All Questions
Tagged with shevuot-oaths or nedarim-shevuot
188 questions
25
votes
1
answer
474
views
What do you do if you made a Tzedaka pledge and now the organization folded?
Recently a friend of mine asked me the following question. He pledged $500- to a Yeshiva, yet before he paid the pledge the Yeshiva closed. Does he still have to pay his pledge to another Tzedaka or ...
- 141k
21
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are you allowed to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?
Is the US Pledge of Allegiance a form of oath or vow, and if so may one recite it? If one has recited it has one incurred any new halachic obligations?
user1668
20
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Bli Neder Loophole
Who came up with the Bli Neder loophole of:
Bli neder I will help you do X
Or
Bli neder I will etc...
And the list can go on and on.
Who came up with addingBli Neder which basically means "...
- 1,751
18
votes
3
answers
589
views
What else could have come out of Yiftach's house?
Judges chapter 11 tells of the vow that Yiftach makes to God -- if he is successful in battle he will offer up to God the first thing that comes out of the door of his house to greet him. As we know, ...
- 57k
17
votes
4
answers
575
views
Promised to name son Shimon - now husband is Shimon?
A woman who desperately wanted to get married traveled to Meron, the burial place of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, and vowed that if she found her match, she would name her first son Shimon in his merit. ...
- 42.7k
16
votes
1
answer
213
views
Is the hadran a shevua?
When you say the hadran after finishing a mesechta are you making a promise to do so? Should you omit the hadran if you have no plans of ever returning to study that gemara again?
user1552
12
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Neder vs. Shevua
Inspired by this answer (and more generally its question):
What is the difference between a Neder (vow) and a Shevua (oath)?
It seems to me that it is generally described as "issur cheftza" (neder) ...
- 3,167
11
votes
4
answers
539
views
What's so moving about Kol Nidrei
Wikipedia describes Kol Nidrei:
Though not a prayer, this dry legal formula and its ceremonial
accompaniment have been charged with emotional undertones since the
medieval period, creating a dramatic ...
- 19.1k
11
votes
2
answers
303
views
Is a neder about something compulsory valid?
Imagine someone make a neder not to eat pork (this is not a general Neder not to eat meat rather specifically prohibiting pork which is already forbidden). Is that neder valid?
If he then eats pork, ...
- 1,550
10
votes
4
answers
192
views
Why does the Torah switch around the order of annulling vows in the summary?
In the beginning of Parshas Matos, the Torah first describes the process of a father annulling the oaths of his daughter (30:4-6), and then afterwards the the law of a husband doing so for his wife's ...
- 19.1k
10
votes
1
answer
318
views
Father being Matir Neder for himself: does it affect the family?
If a father is Matir Neder on a minhag (gebroktz, let's say) for himself for a valid reason, does that include his whole family? Are they now also permitted to eat gebroktz because that is now the ...
- 42.7k
9
votes
4
answers
945
views
Why did Avraham ask Eliezer to swear in the way he did?
Avraham asks his servant Eliezer to place his hand under his thigh to swear an oath regarding finding a daughter for his son. Chazal explain that he asked him to hold his (Avraham's) milah (male ...
user1668
9
votes
3
answers
281
views
Why is Sabbath so important?
In Isaiah 58:13-14 we read:
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And ...
user3178
9
votes
2
answers
238
views
Neder not specified
What is if someone took a neder on himself, and said eg. "i will not eat potatos anymore," but his intention was only for a certain Kind of potatos. Are now all potatos forbidden to him (as the person ...
- 229
9
votes
2
answers
275
views
Were there particular reasons to vow the value of a person?
Vayikra 27 covers when a man vows the "valuation" (עֶרְכְּךָ) of a person. The values are based on age and are different for men and women (50 shekels for a man between 20 and 60, for example). A ...
- 57k
9
votes
1
answer
758
views
Does texting count as speech?
For instance, say that I text someone "I promise I'll do X." Does that have the same status as if I said out loud the same thing?
The same question can be asked with respect to Shevuos (as ...
- 34.7k
9
votes
2
answers
279
views
How did Chana vow that her son should be a Nazir?
How did Chana vow that her son (Shmuel hanavi) should be a Nazir, when the (Gemara Sotah 23a) says a woman can't impose Nezirut on her son?
- 907
9
votes
1
answer
349
views
Making a neder without specifying verbally
If someone wants to make a prohibition on himself from eating apples and has some apples in front of him and uses a language of "konem" in his neder and says "these apples" then they become forbidden (...
