Study Nedarim folio 55A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ הנודר מן הדגן — אסור בפול המצרי יבש, דברי רבי מאיר. וחכמים אומרים: אינו אסור אלא בחמשת המינין. רבי מאיר אומר: הנודר מן התבואה — אינו אסור אלא מחמשת המינין. אבל הנודר מן הדגן — אסור בכל, ומותר בפירות האילן ובירק.
Mishnah: For one who vows that grain [dagan] is forbidden to him, it is prohibited to eat the dry cowpea, because, like grain, its final stage of production involves being placed in a pile; this is the statement of R' Meir. And the Rabbis say: It is prohibited for him to partake of only the 5 species of grain: Wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye, as that is the connotation of the term dagan in the Torah. R' Meir says: For one who vows that grain is forbidden to him, and therefore he will refrain from eating grain [tevua], it is prohibited for him to eat from only the 5 species of grain. However, for one who vows that grain is forbidden to him, and therefore he will refrain from eating grain [dagan], it is prohibited to eat all produce whose final stage of production involves being placed in a pile, e.g., dry cowpea, and it is permitted for him to eat fruits of the tree and vegetables.
גמ׳ למימרא ד״דגן״ — כל דמידגן משמע. מתיב רב יוסף: ״וכפרץ הדבר הרבו בני ישראל [ראשית] דגן תירוש ויצהר וכל תבואת שדה לרב וגו׳״, ואי אמרת דגן — כל דמידגן משמע, מאי ״כפרץ הדבר הרבו״? אמר אביי: לאתויי פירות האילן וירק.
Talmud: The Talmud asks: Is this to say that according to R' Meir, the term dagan means any produce that is harvested at one time and placed in a pile [midgan]? Rav Yosef raised an objection: After King Hezekiah called upon the people to give teruma and tithes properly, the verse states: “And as soon as the matter was publicized, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of dagan, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the tevua of the field; and the tithe of all that they brought in abundance” (II Chronicles 31:5). And if you say that dagan means any produce that is placed in a pile, what is the meaning of the words “As soon as the matter was publicized, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of dagan…and of all the tevua of the field”? There is no need to list both dagan and all tevua of the field. Abaye said: Tevua comes to include fruits of the tree and vegetables, which they tithed although they are not included in dagan, as they are not harvested at one time and placed in a pile.