One of the primary messages of masechet Nedarim is how negatively [most of] our Sages viewed the taking of vows. More often than not a vow reflected…
Nedarim 80: Don't Forget the Laundry
Just this past Shabbat, we read of the mitzvah of tzedakah. The Torah describes the case where the poor are our neighbours, and we must…
Nedarim 81: The Next Generation
Adam and Cain, Noah and Cham, Abraham and Yishmael, Yitzchak and Eisav. Our children do not always turn out as we would like. Even children…
Nedarim 66: Miss Israel
Everybody loves a good story. And what one cannot accomplish through direct teaching, one can often accomplish through a story. Yet it is…
Nedarim 65: How Could I Know?
In our past couple of posts (here and here), we have discussed the notion of a petach, an opening to allow one to annul a vow.…
Nedarim 66: For the Children
"One may use as an opening [to annul a vow] one's own honour or the honour of one's children" (Nedarim 66a). Our…
Nedarim 64: I Didn't Mean It
"If only I would have known.." After many pages delineating the parameters of various vows the Talmud discusses when and how one…
Nedarim 62: Can You Leave Me Alone?
It is always fascinating how a most technical, even obscure, discussion can reveal and lead to a discussion on fundamental concepts of Judaism…
Nedarim51: What a Party!
It is not uncommon for someone to lose their job due to something stupid they do at an office party. People are much more apt to let their guard…
Nedarim 50: What Have You Been Drinking?!!?
Sadly, some people need stimulants--be they (legal) alcohol or (illegal) drugs--to stimulate themselves and put themselves in a good mood. Others,…
Nedarim 40: Time for a Visit
At first glance one would not expect a Talmudic discussion on the mitzva of bikkur cholim in the midst of a discussion of vows. However…
Nedarim 38: Moshe's Torah
In our last post we discussed the renewed interest today in the study of Tanach. Concurrent with that, for the first time in…
Nedarim 37: Benefiting From Torah
Over the past generation - primarily in Israel but also to a lesser extent in the Diaspora - there has been a renewed focus on the study of Tanach.…
Nedarim 28: The Murderer and the Tax Collector
Dina demalchuta Dina, the law of the land is the law, is one of the most famous teachings of Jewish jurisprudence. While ostensibly a law relating to…
Nedarim 31: Look Who Loves Shabbat
The Mishna Berura - the most widely used halachic code of the 20th century - in his introduction to the laws of Shabbat explains the crucial…
Nedarim 22: A Much Smaller Book
Imagine if instead of twenty-four books the Tanach consisted of only six. Strange as it sounds that was the original plan. "Rav Adda…
Nedarim 21: It's Just Talk
The 1960's sitcom Get Smart[1] had as one of its heroes Hymie the robot. Lacking full human intelligence, he understood language only…
Nedarim 20: Shame on Me
In the siddurim commonly in use today, on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh, we pray that we should be blessed to have "chaim she'…