Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily
study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are
instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 95 (Digest)
The Nullification of Vows
We are commanded to practice the Torah-mandated procedure in the event that a vow is to be annulled.
(This commandment is somewhat based on the verse [Numbers 30:3] "he shall not profane his word," from which the Sages deduce that the one who enacted the vow may not profane his own word, but others – such as a sage or rabbinical court – may do so. Nevertheless, the Talmud says that the "annulment of vows flies in the air, with no [explicit biblical] support...")
The Torah explicitly tells us that a husband and father can nullify vows, and tradition teaches that a sage, too, has the power to do so.
The
95th mitzvah is that we are commanded
regarding the annulment of vows.
This
does not mean that there is a commandment to annul vows, but rather that there
are certain laws to be followed when doing so. You should keep this principle
in mind whenever a mitzvah is
enumerated — it does not necessarily mean that we are commanded to perform a
certain action, but rather that a certain case [whenever it comes up,] must be
judged according to certain laws.
The
annulment of vows done by a father [to his daughter] and a husband [to his
wife] is explained in the Torah in detail.
Furthermore,
we know from the Oral Tradition that a Torah scholar can nullify anyone's vow
or oath. This is hinted to in the verse, "He must not nullify his word." [The Sages explain,] "He may not nullify his word, but
others may nullify it for him." The final conclusion is that there is no real
source in Scripture [for the Torah scholar's power to annul a vow, and the
verse quoted above is only a hint]. As our Sages put it, "The laws regarding the annulment of
vows [by a Torah scholar] are flying in the air, with nothing to support them"
— except in the Oral Tradition.
The
details of this mitzvah are found in
the tractate devoted to this subject, tractate Nedarim.
Positive Commandment 92 (Digest)
The Nazirite's Hair
"He shall let the locks of hair on his head grow"—Numbers 6:5.
A nazirite is commanded to allow the hair on his head to grow unimpeded.
The
92nd mitzvah is that a Nazirite is commanded
to let his hair grow [for the duration of his Nazirite vow].
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "He must let his hair grow long."
In
the words of the Mechilta, "The
words, 'he shall be holy' teach us that he should be
in a state of holiness when it grows. The words, 'he must let [his hair] grow
long' makes this a positive commandment. What is the source of the prohibition? The verse, 'no cutting instrument shall come upon his
head.' "
There
it also says, "Who is covered by the positive commandment [and not covered by
the prohibition]? One who rubs earth or applies depilatories on his head." The
meaning of this statement: a Nazirite who places a depilatory on his head does
not transgress a prohibition, since a cutting instrument was not used. He will,
however, violate the positive commandment, "he must let his hair grow long,"
since he did not allow it to grow.
[This
counts as a positive commandment because] according to our principles, a
prohibition which stems from a positive commandment is counted as a positive
commandment.
The
details of this mitzvah are explained
in a number of passages in tractate Nazir.
Negative Commandment 209 (Digest)
Shaving a Nazirite
"A razor shall not go over his head"—Numbers 6:5.
A nazirite must not shave – even one hair off – his head with a razor. This prohibition also precludes another from shaving the nazirite's head.
The
209th prohibition is that a Nazirite is forbidden to cut his hair.
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "No cutting instrument shall come upon his
head."
The
one who cuts the Nazirite's hair also receives lashes, since the one who cuts
and the one whose hair is cut are both treated the same. The punishment of lashes applies as soon as
one hair is cut.
All
the details of this mitzvah are
explained in the tractate devoted to this subject [tractate Nazir].
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