Study Nedarim folio 76B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אין, בעלמא דרשי קל וחומר, ושאני הכא דאמר קרא ״אישה יקימנו ואישה יפרנו״. את שבא לכלל הקם — בא לכלל הפר, את שלא בא לכלל הקם — לא בא לכלל הפר.
The Talmud answers: Yes, generally they do teach halakhot based upon an a fortiori inference of this type, but here it is different, as the verse states: “Her husband may ratify it, or her husband may nullify it” (Numbers 30:14). The Rabbis interpret this to mean: That which has become eligible for ratification, i.e., a vow that she has already taken, has become eligible for nullification. However, that which has not become eligible for ratification, i.e., a vow she has not yet taken, has not become eligible for nullification.
מתני׳ הפרת נדרים כל היום. יש בדבר להקל ולהחמיר
Mishnah: The nullification of vows can be performed all day on the day on which the vow was heard. There is in this matter both a leniency, extending the nullification period, and a stricture, curtailing that period.
כיצד? נדרה בלילי שבת — יפר בלילי שבת וביום השבת עד שתחשך. נדרה עם חשכה — מפר עד שלא תחשך, שאם חשכה ולא הפר — אינו יכול להפר,
How so? If a woman took a vow on Shabbat evening, her father or husband can nullify the vow on Shabbat evening, and on Shabbat day until dark. This is an example of extending the nullification period. However, if she took a vow with nightfall approaching, her father or husband can nullify the vow only until nightfall, since, if it became dark and he had not yet nullified her vow, he cannot nullify it anymore. This is an example of a curtailed nullification period.
גמ׳ תניא: הפרת נדרים כל היום. רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה ורבי אלעזר ברבי שמעון אמרו: מעת לעת. מאי טעמא דתנא קמא, אמר קרא: ״ביום שמעו״.
Talmud: It is taught in a baraita: The nullification of vows can be performed all day on the day on which the vow was heard. R' Yosei, son of R' Yehuda, and R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, said: A vow can be nullified for a 24-hour period from the time it was heard. The Talmud asks: What is the reason for the opinion of the first tanna? The Talmud answers: Since the verse states: “But if her husband make them null and void on the day that he hears them” (Numbers 30:13), he derives that the husband can nullify his wife’s vow only until the end of the day on which he hears the vow.