Q&A: He Swore Not to Visit So-and-So, and So-and-So Died
He Swore Not to Visit So-and-So, and So-and-So Died
Question
It is brought in Sofrim U’Sfarim, Part One, p. 49: If someone swore not to visit so-and-so, and that person died, is he permitted to visit him? A responsum of the Geonim says that it is permitted: “If he died, this is not called entering to him.” And regarding seeing, they proved it from the verses, “You shall never see them again” and “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”
Aside from the usual dualistic conception, is there also here an appeal to ordinary human understanding—that one who swears concerning a person swears concerning the living body, but not the inanimate body? Or would ordinary human understanding also not help here, because the words would then be completely different from their proper meaning?
Answer
In principle, an oath is determined according to ordinary human understanding. When there is no unequivocal clarification of ordinary human understanding, one can follow the linguistic meaning.
By the way, there are well-known disputes among the medieval authorities (Rishonim) regarding a condition such as “on condition that you do not go to your father’s house,” or one who vows not to enter his father’s house and the house collapsed.