Talking Talmud

A vow within a vow! (But not an oath within an oath). Also, how that kind of vow applies to a nazir (and the debate about it). Plus, being a nazir and also swearing off grapes (which a nazir cannot have anyway!). Also, how to count off 2 periods of 30 days of nezirut.

A new mishnah - paralleling vows (nedarim) and oaths (shevuot). They take effect on different things. Plus, wording swearing off things with a standard formulation as well as its inverse, converse, etc. And another mishnah, determining when neder is more stringent, and when shevuah is.

A series of refutations to R. Yehudah's position against conditional nedarim. Which leads us to the difference between a neder and a shevuah. Plus, the drama between a husband and wife, when he swears off her benefitting from him, with deadlines of Pesach and Sukkot, and the question of whether she goes back to her father's house.

A new chapter! Including vows vs. oaths. And a new mishnah: when the vow doesn't work - for example, swearing off edibles that are already prohibited by the Torah. So why are these statements treated as vows? But this way lies confusion. What happens when is a vow valid, but also knocked down? And what happens when one uses a Torah scroll as part of the vow, or as a prop for bow? How precise of a...

More on precise phrasing of neder - making an oath by association, given the terms invoked. Plus, a new mishnah that expounds on comparable examples. Also, is a neder worded to obligate a person or with regard to that person's limbs that do the activity.

What is the Torah source for a vow of prohibition (swearing off something, with the formula of a vow). Specifically as a sign of mourning. With the example of Gedaliyah ben Achikam (namesake for Tzom Gedaliyah). Also, what if one takes a neder on something that would have been permitted vs. that which was forbidden anyway? Plus, the assortment of terumah breads and the korban todah.

Another new mishnah - one who designates the food being eaten as non-kosher food, or consecrated, or disqualified from being eaten in some way, depending on exactly what the status is supposed to be, the food becomes off-limits. Note the significance of the oral pronunciation with regard to language play. Also, what if the language used is associative, rather than specific?

Is taking the vow of Nezirut considered to be an admirable action or is the Nazir a sinner? The Gemara discusses the precision of language when it involves nedarim.

A new mishnah! Formulating vows in the style of other vows - like the wicked, like the righteous, like a nazir, like for a korban. Also, defining and distinguishing between Neder and Nedavah. And how does nezirut compare? Plus, the story of Shimon HaTzadik. [Who's Who: Shimon HaTzadik]

Can one take an oath that one will fulfill mitzvot, which are presumably already incumbent on the person who would be taking the oath? What if the oath is to learn Torah, or a specific section of Talmud, for example? Also, more on excommunication, but this time, when the actions take place in a dream - does that excommunication count? And how can it be annulled?)

When an utterance of a statement take effect to have impact on the halakhic status of a thing, and how precise that kind of statement needs to be. Plus, R. Akiva on lashes (or not) to one who violates an oath, given the phrasing of the oath. Also, the language of "menudeh," detaching from something, which is fundamentally excommunication. Plus, how that phrasing includes God's name, and how excomm...

More on Abaye and Rava on ambiguous statements, when they're binding, and how potential consecration results in much more stringent care with regard to the effect of one's words. Also, can one marry via a partial statement? Or an ambiguous one? Shouldn't there be a hekesh link between the two? What about Pe'ah? Which moves us further into the precision of language.

First, Shmuel's understanding of the mishnah. Also, partial declarations, and when they count as binding and when they don't, especially with regard to the bill of divorce... and nezirut. And the dispute between Abaye and Rava on these statements, and how each can be read to line up with the defense of the opposite position too.

Renewing the question of how a nazir can violate the prohibition against delaying. Plus, the korban chatat (sin-offering) of a yoledet (a woman who has given birth) and the potential parallel to Nazir. Also, a man's nullification of his wife's or daughter's vow of nezirut. Plus, when one swears off another with specific details vs. more generally.

The biblical source for the variety of statements that count as full or regular vows, developing the "hekesh," a linkage, between nedarim and nezirut. But why require the hekesh at all? This particular connection seems evident in the biblical text regarding nedarim anyway. This hekesh relies on the phrasing of the Torah being presumed to align with the way people speak. Also, the two Torah prohibi...

Introducing Nedarim. The importance of our words and the meaning of what we say. Plus, the significance of Kol Nidrei, and the annulment of vows. Also, the first mishnah - which itself is a challenge, with a lot to address, where imitations of vows and partial vows both still count as vows, with regard to their binding nature. Plus, the Gemara's concern about the way the mishnah was constructed.

On the Land of Israel and the massive size of its fruit - peaches, grapes, etc. Also the way the sins of the area's residents led to much smaller fruit the following year. Plus, the comparison of the Land of Israel to a deer. Also, the story of when R. Zeira went to the Land of Israel, and could not find a ferry, and how he managed to cross the river anyway. Plus, dirt on the grave. Also, why the...

When Rabbi Zeira wanted to move to the Land of Israel, it raised a lot of ire - to the extent that R. Yehudah says doing so was a violation of God's exile. Which leads us to the 3 oaths (from Shir HaShirim) that seem to deter group aliyah, at the very least, and is the basis of some portion of Orthodox Jewish anti-Zionism (or non-Zionism). Plus, Ulla and his death outside of the Land of Israel. Al...

A long daf, with some mishnayot, and a few key points from the Gemara. First mishnah: Another Admon statement, regarding people in conflict with promissory notes and bills of sale that seem to contradict. Do the dates of the transactions make the difference? Mishnah 2 (and the last of the Admon statement mishnayot) - the case of 2 people with IOUs for each other. But how can it be that one who is...

More mishnayot, with the statements of Admon: When one promises a dowry, but goes bankrupt and can't provide it, the son-in-law can't be forced to marry the daughter. But Admon acknowledges that the daughter is stuck in a bind. But does the halakhah follow Admon? Also, another complex mishnah, as Admon's decision on the case makes clear - when one contests the ownership of a field, even though he...

3 mishnayot, the first with a statement by Hanan, and the following 2 with statements by Admon. First, if a man supports a woman whose husband is overseas and then asks that husband upon his return to pay him back - should he get it back or not? #2 - Someone who dies and leaves behinds both sons and daughters, the sons inherit and the daughters are provided with mezonot. But the daughters come fir...

A case of a husband who goes overseas and a wife who wants "mezonot" while he's gone - and the question is whether the court will award her the funds for sustenance from his estate - it's a dispute between Rav and Shmuel, with a daf of challenges to Shmuel's opinion. Though if he dies overseas, there's no dispute, and she would be awarded the mezonot. Plus, a difference of approach between the jud...

In the context of disqualifying judges for bias, Rav Anan turns down a gift AND sitting on the gift-giver's case. Plus, the case of bikkurim and Elisha. The discussion addresses how slight a shift in process can bias the proceedings. Also, Elijah the Prophet and his teaching of Rav Anan. Plus, during years of famine, a request for prayers for mercy by R. Yosef leads to another discussion of Elisha...

A new mishnah, starting the final chapter of Ketubot, 13, with mishnayot organized according to the statements of specific ancient judges, with some question regarding exactly when they lived. Which introduces the case of a wife whose husband has gone overseas, and she petitions for sustenance (mezonot), and then she would take an oath regarding her ketubah if he were to die overseas - with a disp...

More on R. Yehudah HaNasi, his illness, the prayers on his behalf, and his death. Also, the final mishnah of the perek - how long can a woman claim her ketubah? And what if she's gone home to her father's house? Plus, a real-life application of the mishnah in the lives of the sages, and how an appeal to the courts by a woman trying to collect her ketubah pans out.