Nedarim 23

והוו מצטערי רבנן משימשא לטולא ומטולא לשימשא

and the Sages were troubled by the fact that they could not dissolve the vow. They spent an extended period of time attempting to do so. During this time, they moved from a location with light from the sun to one with shade, and then moved again from the shade back to the sun.

(לישנא אחרא אדעתא דהכי אין כמה זימנין והוו מצטערי רבנן משימשא לטולא ומטולא לשימשא)

The Gemara cites another version of the incident: They asked him: Did you vow with knowledge of this particular fact when you vowed? He said to them: Yes. This occurred several times and the Sages were troubled with this problem for an extended period of time, during which they moved from the sun to the shade and from the shade to the sun, but they did not find a solution.

אמר ליה בטנית בריה דאבא שאול בן בטנית מי נדרת אדעתא דמצטערי רבנן מטולא לשימשא ומשימשא לטולא אמר לא ושריוה

Botnit, son of Abba Shaul ben Botnit, said to him: Would you have vowed with the knowledge that the Sages would be troubled even to the point of going from shade to sun and from sun to shade? He said: No, and they dissolved it.

רבי ישמעאל בר רבי יוסי הוה ליה נדרא למישרא אתא לקמייהו דרבנן אמרו ליה נדרת אדעתא דהכי אמר להו אין נדרתא אדעתא דהכי אמר להו אין כמה זימנין כיון דחזא ההוא קצרא דמצטערי רבנן מחייה באוכלא דקצרי אמר אדעתא דמחי לי קצרא לא נדרי ושריה לנפשיה

The Gemara relates another incident: Rabbi Yishmael bar Rabbi Yosei had a vow to dissolve. He came before the Sages. They said to him: Did you vow with knowledge of this particular fact? He said to them: Yes. They asked again: Did you vow with knowledge of this other fact? He said to them: Yes. This occurred several times. When a certain launderer saw that the Sages were troubled because Rabbi Yishmael caused them difficulty in successfully dissolving his vow, he hit Rabbi Yishmael with a launderer’s tool that he had in his hand. Rabbi Yishmael said: Had I known that the launderer would hit me due to my vow I would not have vowed, and he dissolved it.

אמר ליה רב אחא מדיפתי לרבינא האי נולד הוא דלא מסיק אדעתא דמחי ליה קצרא ותנינא אין פותחין לו בנולד אמר ליה האי לאו נולד הוא דשכיחי אפיקורי דמצערי רבנן

Rav Aḥa of Difti said to Ravina: This is a case of a new situation, which is not included among those matters that he could have considered at the time of the vow, because it would not enter his mind that the launderer would hit him. And we already learned: We do not broach dissolution with a person using a new situation that did not exist at the time of the vow. Ravina said to him: This is not a new situation that he could not have thought of previously, since it is common to find heretics [appikurei] who deny fundamental Torah principles and who trouble the Sages. Although he would not have considered the possibility that this launderer would attack him, he may have considered the possibility that some heretic would. Therefore, it was permitted to broach dissolution in this manner.

דביתהו דאביי הוה לה ההיא ברתא הוא אמר לקריבאי היא אמרה לקריבה אמר לה תיתסרא הנאתי עלך אי עברת אדעתאי ומינסבת לה לקריבך אזלת ועברת על דעתיה ואינסבא לקריבה אתא לקמיה דרב יוסף אמר ליה אילו הוה ידעת דעברת על דעתך ומנסבא לה לקריבה מי אדרתה אמר לא ושרייה רב יוסף

§ The wife of Abaye had a certain daughter. Abaye said: She should get married to my relative. His wife said that she should get married to her relative. He said to his wife: Benefit from me should be forbidden to you, if you defy my will and marry her to your relative. She went and defied his will and married her to her relative. Abaye came before Rav Yosef. Rav Yosef said to him: If you had known that she would ultimately defy your will and marry her to her relative, would you have made the vow? He said: No. And Rav Yosef dissolved the vow for him because Abaye did not think that his wife would actually defy him, and he intended the vow only to serve as a threat.

ומי שרי כי האי גוונא אין והתניא מעשה באדם אחד שהדיר את אשתו מלעלות לרגל ועברה על דעתו ועלתה לרגל ובא לפני רבי יוסי אמר לו ואילו היית יודע שעוברת על דעתך ועולה לרגל כלום הדרתה אמר לו לא והתירו רבי יוסי

The Gemara asks: And is it dissolved in a case like this, where the vow was dependent on the daughter not marrying the wife’s relative? The Gemara answers: Yes, and it is taught in the Tosefta (5:1): There was an incident involving one man who vowed, prohibiting his wife from benefiting from him if she were to ascend to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage Festival, and she defied his will and ascended to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage Festival. And when he came before Rabbi Yosei to request dissolution, Rabbi Yosei said to him: And had you known that she would defy your will and ascend to Jerusalem on the pilgrimage Festival, would you have vowed at all? He said to him: No, and Rabbi Yosei dissolved it. This incident indicates that it is permitted to dissolve a vow with such an opening.

