “fruit” without qualification—for example, he said: “Fruit is konam upon me,” or: “Figs are konam upon me,” and he did not limit his prohibition by saying: “This fruit or these figs are konam upon me,” or: “So-and-so’s figs are konam upon me,” or: “The figs of such-and-such a place are konam upon me”—is prohibited only with regard to what he forbade upon himself.

But he is not prohibited from deriving benefit from exchanges of the fruit [for example, if he sold figs and received grapes in exchange], or from the growths of the figs, because his intention with his vow was only to prohibit deriving benefit from the figs themselves.

2. But if he said:

“Fruit

this

upon me,”

meaning that he specified and limited his prohibition to this fruit that was standing before him בלבד, and did not forbid the entire species upon himself—

or he said:

“They are konam”—

the fruit standing before him—

“upon my mouth,”—

or he said:

“They are konam according to me,”—

in all these cases, he is

prohibited with regard to their exchanges,

the exchanges of the prohibited fruit.

But not with regard to exchanges of their exchanges.

And

he is

prohibited with regard to their growths,

what grows from them when they are sown in the ground and grow.

But with regard to the growths of their growths, he is permitted.

The reason for this is that when he forbade them in this manner, his intention was that even their exchanges and growths should be prohibited to him. 3. However, if he said: “Fruit

that I eat,” or: “Fruit

that I eat”

that I taste” —

then he is

permitted with regard to their exchanges and their growths.

The permission with regard to the growths of the growths in the first clause, and the permission with regard to the growths themselves in the latter clause, applies only

to an item whose seed is consumed,

meaning that the prohibited seed decomposes and a new entity grows from it.

But with regard to an item whose seed is not consumed,

meaning that the prohibited seed itself develops and grows and becomes a fruit, it follows that part of the prohibition itself is mixed into the fruit; therefore

even the growths of the growths are prohibited.

For the small amount of prohibited material [which was not consumed] that is now present in the fruit is not nullified by the majority of permitted material that grew and developed from the prohibited seed.

Since a prohibited substance prohibited by a vow that became mixed with a majority of permitted material is considered a “matter that has a remedy,” through the possibility of asking a sage about the vow and having it released,

and we hold that any prohibited substance that has a remedy—even if it became mixed with a thousand permitted substances—is not nullified by the majority; the entire mixture is prohibited.

And so too,

one who says to his wife: “The work of your hands is konam upon me,”

or

“They are konam upon my mouth,”

or

“They are konam according to me,”

then he is

prohibited with regard to their exchanges and their growths.

Since he did not prohibit the entire species, but specified those particular things that she produced.

But if he said: “The work of your hands

that I eat,” or: “The work of your hands

that I eat

that I taste,”

then he is

permitted with regard to their exchanges and their growths.

Even though he specified the item that he prohibited upon himself, and did not forbid the entire species upon himself,

and there is no permission with regard to the growths or the growths of the growths except

in the case of an item whose seed is consumed.

But with regard to an item whose seed is not consumed, even the growths of the growths are prohibited.

One who says to his wife: “What

you produce, I will not eat until Passover,” or says to her: “What

you produce, I will not cover myself with

until Passover”:

We do not interpret this to mean: What you produce until Passover—I will never eat or cover myself with.

Rather: What you produce—I will not eat or cover myself with until Passover.

Therefore, if she

produced it before Passover,

then he is

permitted to eat it and cover himself with it after Passover.

Since he prohibited himself from them only until Passover.

One who says to his wife: “What

you produce until Passover, I will not eat,”

and

what

you produce until Passover, I will not cover myself with”:

If she

produced it before Passover, he is prohibited from eating it and covering himself with it

even

after Passover,

as the meaning of his language is: What you produce until Passover shall be prohibited to me for eating or for covering myself with.

One who says to his wife before the Passover festival:

“You shall be prohibited from benefiting me” from me

until Passover, if you go to your father’s house until the festival

that follows it.

If she

went before Passover

and violated his condition—for he stipulated that she not go from the time of his vow until the festival—she is

prohibited from benefiting from him until Passover.

The Gemara infers from our Mishna: Only if she

went before Passover

and violated her condition is she indeed prohibited from benefiting from him until Passover; but if she still

has not gone—

rather, if she goes, she will retroactively become prohibited—

she is not

prohibited from benefiting from him.

It follows that she need not be concerned lest she violate the condition and thereby become retroactively prohibited, which is difficult for Rav Yehuda!?

Rabbi Abba said

to reconcile Rav Yehuda’s position: In fact, she is prohibited immediately from benefiting from him, even if she has not gone, because perhaps she will go. And what we learned—that if she “went” before Passover she is prohibited from benefiting from him until Passover—this is what it is saying:

If she went before Passover, she is prohibited

from benefiting from him,

and

she also

receives lashes

for violating the prohibition “He shall not profane his word”; but if she

did not go, she is prohibited merely

by rabbinic decree, but she does not receive lashes.