Q&A: An Oath in the Wording of a Vow
An Oath in the Wording of a Vow
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Following a prolonged struggle with wasting seed, some time ago I decided to prevent myself from the act by making a vow not to do it. After a great deal of effort, I was unable to keep the commitment, and I failed again in the above sin. I regret it very much, and I would like to ask about the validity of what I did.
When I obligated myself, I said it in the wording, “I vow not to do such-and-such.” Afterward it became clear to me that it is possible that since my commitment not to do something belongs to the category of an oath, whereas the wording I used was the wording of a vow, the vow may never have taken effect to begin with. On the other hand, this is an prohibitory vow, which to the best of my knowledge cannot be annulled, so if the vow really did take effect, apparently I have no solution to this situation?
In such a case, is it possible to do annulment of vows, or perhaps there is no need at all because the commitment never took effect from the outset?
Thank you very much
Answer
Hello,
Regarding an oath phrased in the language of a vow, the medieval authorities (Rishonim) disagreed about this (at the beginning of Tractate Nedarim and elsewhere), and in practice it does take effect according to most opinions (see Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 206:5). And for the sake of a commandment, it takes effect even without the wording of a vow or an oath (Shakh 203:5, who refers there to 213).
I did not understand why you write that prohibitory vows cannot be annulled. A prohibitory vow is just an ordinary vow, regarding which annulment was said. Perhaps you mean vows of self-encouragement, meaning a person who spurs himself on toward a commandment. Where did you see that such a vow cannot be annulled?
In conclusion, in my opinion one should, and one can, do annulment.
Discussion on Answer
See Shulchan Arukh section 228:15 and the commentaries there, that it can be annulled. You need to specify it to one of the judges. That is part of the essence of the annulment.
Thank you very much
After the annulment, one last question on the matter: at the time of the vow I elaborated at length and repeated the points in all the variations of the above acts. When specifying it to the judge, I said things in a shortened form and mentioned what I remembered, the main acts that I had prohibited to myself, but not in exactly the same way as at the time of the vow. After the fact, was everything annulled, or do I need to go back and tell the judge the details exactly in the wording in which I prohibited them at the time of the vow?
It is hard to answer without knowing exactly what was omitted. I assume that as long as you told the truth, it is fine.
I meant what the Beit Yosef wrote in section 228: “One does not annul a vow regarding something forbidden, even if it is only a rabbinic prohibition, such as gambling with dice. And if they annulled a vow regarding gambling, some permit it and some forbid it.”
And in the Shulchan Arukh an additional opinion is brought in the name of Rabbenu Tuvia that nowadays one should annul the vow of a gambler, because they cannot restrain themselves. And the Rashba wrote about this in part 7, section 4, that we do not attend to him, because “gambling with dice is a transgression, and if it is because his impulse may cause him to stumble, let him subdue his impulse; and we do not say that they should throw him into a minor transgression so that he not commit a greater transgression.”
And as far as I know, this is also the reason one needs to specify the content of the vow, so that they not come to annul something that leads to a prohibition.
And regarding your answer itself: in such an annulment, do I need to specify exactly what I vowed upon myself, or can I say in general that I vowed not to do a certain thing and now I regret it because I have come to realize that I am unable to keep it (and I do not want to continue putting myself at risk at another opportunity)?
Thank you very much