מתני׳ רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אומר אף הרוצה להדיר את חבירו שיאכל אצלו יאמר לו כל נדר שאני עתיד לידור הוא בטל ובלבד שיהא זכור בשעת הנדר

MISHNA: Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: Even one who wants to take a vow prohibiting another from benefiting from him, but only in order that he should eat with him, not intending to take an actual vow, should say to him at the outset: Any vow that I take in the future is void. And this statement is effective, provided that he remembers at the time of the vow that his intent at the beginning of the year was to render it void.

גמ׳ וכיון דאמר כל נדר שאני עתיד לידור יהא בטל לא שמע ליה ולא אתי בהדיה

GEMARA: With regard to Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov’s proposal, the Gemara asks: And since he said: Any vow that I take in the future should be void, the one being invited will not listen to him and will not come to eat with him, since he already knows that the vow is not valid. That being the case, why would the first individual take a vow at all?

חסורי מיחסרא והכי קתני הרוצה שיאכל אצלו חבירו ומסרב בו ומדירו נדרי זירוזין הוא והרוצה שלא יתקיימו נדריו כל השנה יעמוד בראש השנה ויאמר כל נדר שאני עתיד לידור יהא בטל ובלבד שיהא זכור בשעת הנדר

The Gemara answers: The mishna is incomplete and is teaching like this: In the case of one who wants another to eat with him, and he urges him to do so and makes a vow with regard to him, this vow is included in the category of vows of exhortation, which do not require dissolution. And in addition, one who desires that his vows not be upheld for the entire year should stand up on Rosh HaShana and say: Any vow that I take in the future should be void. And this is statement is effective, provided that he remembers at the time of the vow that his intent at the beginning of the year was to render it void.

אי זכור עקריה לתנאיה וקיים ליה לנדריה אמר אביי תני ובלבד שלא יהא זכור בשעת הנדר

The Gemara asks: If he remembers at the time of the vow that his intent at the beginning of the year was to render it void but still makes the vow, then he has uprooted his stipulation that all his vows are void and has upheld his vow. Why, then, does it state that the vows are void in this case? Abaye said: Teach: And this is statement is effective, provided that he does not remember at the time of the vow that his intention at the beginning of the year was to render it void.

רבא אמר לעולם כדאמרינן מעיקרא הכא במאי עסקינן כגון שהתנה בראש השנה ולא ידע במה התנה והשתא קא נדר אי זכור בשעת הנדר ואמר על דעת הראשונה אני נודר נדריה לית ביה ממשא לא אמר על דעת הראשונה אני נודר עקריה לתנאיה וקיים לנדריה

Rava said: Actually, say as we said initially, that he does remember his stipulation at the time of the vow. With what are we dealing here? It is a case where he stipulated a condition on Rosh HaShana rendering void vows that he would make later in the year, but he did not know with regard to which vows he made the stipulation, and now he makes a vow. If he remembers at the time of the vow and says: I am vowing in accordance with the initial intention, when I stipulated that all vows should be void, his vow has no substance. However, if he did not say: I am vowing in accordance with the initial intention, then he has uprooted his stipulation and upheld his vow.

רב הונא בר חיננא סבר למידרשיה בפירקא אמר ליה רבא תנא קא מסתים לה סתומי כדי שלא ינהגו קלות ראש בנדרים ואת דרשת ליה בפירקא

The Gemara relates that Rav Huna bar Ḥinnana intended to teach this topic at the Festival lecture, so that everyone would learn this manner of rendering vows void on Rosh HaShana. Rava said to him: The tanna of the mishna conceals it and does not say it explicitly, despite the fact that it is studied by Torah scholars, in order that the public not treat vows lightly, and you teach it publicly at the Festival lecture?

איבעיא להו פליגי רבנן עליה דרבי אליעזר בן יעקב או לא ואם תמצא לומר פליגי הלכתא כותיה או לא תא שמע דתנן האומר לחבירו

§ A dilemma was raised before the scholars: Do the Rabbis disagree with Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov in the mishna or not? And if you say that they disagree with him, is the halakha in accordance with his opinion or not? The Gemara suggests a proof: Come and hear, as we learned in a mishna (63b): One who says to another: