Nedarim 14

We learned in the mishnah on yesterday’s daf that: One who says to his wife: “You are hereby to me like my mother,” they encourage him to dissolve the vow on other grounds so that he will not (make such vows) lightly. The man’s vow implies he will not have sex with his wife, just as he does […]

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Nedarim 13

In modern English, we often use the terms vows and oaths interchangeably. But as we’ve seen already in this tractate, these are two very different things.  On today’s daf, we find a new distinction between oaths and vows. The Gemara tells us that in some ways, vows are more stringent than oaths and in other ways, oaths are more […]

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An Angel Teaches Politics

It may be that the most important biblical passage for our time is found in the book of Joshua: …he looked up and saw a man standing before him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked him: Are you one of us or of our enemies? He replied: No! I am captain […]

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