- 16.2k
8
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Are there cases where you are allowed to swear to G-d?
Is it always forbidden to swear to G-d, or does it depend on truth?
I read somewhere that "in vain" means for something false or obvious.
If someone doesn't believe me about something very important ...
- 2,689
8
votes
2
answers
225
views
Promising not to Destroy the World, and "I will Return the World to Water"
After the Mabul (deluge/flood), Hashem promised that he would not destroy the world. Yet we know from Tisha Bav and Yom Kippur's "Asarah Harugay Malchus" (“The Ten Martyrs”) poem that when they were ...
- 9,149
8
votes
1
answer
424
views
Hatoras Nedarim for wife taking her husband's Minhagim
According to Minchas Yaakov 112:2 and Darchei Teshuva 112:94, one who is always careful with Pas Yisrael and now wants to start eating Pas Paltar would have to be Matir Neder. Suppose a girl who was ...
- 141k
8
votes
1
answer
126
views
Why do we call the "judges" experts?
The hataras nedarim of Erev Rosh Hashanah starts with "Listen now my masters, expert judges" ("שמעו נא רבותי, דיינים מומחים").1 In practice, at least as far as I've seen, these judges are ...
- 8,313
8
votes
1
answer
361
views
How does a gentile annul a vow?
How does a gentile annul a vow? Also, do gentiles have equal laws of oaths to Jews? Thank you
- 41
8
votes
1
answer
152
views
Can you have a shliach do something you have sworn not to do?
If you swear not to do something can you send someone to do it for you?
- 33.5k
7
votes
1
answer
414
views
Can one rely on Kol Nidrei?
In Kol Nidrei, one says
All vows, and prohibitions, and oaths, and consecrations, and konams and konasi and any synonymous terms, that we may vow, or swear, or consecrate, or prohibit upon ...
- 40.8k
7
votes
0
answers
226
views
Who came up with this story?
It says in Mekor Baruch (of Rabbi Baruch Epstein)
The Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, the Netziv, was once sitting down surrounded by several high-caliber students – avrechim versed in Torah, wise, and ...
- 40.8k
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Source that you can't tell your wife not to lend to others
Although I heard in a shiur that there is a gemara which says a husband is not allowed to tell his wife not to lend to others since she would eventually develop a bad name, I can't find it - are there ...
- 14.8k
6
votes
1
answer
807
views
Can a convert (ger tzedek) serve on a beis din to annul a non-convert's vows?
If I understand correctly, there are certain cases where a convert can't serve on a beis din judging a native-born Jew. Yet when we break into groups of three for hataras nedarim (annulment of vows), ...
- 136k
6
votes
1
answer
216
views
Why didn't Eliezer go straight to Avraham's family?
Avraham made Eliezer promise that he would only find a wife for Yitzchak from his family.
It seems to follow then, that as soon as Eliezer would arrive in Aram Naharaim he'd go straight to Avraham's ...
- 4,471
6
votes
2
answers
126
views
Can someone swear off something that is already prohibited to them by halacha?
Can someone swear off something that is already prohibited to them?
For instance: "I swear I won't eat non-kosher."
- 9,126
6
votes
2
answers
267
views
Did Yiftach's daughter have to comply with his vow?
In Judges chapter 11 Yiftach vows to dedicate whatever first comes out of the doors of his home to God (perhaps to be sacrificed as an offering) should he be victorious in battle.
After his victory he ...
- 15.3k
6
votes
4
answers
600
views
Does saying "I promise..." constitute any halachic obligation?
If someone verbalizes to himself something like "I promise not to drink Coke for a year" and his intention is to create a prohibition for himself, what does the halacha have to say about this case?
...
- 9,948
6
votes
1
answer
88
views
Why list קונם and קונס explicitly in Kol Nidrei but not other Kinuyim?
Nedarim 1:2 lists several kinnuyim, alternate expressions you can use for making a neder.
In the Ashkenazi version of Kol Nidrei that I'm familiar with as well as the Nusach Sefarad one I found on ...
- 9,421
6
votes
2
answers
99
views
How did Ya'akov keep his vow regarding tithing?
With permission, I ask this question with honor and respect to a 92 year old man who paid attention to my laining this morning. May he live a long life!
Genesis 28:22:
וְהָאֶ֣בֶן הַזֹּ֗את אֲשֶׁר־...
- 71.5k
6
votes
0
answers
121
views
May a Jewish actor playing a role swear "falsely"?
Avraham the Jew from New Jersey puts on a costume, takes off his head covering, walks onto a stage, or movie set ... action! And says "I, John Jacob Schmidt of Oklahoma, do solemnly swear that I ...
- 136k
6
votes
0
answers
42
views
Why do we say Dayanim Mumhim in Hatarat Nedarim (Canceling vows)?
The text of Hatatarat Nedarim starts like this:
שִׁמְעוּ נָא רַבּותַי דַּיָּנִים מֻמְחִים
"Please hear, expert Dayanim (court)
It's not just that usually we gather three random people to be ...
5
votes
2
answers
427
views
arachin: dependance on age and sex
Why is the erech (Vayikra 27:1–8) of a woman less than that of a man? And why does erech depend on age? Sources, please.
- 74k
5
votes
1
answer
724
views
If Kol Nidre is effective, why do people do hatarat nedarim?
It seems to be unnecessary. Also, why do the specific Hatarat Nedarim on Erev Rosh Hashanah if we do it anyway just before Yom Kippur?
- 2,661
5
votes
2
answers
245
views
Why did Yaakov ask Yosef to swear in the way he did?
Inspired by this question
In Bereshis 47:29 Yaakov asks Yosef to "put his hand under his thigh" (a euphemism) and swear not to bury him in Egypt. Here, unlike by Avraham, there is no indication that ...
user2110
5
votes
2
answers
125
views
Can a public fast day be used for a Yahrtzeit fast?
Some people have a minhag to fast on a yahrtzeit (see Shulchan Aruch OC 567,7-9). If the day of the yahrtzeit occurs on a public fast day such as 17 Tamuz, can the fasting done then count for the ...
- 71.5k
5
votes
1
answer
370
views
Tzedakah and Maaser - one obligation or two?
I understand that the obligation to give Maaser from our income is a sub-category of the overall commandment to give Tzedakah but consider the following question:
If I made a promise (Neder) to give ...
- 3,887
5
votes
1
answer
83
views
Are there any issues of shavua (oath) in The Ritual of The Calling of an Engineer (Canada)
In Canada when graduating from engineering, one attends a "secret" ceremony, "The Ritual of The Calling of the Engineer." In this process, the new engineer makes a pledge to ...
5
votes
2
answers
378
views
What if one swears to do something forbidden?
If one makes a neder or shevu'ah to do something that is forbidden by Torah (or perhaps to abstain from something that is mandatory) what happens?
Does his vow have any significance? That is, was it ...
- 20.2k
5
votes
1
answer
159
views
Are there poskim who sanction using nedarim today
Are there major contemporary poskim (halachic authorities) who advocate making nedarim (vows) for certain circumstance (besides donations)?
for example, someone who has a bad habit, to use a nedar (...
- 21.5k
5
votes
1
answer
169
views
Hataras Nedarim for 12 yr old boy
When a boy reaches 12 years old, his nedarim (vows) are considered to be binding. However, I don't believe I've ever seen a 12 year old boy make Hataras Nedarim on Erev Rosh HaShanah. Is there a ...
- 16.2k
5
votes
1
answer
267
views
(Seeking Original Source in Yechave Daas ) Limiting instances of doing something 3 times becoming a neder
According to Harav Musafi Shelit"a (Q&A 74259) (and I'm sure earlier sources), if you do a "Hanhaga Tova - good deed" three times you need Hatarat Nedarim. I believe Harav Ovadia Shelit"a in his ...
- 16.8k
5
votes
1
answer
131
views
Why do we care about a cow loan?
The mishna, N'darim 4:6, in my own, very loose translation:
Aaron asks Baruch, "Lend me your cow."
Baruch tells him, "It's not available."
Aaron says, "My field is forbidden to me like a ...
- 74k
5
votes
1
answer
273
views
Kitnyot and hatarat nedarim
Can a Ashkenazi do hatarat nedarim on kitnyot? According to Halachipedia the Rosh holds that one can do hatarat nedarim (annuling of a Neder) on a meritorious personal minhag. The pri chadash says ...
- 1,287
5
votes
2
answers
400
views
Violating a cancelable oath?
If someone made an oath "I'm not going to eat bread for thirty days" and wants to "cancel" it, he goes to three people and tells them "I didn't know that it would be so hard". They say "OK, it's ...
- 40.8k
5
votes
0
answers
83
views
Hataras nedarim judges have to be observant jews?
The halacha says that the "judges" for hataras nedarim need to be 3 Jewish males above the age of 13. However, do they also have to be observant Jews?
